GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line

Birmingham Snow Hill Station: gwrbsh1778

Great Western Railway 33xx (Bulldog) class 4-4-0 No 3380 'River Yealm' steaming through Snow Hill on the down through main line on Friday 7th September 1934. The train consists of a least seven horse boxes (telegraphic name PACO) and a carriage. It is probable that the train is a Special heading for a Saturday Manchester race Meeting. The horse boxes have oil axle boxes and were vacuum braked allowing the train to travel at passenger speeds. They were classified as passenger stock, which is why the train is carrying a passenger express headlamp code. Each horse box was designed to carry three horses and also had facilities for the grooms, tackle and fodder. The coach would probably be a brake third and would be available for carrying other stable staff.

This 4-4-0 locomotive was built at Swindon Works in May 1903 as part of lot 137. It was originally numbered No 3432 and part of the 'Camel' class, but was renumbered in December 1912 as part of a general renumbering scheme to group locomotives with similar power categories together. One of the later locomotives in this class; it had straight frames, carried a curved nameplate on the front driving wheel splasher and when built had a standard No 2 domeless parallel boiler (type D0) with a belpaire firebox. This boiler operated at 180 lb pressure producing a tractive effort at 85% of 18,955 lbs. This locomotive was out-shopped with an experimental bogie with spiral springs, but this was replaced with a standard bogie after a short period. In November 1910, a standard No 2 long coned boiler (type D3) complete with a 12 tube / 72 element two row superheater was fitted and the locomotive became part of the growing 'Bulldog' class. The boiler pressure was subsequently increased to 200 lb producing a tractive effort at 85% of 20,535 lbs and these locomotives were classified in power group B. With a maximum axle weight of 17 tons, 12 cwt, the locomotives were restricted to main lines and some branch lines (route colour Blue).

Following the scrapping of 2-4-2T class 36xx locomotives a number of serviceable standard No 3 domeless boilers with a 6 tube / 36 element superheater became surplus to requirements. These slightly shorter boilers were given a backward extension to the smokebox and fitted to fourteen Bulldog class locomotives, including No 3380 in February 1933. By this time the Bulldogs were being displaced from their heavier passenger duties by the new 4-6-0 ‘Hall’ class locomotives and some had been withdrawn. When originally built the locomotives were paired with 3,000 gallon tenders, but by 1934 No 3380 had acquired Churchward 3,500 gallon tender No 1940, which had been built in June 1914 under lot A91. In their early years many of the ‘Camel’ and ‘Bulldog’ class locomotives were found in the West Country and No 3380 is known to have been allocated to Laira shed (LA) in Plymouth in both January 1921 and May 1922. In January 1934, No 3380 was known to have been allocated at Didcot shed (DID) and in March 1938 was withdrawn from Bath Road shed (BRD) in Bristol.

Robert Ferris

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