More about the History of 3299

The Dreadnought Coaches and No. 3299

The magnificent sight of a Dreadnought in the fully-lined chocolate and cream livery of 1905 could be replicated when No 3299 is restored. This photograph of No 3277 has been colourised by Adrian Knowles.

One of Didcot's most discussed hidden treasures is coach No. 3299. This is a very special vehicle and as such has been on the ‘hit list’ of the carriage and wagon department for a long time. It's also a big one. It is really big for a UK coach at 70’ long. It's an imposing prospect for a full restoration. There's a reason why these vehicles were known as Dreadnoughts...

Paddington station in 1908 with a train of Dreadnought coaches at platform 8 on the extreme right and clerestory-roofed coaches at platform 5. Most of the other coaches in the photograph are clerestory roofed.

We have regularly espoused the virtues of Swindon's greatest ever genius, George Jackson Churchward, this is usually in connection with his locomotives, but he had great influence in all areas of engineering in the great factory. Coaching stock was no exception. Up to his appointment, most of the G.W.R. coaching fleet were clerestory vehicles. These are the coaches that have the raised section in the middle of the roof, running fore and aft along the coach. These were to give extra daylight and ventilation, and house the lighting - usually gas powered in this period. They were likely to be bogie coaches (set on two usually four-wheeled trucks) but were also quite small at about 50’ long. At Didcot, we are very lucky to have examples of this type of vehicle.

Churchward thought big in both locomotives and coaches! This is 4-6-2 No 111 The Great Bear at the head of a train in which the first three vehicles are Dreadnoughts.

One you may have ridden in recently is Dean third class coach No. 1941 which was built in 1901. The design dates back to the 1890s and came in a variety of different arrangements. It has 8 compartments that can seat up to ten people each. They are not connected together and there are no toilets either. Fine for going up and down our demonstration line but not so good on a long trip! Clearly something better was needed. Cue Mr Churchward.

In this photograph the leading vehicle is a concertina coach showing the visual effect created by the recessed doors. Taken by Ben Brooksbank on 25 July 1953, the photograph shows No 1011 County of Chester speeding through Taplow with the 11.30 summer Saturday Torquay to Paddington. The nearly 50-year-old concertina has probably been added to the front of the train to provide additional seating for holidaymakers.

His design wasn't just new, it was revolutionary as far as the G.W.R. was concerned. The first thing he was going to do was to take as much advantage of the extra width that standard gauge trains on ex broad gauge lines offered. His new coaches were built to a width of 9’ 6”. This meant that interiors could be spacious and offered a whole new world of options to the engineers. The next big innovation was the extreme length. 70’ from end to end meant that these coaches were among the first to feature the recessed ends to prevent their body shells overhanging on tighter corners. Having given themselves a broad canvas (pun intended), it was time to fill in the details.

No 3299 as first preserved in 1964 and parked on the cattle dock siding at Totnes. Between the left hand door and the centre door is the corridor side with four compartments. Beyond the corridor crossover the five sets of three windows are the compartment side, with a droplight as the centre window in each set. The last window before the right hand door is the lavatory.

The first point of interest was that they had corridor connections. The first time this was used on the Western was in the 1890s but initially they were considered the province of staff and were certainly not for passengers. Despite the fact that it was possible to move from one end of the train to the other, if you wanted to eat in the restaurant coach then you got on that coach and stayed there. This attitude slowly changed over time. This stock also introduced the G.W.R. to the side corridor. There were a series of seating compartments with a corridor running along one side of the coach. This meant that it was now practical to provide toilets and for the passengers to easily get to them. That was a relief (pun 2), in more ways than one...

1964, Angus Davis, Great Western Society founder member, making a billy can of tea in No 3299 (Each compartment had been converted to have two bunks) and Frank Dumbleton in No 3299 in 1964, with cine camera and some reels of Kodachrome II 8mm film ready to be posted to Kodak for processing.

The next point of note is the fact that the corridor on Churchward's new coaches went down one side of the coach to the middle and then changed side and went down the opposite side to the other end. The change side was not quite in the middle because there were nine third class compartments, so four one end and five the other. This quite unusual arrangement in theory at least helped to balance out the weight in the vehicle. It was to be an unfounded fear and was not repeated in later years. The biggest change in design was however the doors. Up to this point, each compartment on a coach had a door both sides to let passengers on and off. With no corridor, this was important of course but the long corridor meant that Swindon could reduce the number of doors. No. 3299 has just six. There are two at each end and a pair in the middle. This is a remarkably modern outlook. Remember that the later HSTs and 800 Class EMUs have doors in just the ends of their coaches. This also had advantages from a construction point of view. Fewer doors is less complex and less expensive as well!

The coaches quickly got the nickname of Dreadnoughts. This was in response to the huge Dreadnought Class warships of the Royal Navy, the first of which was launched in 1906. These vessels were radical new designs that changed the way war at sea was undertaken overnight. Everything else afloat became a Pre-dreadnought. To a certain degree, the G.W.R.'s Dreadnoughts did similar but it wasn't all plain sailing (pun number three and I'm not sorry!). The seeming lack of doors was not popular with passengers. They were of course used to a door at their side at all times. The lack of doors on the Dreadnoughts was not popular. Paddington was receiving copious amounts of complaints from their customers. It is rumoured that, far from Dreadnought, they gained the rather less desirable nickname of Deathtraps.

The heroic journey from Devon to Didcot on 2 December 1967, with 6998 Burton Agnes Hall and 1466, hauling four coaches, arriving at Westbury. The Dreadnought's bulk is emphasised by the white painted roof. Photo by Adrian Vaughan.

They were unpopular with staff as well and despite being the latest technology, they only saw front line service in the crack expresses for a relatively short time. They were cascaded down through the ranks and went out to less and less glamorous services as time went on. The resistance to the Dreadnoughts resulted in Churchward going from the sublime to the ridiculous in some ways. The next coaches retained all the features of the previous design but with a door to every compartment. These doors didn't follow the curved profile of the side of the coach or the ‘tumblehome’ as it is known. They were flat in cross section and as a result they gave the sides of the coach an ‘in and out’ feel that put people in mind of accordions. They therefore gained the nickname Concertinas!

Our example is now unique. No. 3299 was built to diagram C.24 in 1905. It was built not at Swindon but by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company. It was actually constructed so that the G.W.R. has some redundancy in its fleet. It was a spare vehicle and was used to cover for other coaches while they were under maintenance and for enlarging rakes of coaches during the busy summer season. It lasted into 1951 as a passenger coach and found subsequent employment at Newquay. Here it was used as a dormitory for the staff who did the catering on the summer train services. The seating in each compartment was removed and replaced by a pair of bunks on one side and a cupboard on the other. At Newquay it was spotted by society member David Rouse who apparently gained quite the reputation for finding and purchasing such items. He bought the coach in 1964 and gifted it to the G.W.S. This makes it one of the first coaches in the collection so it's historic to us in that respect as well.

The open day at Didcot in September 1969 with the Dreadnought on display. At this time it was still used as sleeping accommodation by volunteers.

Thanks to David, one of the most important coaches of the early 20th Century was saved but unfortunately all is not well. The coach is in a very poor state and requires a great deal of work in order to bring it back to a condition in which the public could ride in it once again. With the completion of No. 2999 Lady of Legend, thoughts naturally have turned to having authentic stock to pull behind it and while the likes of No. 1941 look the part, No. 3299 really would be a very authentic choice. This is why one of the aims of the Diamond Jubilee Fund is to begin the restoration of this historic vehicle. There is a LOT to do but with your help, this dream can become a reality. It’s been the hidden elephant (or Dreadnought) in the room for far too long...

« Back To No 3299 - Churchward 'Dreadnought' 9 Compartment Third