GWR 3300 Class

The GWR 3300 "Bulldog" and "Bird" classes were double-framed inside cylinder 4-4-0 steam locomotives that were primarily used for passenger services on the Great Western Railway. The Bird Class were a development of the Bulldogs with strengthened outside frames, of which a total of fifteen were built. A total of 121 Bulldogs were built new, with a further twenty having to have been rebuilt from 3252 "Duke" Class locomotives. 30 Bulldogs were later converted into 30 of the Earl Class locomotives and renumbered 3265 (prototype conversion), as well as Nos. 3200-3228.
==History==
No. 3312 Bulldog was built in October 1898, with curved outside frames, a domed parallel boiler with a raised Belpaire firebox and a wrapper-type smokebox. The boiler was a prototype for the parallel version of Churchward's Standard No. 2 boilers. Bulldog was originally classed as a variant of the Duke class. In October 1899 no. 3352 Camel appeared with the final form of the parallel No. 2 boiler, domeless, with a raised Belpaire firebox and a circular drumhead smokebox supported on a curved saddle. A further 20 locomotives, nos. 3332 to 3351, were built between November 1899 and March 1900. Between May and December 1900, a second batch of twenty Camels (as the class were initially known) were built with straight-topped outside frames. These were numbered as 3353 to 3372. A third batch, Nos. 3413 and 3432 were built between December 1902 and May 1903; these were the last to be built with parallel boilers.In September 1903, no. 3443 Birkenhead was built with a tapered Standard No. 2 boiler. The boiler was tapered only over the rear half of the barrel, and this type became known as the "half-cone"; a later version of the No. 2 boiler was tapered over three-quarters of the barrel. A further twenty-nine locomotives were built with the half-cone boiler between September 1903 and April 1904, bringing the class total to 91.
Between April and September 1906, thirty locomotives were built with the three-quarter coned No. 2 boiler. In March 1906, Bulldog was rebuilt with the same type of boiler, and the class now became known as the Bulldog Class. From October 1906 to January 1909, 18 of the 3252 "Duke" Class were converted to Bulldogs by the fitting of No. 2 boilers. A further member of the Duke Class, no. 3273 "Armorel", had been fitted with a parallel domeless boiler in February 1902, thus becoming a Camel Class locomotive. It ran with tapered boilers of various types from April 1906.
The Bird Class were a development of the Bulldog Class with deeper outside frames and a new type of bogie. Previously, all outside framed bogies on GWR locomotives had been of the Dean centerless type. Churchward adapted a French design of bogie, as used on the de Glehn Atlantics, to produce a bar-framed bogie for his standard locomotives. This inside-framed bogie design was adapted to produce an outside-framed replacement for the Dean bogie. The Birds were built in two batches: nos. 3731 to 3735 in May 1909 and nos. 3736 to 3745 from November 1909 to January 1910.
Table of orders and numbers
Year 	Quantity	Lot No.	Works Nos.	Loco Nos. (new)	Loco nos. (1912)	Notes
1899–1900	20 	118 	1743–1762 	3332–3351 	3320–3339 	
1899 	1 	120 	1773 	3352 	3340 	
1902 	20 	124 	1806–1825 	3352–3372 	3341–3360 	
1902–03 	20 	137 	1970–1983 	3413–3432 	3361–3380 	
1903 	10 	142 	2003–2012 	3443–3452 	3381–3390 	
1904 	20 	148 	2036–2055 	3453–3472 	3391–3410 	
1906 	15 	162 	2169–2183 	3701–3715 	3411–3425 	
1906 	15 	163 	2184–2198 	3716–3730 	3426–3440 	
1909–10 	15 	177 	2350–2364 	3731–3745 	3441–3455 	
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 3300-3455 series had previously contained locomotives of Duke, Badminton, Atbara, City and a number of Bulldog class locomotives.
No. 3320 Avalon was the first of the Bulldog Class to be withdrawn, in August 1929, followed by no. 3365 Charles Grey Mott, withdrawn in January 1930. The frames of 3365 were used to construct the first of the Earl Class, no. 3265 Tre Pol and Pen. The last to be withdrawn was no. 3377 Penzance in January 1951.
All of the Bird Class survived into British Railways ownership, being withdrawn between April 1948 and November 1951, the last two being no. 3453 Seagull and no. 3454 Skylark.
No Bulldogs were preserved; however, the frames of no. 3425 survive under Earl No. 9017 'Earl of Berkeley' at the Bluebell Railway.
==Accidents and incidents==
*In 1904, locomotive No. 3460 Montreal was one of two locomotives hauling a passenger train that was derailed at Loughor, Glamorgan due to excessive speed. Five people were killed and eighteen were injured.
== See also ==
* List of GWR 3300 Class locomotives
==Gallery==
File:GWR 3417 Lord Mildmay of Flete.jpg
==External links==
*3300 'Bulldog' class introduction The Great Western Archive 
Category:4-4-0 steam locomotives
Category:4-4-0 locomotives
Category:Great Western Railway locomotives
Category:GWR 3300 "Bulldog" Class locomotives
Category:Locomotives That were Involved in Rebuilds
Category:Scrapped locomotives
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Standard gauge locomotives
Category:Tender locomotives
Category:United Kingdom
Category:Swindon Works locomotives
Category:Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain
Category:Scrapped steam locomotives