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The Great Western Railway 3800 Class, also known as the County Class, were a class of 4-4-0 steam locomotives for express passenger train work introduced in 1904 in a batch of ten. Two more batches followed in 1906 and 1912 with minor differences. They were designed by George Jackson Churchward, who used standard components to produce a four-coupled version of his Saint Class 4-6-0s.
ConstructionEdit
The first locomotive, No. 3473 County of Middlesex, was built at Swindon Works in May 1904, with the following nine completed by October 1904.<ref name=OSNb14>Template:Harvnb</ref> They were initially fitted with parallel-sided copper-capped chimneys, which were soon replaced by tapered cast iron chimneys.<ref name=Hare56>Template:Harvnb</ref> The second batch, of twenty, were built between October and December 1906. This batch had tapered cast iron chimneys from the start.<ref name=OSNb15>Template:Harvnb</ref> A third and last batch of ten were built between December 1911 and February 1912.<ref name=OSNb38>Template:Harvnb</ref> On these the footplates had curved drop ends at the cab and front bufferbeam.<ref name=Hol102>Template:Harvnb</ref> They were also fitted from new with a superheater and top feed.<ref name=OSNb38/> Chimneys were a larger version of the copper-capped type of the first batch.<ref name=Hare56/>
Coupled wheels had independent springing, without the compensating beams fitted between the axleboxes on Churchward's 4-6-0s.<ref name=OSNb13>Template:Harvnb</ref> The cylinder block, including the piston valves and smokebox saddle, was constructed from two castings from the same pattern, bolted back to back, each casting containing one half of the saddle.<ref name=OSNb14/> The cab, boiler and coupled wheels were attached to plate frames. The cylinder block was carried on two bar frames, bolted to the front end of the plate frames.<ref name=OSNb13/> The piston valves were driven by Stephenson valve gear. The class were fitted with the Standard No. 4 boiler.<ref name=OSNb14/> One locomotive, No. 3805 County Kerry was fitted with a smaller Standard No. 2 boiler between November 1907 and May 1909.<ref name=OSNb15/>
| Year | Quantity | Lot No. | Works Nos. | Locomotive numbers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1904 | 10 | 149 | 2056–2065 | 3473–3482 | renumbered 3800, 3831–3839 in 1912 |
| 1906 | 20 | 165 | 2209–2228 | 3801–3820 | |
| 1911–12 | 10 | 184 | 2416–2425 | 3821–3830 |
OperationEdit
They were the last new GWR 4-4-0 design and by far the most modern, with inside frames and outside cylinders. They were designed as a part of Churchward's standardisation plan, but were found to have a front end too powerful for the wheel arrangement and all were withdrawn by the early 1930s. They were designed, in part, for the Hereford to Shrewsbury LNWR line over which the GWR had running powers, but on which they were expressly forbidden to use 4-6-0 locomotives. The 4-4-0 Counties were in effect a shortened GWR 2900 Class, providing engines powerful enough for the trains but with the requisite four-coupled wheels.
The key components were all proven but the combination was somewhat poor, and perhaps the least successful of Churchward's designs. From the outset they were found to be rough riders but were otherwise effective locos. All other GWR 4-4-0s were inside-cylindered and none had a piston stroke greater than 26 inches, whereas the 'County' had a 30-inch stroke driving a meagre 8 ft 6 ft wheelbase.
The County Class used the same cylinders and motion as Churchward's six-coupled locomotives and required the same mass to counterbalance the reciprocating parts of the motion. However the weight required had to be divided between four driving wheels rather than six. The heavier balance weights produced a high level of wheel hammer blow; at six revolutions per second the hammer blow was 8 tons, compared with the 3.6 tons of the inside-cylindered City Class and the 6.4 tons of the six-coupled Saint Class. The left hand trailing axleboxes often developed hammering, which was caused by the amount of counterbalancing used.<ref name=OSNb16>Template:Harvnb</ref>
This class were subject to the 1912 renumbering of GWR 4-4-0 locomotives, which saw the Bulldog class gathered together in the series 3300–3455, and other types renumbered out of that series. The County Class took numbers 3800–3839.
3833 County of Dorset was the first to be withdrawn, in February 1930. By the end of 1933 all had gone, the last survivor being No. 3834 County of Somerset, withdrawn in November of that year.<ref name=OSNb66>Template:Harvnb</ref>
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They were also the basis for the 'County Tank' GWR 2221 Class design, a 4-4-2T using the same basic design as the County but with a smaller and lighter boiler, and the replacement of the tender by the addition of side tanks, bunker and trailing axle.
New Build – 3840 County of MontgomeryEdit
No members of the class were preserved. However, the Great Western Society took the decision to create the next locomotive in the sequence, 3840 County of Montgomery.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The project has been handed over to the Churchward County Trust and 3840 will be based at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway following its construction at Tyseley Locomotive Works in Birmingham. The locomotive is being built with both new parts, such as the driving wheels which have been cast using the pattern created for Saint Class 2999 Lady of Legend, and recycled standard parts recovered from former Barry scrapyard locomotives including the Standard No. 4 Boiler, the pony truck wheel set, two pony truck axle boxes, four horn guides and two eccentric sheaves from 5205 Class 2-8-0T 5227, and four driving wheel axle boxes from 2800 Class 2-8-0 2861.
ModelsEdit
Hornby Railways manufacture a model of the 38xx in OO gauge. 3mm Scale Model Railways manufacture a model kit of the 38xx in TT gauge. Hornby manufactured between 1931-1936 electric and clockwork tin-plate models of the 3821 County of Bedford in 0 gauge.
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
BibliographyEdit
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External linksEdit
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