Bachmann 31-090DS GWR 3206 Earl of Plymouth Earl Dukedog Class 4-4-0 GWR Green DCC and Sound OO

£235.95
MRP £274.95

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(Product Ref 74792)
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The GWRs Dukedog class was created in the 1930s in response to the need for new locomotives with a axle load lower than the Churchward designed 2-6-0 and 4-6-0 types, the Churchward engines being too heavy for several important secondary routes, especially the former Cambrian routes into mid-Wales, where the pre-grouping locos were becoming worn out.

In service the Dukedogs proved capable engines provided the work did not demand too much of the boiler which, being smaller than the original Bulldog boiler, had little reserve capacity. On the Cambrian section and other holiday branchlines the locomotives were often hauling express trains through to seaside destinations over routes where the heavier mainline engines which brought the trains from Paddington.
This makes the Dukedog an excellent choice of 'large' engine for any GWR branchline model railway.

Initially the 'new 32' class engines were being given Earl names, however these gentlemen were under impressed with the elderly appearance of the 'new' engines' double frames and domed boilers which now carried their titles and the names were switched to a batch of Castle class engines.
 

The Dukedog sobriquet comes from the solution, a locomotive built from the sturdy double-frame chassis of a Bulldog class 4-4-0 locomotive fitted with the lighter weight but standard type boiler and cab from a Duke class 4-4-0 engine. The result was quite out of place in the Swindon locomotive family, outside frames and boiler domes were features which had been discarded under Churchwards' management, but the dome did give the locomotives a quite distinguished look.
It was intended that the class carry the names of Earls, however the gentlemen concerned quickly took exception to their titles being carried by locomotives of such antiquated appearance and the engines ran without names.

3206 Earl of Plymouth was completed in November 1936 using the frames from Bulldog 3428 and boiler fromk Duke 3267. The engine was sent new to Didcot shed, from where regular duties were services over the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton route. The nameplates were removed in mid-1937 (transferred to Castle 5049). Apart from overhauls and sub-allocations 3206 (later 9006) remained allocated to Didcot shed throughout it's service life, being withdrawn in August 1948, by which time upgrading of the Southampton line allowed heavier engines to use this route.

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