- Class: Earl (later 90XX)
- Wheels: 4-4-0
- Built: 1938 (rebuild)
- Numbers Carried: 3217, 9017
- Last Overhaul Completed: 2003
- Last Operational: June 2011
- Current Status: Awaiting overhaul, on loan to the Museum at the Vale of Rheidol Railway in Aberystwyth
- Owned By: Bluebell Railway
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Nicknamed “Dukedogs” since they were an amalgamation a Bulldog and a Duke, the parts of this loco are thus actually older than the “building” date suggests. The 1938 rebuild of 3217 used the frames from “Bulldog” No. 3425 (built 1906) and the boiler and cab from “Duke” class No. 3282 (originally named ‘Chepstow Castle’ and built in 1899).
A few of the class carried the names of earls, but 3217 did not receive its allocated name until preservation days. At the time the earls in question indicated to the GWR that, if their names were to be used, they would prefer their names on something a little more prestigious, and so they were transferred to new Castle class locomotives.
This class of locos was widely used on the Cambrian lines. At the time this loco was saved for preservation the Bluebell was the only line where it could run, and it has been in Sussex ever since, apart from a few years spent at the Great Western Society, Didcot.
The engine was re-painted in BR black in April 2009, as seen in Derek Hayward’s photo on the right. It came out of service in early June 2011 with a number of boiler and mechanical faults.
In February 2024 it moved on a 2-year loan, for display in the new Museum at the Vale of Rheidol Railway in Aberystwyth.
