GWR 3717 City of Truro
City of Truro was resident on the SVR between 1984 and 1986, and made Gala appearances in autumn 1991, autumn 2008 and autumn 2010.
Contents
Contents
Service
3440 (later 3717) City of Truro is a GWR Churchward 3700 City class 4-4-0 locomotive, designed by George Jackson Churchward and built at the GWR Swindon Works in 1903. She was renumbered 3717 in 1912.
On 9 May 1904, whilst hauling the "Ocean Mails" special from Plymouth to London Paddington, City of Truro may have achieved a speed in excess of 100 miles an hour whilst descending Wellington Bank, Somerset. This was based on the stopwatch timings by Charles Rous-Marten (who wrote for The Railway Magazine) and William Kennedy (a postal worker).
City of Truro was withdrawn from service in March 1931, and donated to the LNER’s railway museum at York. In 1957 City of Truro was returned to service by British Railways’ Western Region, hauling special excursion trains and for normal revenue services while based at Didcot. She was withdrawn for a second time in 1961, and taken to Swindon's GWR Museum in 1962.
Preservation
City of Truro arrived on loan from the NRM in July 1984 for overhaul to main line working condition as part of the forthcoming GWR 150 celebrations. Prior to restoration, SVR Chief Engineer Alun Rees suggested to Steam Railway Magazine Editor David Wilcock that the SVR could repaint the driver's side of the locomotive in BR lined black as a ‘spoof’. This was done and photographed before strip down commenced. On 1 April 1985 the magazine published an article showing City of Truro in its ‘new’ unauthentic BR lined black livery as 3717 complete with smokebox number plate. The ‘April fool’ did not go down well in some quarters; the SVR received many vitriolic letters threatening returned membership cards, cashed-in shares and a boycott on visits, whilst the magazine was similarly criticised.
The overhaul was duly completed, and City of Truro worked a number of main line tours as well as services on the SVR before returning to the NRM at York in July 1986.
City of Truro returned to the SVR for a Gala appearance in Autumn 1991 (as 3440, appearing with Flying Scotsman as the first unofficial and official 100 mph steam locomotives). During July 1991 the locomotive was also used for filming of Howards End at Bewdley.[1] Further gala appearances followed in Autumn 2008 as 3440, and most recently in Autumn 2010 as 3717.
The locomotive is currently ‘out of ticket’ and is back in the care of the NRM.
See also
References
SVR News
- ↑ Rights managed image on Alamy.Com "Stock Photo - Prunella Scales filming Howards End at Bewdley Station Worcestershire on the Severn Valley Steam Railway in July 1991"
Links
NRM Collection City of Truro page Retrieved 3 March 2015.
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