GWR 3700 Class 3440 City of Truro
GWR 3440 City of Truro
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| Type and origin | |
|---|---|
| Power type | Steam |
| Builder | GWR Swindon Works |
| Serial number | 2000 |
| Build date | April 1903 |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Configuration | 4-4-0 |
| Gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Operators | Great Western Railway |
| Class | 3700, "City" class |
| Numbers | 3440, renumbered 3717 in 1912 |
| Official name | City of Truro |
| Retired | 1931 |
| Restored | 1957, 1984 & 2004 |
| Current owner | National Railway Museum |
The GWR 3700 Class steam locomotive No. 3440 City of Truro was built in 1903 for the Great Western Railway (GWR) at Swindon Works to a design by George Jackson Churchward. It was partially rebuilt in 1911 and 1915, and renumbered 3717 in 1912. Some consider the locomotive was the first to attain the speed of 100 miles per hour (160.9 km/h) during a run from Plymouth to London Paddington in 1904, a claim that has been the subject of debate.
The locomotive was the eighth of a batch of ten locomotives forming part of the GWR 3700 (or 'City') Class, and was delivered from Swindon Works in May 1903. All ten were named after cities on the GWR system; this batch was originally numbered 3433–42, City of Truro being 3440; like most GWR 4-4-0s, they were renumbered in December 1912, this batch becoming 3710–19 of which City of Truro became 3717. The locomotives were fitted with superheaters in 1910–12, City of Truro being so treated in September 1911. This changed its appearance quite noticeably, as it gained a longer smokebox. Most were later given piston valves instead of their original slide valves, City of Truro in November 1915.
City of Truro was timed at 8.8 seconds between two quarter-mile posts whilst hauling the "Ocean Mails" special from Plymouth to London Paddington on 9 May 1904. This timing was recorded from the train by Charles Rous-Marten, who wrote for The Railway Magazine and other journals. If exact, this time would correspond to a speed of 102.3 mph (164.6 km/h); but Rous-Marten's stopwatch read in multiples of 1⁄5 second, so the next possible longer time it could register was 9 seconds, corresponding to exactly 100 mph.
Initially, mindful of the need to preserve their reputation for safety, the railway company allowed only the overall timings for the run to be put into print; neither The Times report of the following day nor Rous-Marten's article in The Railway Magazine of June 1904 mentioned the maximum speed. However, the morning after the run two local Plymouth newspapers did report that the train had reached a speed between 99 and 100 miles an hour whilst descending Wellington Bank, Somerset. This claim was based on the stopwatch timings of a postal worker, William Kennedy, who was also on the train.
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