GWR 3600 Class

The Great Western Railway 3600 Class was a class of 2-4-2T side tank steam locomotive, designed by William Dean and built at Swindon in three lots in 1900-1903:

History

Dean had built an experimental 2-4-2T numbered 11, whose success led to the cancellation of another batch of 2-4-0 "Metro" Tanks and the construction of the 3600s in their place. The new 2-4-2Ts had coupled wheels and cylinders. The second batch were slightly longer than the prototype, resulting in greater tank capacity, and the third lot, delivered under Churchward, were slightly larger again, and had taper boilers. The class gained the nickname "Birdcage" due to their unusually spacious cabs.

Year	Quantity	Lot No.	Serial Nos.	Locomotive numbers	Notes
1900	1	130	1907	11	renumbered 3600 in 1912
1902	20	134	1866–1885	3601–3620	Serial numbers out of sequence
1903	10	143	2013–2022	3621–3630

Use

The 3600 class were fitted with steam reversing gear, steam brakes, and two steam-operated water pick-ups for forward and reverse working. This reflects their intended work as fast suburban engines. About half were employed on such duties in the Birmingham area. The rest worked in the London area, though later a few worked Chester-Birkenhead trains, and some were allocated to South Wales sheds. They were essentially passenger train locomotives, and were eventually superseded by Collett's 2-6-2Ts. All were withdrawn and scrapped between 1930 and 1934.