GWR 3700 Class 3440 City of Truro
Built: 1903
Retired: 1931
Reputedly the first steam locomotive in Europe to travel in excess of 100 mph (160 km/h), reaching a speed of 102.3 mph (164 km/h) whilst hauling the "Ocean Mails" special from Plymouth to London Paddington on 9 May 1904. This speed was recorded from the footplate by Charles Rous-Marten, a writer employed by The Railway Magazine. After it was withdrawn from service, it was purchased by the London and North Eastern Railway and was subsequently displayed at a new museum in York. In 1957, the locomotive was returned to service by British Railways; based at Didcot it was used for hauling special excursion trains, usually on the Newbury and Southampton branch line. In 1961 it moved to National Railway Museum in York as a static exhibit. The locomotive was restored once more in 1984 to take part in the 150th anniversary celebrations of the Great Western Railway. City of Truro featured as a character in the book Duck and the Diesel Engine, part of The Railway Series by the Rev. W. Awdry, the first 'real' engine to appear in the series. The loco has also appeared in the television spin-off Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends.