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GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line

Birmingham Snow Hill - Pre-grouping locomotives: gwrbsh1196

A pair of unknown GWR 4-2-2 'Achilles' class locomotives are seen at the head of a down express for Wolverhampton at the North end of Snow Hill

A pair of unknown GWR 4-2-2 'Achilles' class locomotives are seen at the head of a down express for Wolverhampton at the North end of Snow Hill station's down platform. The first locomotives of this class were built between April and August 1891 as eight broad gauge convertible 2-2-2 engines, Nos 3021 to 3028 and ran in this configuration until the end of Broad Gauge working in May 1892. Another 22 locomotives were built as standard gauge 2-2-2's in late 1891 and early 1982, Nos 3029-30 and Nos 3001 to 3020, with Nos 3021-8 being converted to standard gauge in mid 1892.

With a driving wheel of 7 feet 8½ inches, the boiler diameter when originally built as a 2-2-2 was restricted to just 4 feet 3 inches, which required a boiler length of 11 feet 6 inches in order to provide sufficient heating surfaces for efficient steaming. With this barrel length, the engines were very heavy on the leading wheels and unsteady at speed. Unfortunately, on the 16th of September 1893, the leading axle of No 3021 'Wigmore Castle' broke inside Box Tunnel causing the train to derail. Between March and December 1894, all thirty members had their frames lengthened to accommodate a leading bogie altering the design to a 4-2-2 configuration.

In addition the cylinder diameter was reduced from 20 to 19 inches, decreasing the tractive effort from 14,115 to 12,200 pounds. The underhung trailing springs were at first retained on the rebuilds until transfer above the platform occurred between 1895 and 1897. As 'Wigmore Castle' was being rebuilt, the first locomotive to be built new as a 4-2-2, No 3031 Achilles was also outshopped. The class were then officially known as the 3031 Achilles class, but are frequently known as the 3001 class or 'Dean Singles'. The rest of the class appeared in batches until the last, No 3080 'Windsor Castle', was delivered in March 1899. Courtesy of GWR Archives.

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