Railway - CITY OF TRURO City Class 4-4-0 GWR Loco 1970s

Postcard

 

• Picture / Image:  City Class 4-4-0 Locomotive 'City of Truro'
• Publisher:  J. Arthur Dixon (T6769)
• Postally used:  no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes & Key words:  has slight paper damage on back - not detracting too much 

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Postage & Packing:

UK (incl. IOM, CI & BFPO): 99p

Europe: £1.60

Rest of world (inc. USA etc): £2.75

No additional charges for more than one postcard. You can buy as many postcards from me as you like and you will just pay the fee above once. (If buying postcards with other things such as books, please contact or wait for invoice before paying).

Payment Methods:

UK - PayPal, Cheque (from UK bank) or postal order

Outside UK: PayPal or Google Checkout ONLY please.   NO non-UK currency checks or money orders (sorry).

NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information:

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Great Western Railway (GWR) City Class 4-4-0 locomotive number 3440 City Of Truro was designed by George Jackson Churchward and built at the GWR Swindon Works in 1903. (It was renumbered 3717 in 1912). It was reputedly the first steam locomotive in Europe to travel in excess of 100 mph (160 km/h), although this was not verified by physical recording of speed.

City of Truro is believed to have reached 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, but the journal did not publish the exact figure until 1907. Initially, mindful of the need to preserve their reputation for safety, the railway company allowed only the overall timings for the run to be put into print. For the record to have been proven conclusively, the presence of two timekeepers was needed, which did not happen in this case. However, the milepost timings provided by Rous-Marten are consistent with a speed of 100 mph or just over.

The 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) speed record was not officially achieved for another thirty years. On 30 November 1934, Flying Scotsman became the first steam locomotive to be officially recorded as having reached the speed.

The historical significance of City of Truro led to the locomotive's survival after withdrawal from service in 1931. It was purchased by the London and North Eastern Railway and was subsequently displayed at a new museum in York.

In 1957 City of Truro was returned to service by British Railways Western Region. The locomotive was based at Didcot, and was used both for hauling special excursion trains and for normal revenue services, usually on the Newbury and Southampton branch line, and was renumbered back to 3440. It was finally retired from traffic in 1961, and passed into the National Collection based at the National Railway Museum in York as a static exhibit. It was restored once more in 1984 to take part in the 150th anniversary celebrations of the Great Western Railway.

Its latest restoration to full working order was undertaken in 2004, at a cost of £130,000, to mark the 100th anniversary of its record-breaking run, and the loco has subsequently hauled several trains on UK main lines. It frequently visits UK heritage railways.