at Paddington Station for the unveiling of the "new" class, the group were not impressed at Collett's joke. So, although the first batch of twenty were allocated Earl names, following the construction and naming of no. 3212 Earl of Eldon in May 1937, the nameplates were removed and the names given to nos. 5043–5062 of the express Castle class instead. Renumbering In the 1946 renumbering all the surviving locomotives in the 32xx series, both Dukes and Dukedogs, were renumbered in the 90xx series, retaining the same last two digits. This was to free the 32xx numbers for new 2251 Class engines. Operations Mainly allocated to the Cambrian main line, it remained one of the few classes of locomotive that British Rail inherited that were light enough to be permitted on the wooden Barmouth Bridge (others were the GWR 2251 Class and the LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0). As a result, they remained in regular use until the 1950s. Preservation: 9017 Earl of Berkeley One locomotive, 9017 Earl of Berkeley survives in preservation at the Bluebell Railway. The locomotive was built at Swindon Works in 1938, using frames from "Bulldog" No. 3425 (built 1906), and boiler and cab from "Duke" class No. 3282 (originally named "Chepstow Castle", built in 1895). Originally numbered 3217, it was renumbered post-WW2 as 9017. Mainly deployed on the Cambrian Line, the locomotive was withdrawn from service at Oswestry in October 1960. Preserved privately directly from British Railways, with the Bluebell Line as the then only preserved standard-gauge line in the whole of the UK, it arrived there 15 February 1962. From September 1963 it carried the name plates from GWR 4073 Class No. 5060. It carried its post-WW2 9017 plates until the BR withdrawal of GWR 0-6-0 No.3217, when it was reunited with its original number plates in early 1965. After a period out of traffic from December 1973, its overhaul began in 1980, returning to traffic in 1982. After its last overhaul completed in November 2003, its private owner donated it to the Bluebell Railway, on condition that it remained mainly in service on the line. After a series of boiler and mechanical failures in June 2011, it is currently awaiting overhaul and is in storage at Horsted Keynes Carriage and Wagon Workshop. Numbering NB: In the table below, names in parentheses were allocated but never actually carried in GWR/BR service. References Bibliography External links