GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Knowle & Dorridge Station: gwrkd1603

Great Western Railway 4-4-0 37XX or ‘City’ class No 3711 ‘City of Birmingham’ at Knowle and Dorridge Station with an up express circa 1914. Spotless and resplendent with a copper clad chimney and polished brass short safety valve cover, these were virtually the last outside frame passenger express locomotives to be seen on the Great Western Railway. These engines had a reputation for speed and will forever be associated with the 100mph record run by No 3440 ‘City of Truro’, which is now preserved by the National Steam Museum. Initially the locomotives of this class hauled the crack West Country expresses, but by 1914 they had been relegated to secondary express duties on other parts of the network, having been displaced by the more powerful new 4-6-0 locomotives.

The light train loads and engine restrictions on the Birmingham to Bristol and Birmingham to the South Coast expresses meant 4-4-0 class locomotives would be retained on these services until the 1930’s. This locomotive was built at Swindon Works as part of Lot 141 in 1903. The locomotive was originally numbered No 3434, but in a general renumbering scheme in December 1912, became No 3711. These locomotives were all fitted with the large Churchward No 4 standard boiler and No 3434 had a two row super heater fitted in November 1910. This class had an A power classification and a Red route code. In 1921 this locomotive was known to have been allocated to Chester shed. No 3711 was finally withdrawn in July 1930. The clerestory coach behind the tender has a short roof board displaying the train's destination.

Robert Ferris

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