GWR 3031 Class
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The Dean Single or 3031 Class was a type of steam locomotive built by the Great Western Railway between 1891 and 1899. They were designed by William Dean for passenger work.
The first eight members of the class (numbers 3021-3028) were built as convertible broad gauge 2-2-2 locomotives, being converted to standard gauge in mid-1892, at the end of broad gauge running on the Great Western Railway. A further 22 were built in late 1891 and early 1892, this time as standard gauge engines.
Due to their long boilers, these engines were unstable, particularly at speed. In September 1893, this resulted in a derailment for number 3021 Wigmore Castle in Box Tunnel, when the front axle broke. It was decided that future members of the class would be constructed to a 4-2-2 wheel arrangement to reduce the weight on the front wheels.
In 1900, George Jackson Churchward replaced the boiler on number 3027 Worcester with a parallel Standard 2 boiler. Twelve further engines were similarly converted in 1905 and 1906.
Despite the locomotives' speed, the 4-2-2 design was soon found to be outdated and unsuitable for more modern operation. Despite Churchward's idea to convert them to more modern 4-4-0s, they were scrapped between 1908 and 1915.
[edit] Notable Members of the Class
3065 Duke of Connaught made a record-breaking run with the Ocean Mail on 9th May 1904, covering the distance from Plymouth to Paddington in 227 minutes.
3041 The Queen, originally named James Mason, was an example of this class allocated to Royal Train duties.
Number 3046 Lord of the Isles has enjoyed a certain amount of celebrity, having been chosen as the prototype for a Tri-ang model locomotive. Since then the engine has also been modelled by Brio and Matchbox. In 2006, Hornby also produced a limited edition of the same model, this time bearing the name Lorna Doone.
[edit] Replica
None of the original class survive, but a static replica of The Queen was commissioned by Tussauds for the Railways and Royalty exhibition at Windsor and Eton Central railway station. The engine remains there, but the tender was scrapped to make more space for the shopping centre occupying that station building. Parts of the tender were saved for use in the newbuild LBSCR Atlantic project at the Bluebell Railway as the tender was originally of the LBSCR.
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