Longhedge Railway Works was a locomotive and carriage works built by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway in the borough of Battersea, South London to serve their new London terminus at Victoria. The facility existed between 1862 until the mid-1950s.
In 1860 the directors of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway decided to purchase 75 acres (30 ha) of land, formerly part of the Long Hedge farm in Battersea, to establish their new locomotive works and motive power depot. The site was on the south side of the London and South Western Railway main line at Stewarts Lane. By February 1862 an erecting shop for twelve locomotives, and a running shed for 26 locomotives had been completed, and by the end of the year a carriage works was also completed on the site. Further extensions were made in 1875/6 and 1880/1.
The new works was initially used by the locomotive superintendent William Martley for the repair and rebuilding of the existing locomotive stock, with new locomotives obtained from outside contractors. However, in 1869 he began the construction of three new Enigma class 2-4-0 locomotives there. However, it was not until the appointment of William Kirtley as locomotive superintendent in 1876 that the works were again used for new construction with further examples of Martley's Europa class 2-4-0 locomotives, Kirtley's own T class 0-6-0T and his M1, M2 and M3 class 4-4-0 express passenger locomotives. Following Kirtley's retirement in 1898 on the formation of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway, Ashford became the major locomotive works for the new company, but the new Locomotive, Carriage & Wagon Superintendent H. S. Wainwright used Longhedge works for the construction of some examples of his SECR C class 0-6-0 freight locomotives in 1902–04. Fifty locomotives were built at Longhedge between 1869 and 1904.
| Designer | Class | Type | Years | Quantity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martley | Enigma (L) | 2-4-0 | 1869–70 | 3 |
| Europa (C) | 2-4-0 | 1876 | 2 | |
| Kirtley | T | 0-6-0T | 1879–93 | 10 |
| M1 | 4-4-0 | 1880–81 | 4 | |
| M2 | 4-4-0 | 1885 | 2 | |
| M3 | 4-4-0 | 1892–1901 | 20 | |
| Wainwright | C | 0-6-0 | 1902–04 | 9 |
Thereafter the works was used for heavy repairs until 1911, when much of the equipment and machinery was transferred to Ashford, leaving only the capacity to undertake light repairs associated with the adjoining Stewarts Lane motive power depot.
After the creation of the Southern Railway in 1923, the nearby Battersea depot of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway was closed and Stewarts Lane grew to become the largest steam motive power depot of the system. Most of the buildings of Longhedge works were demolished in 1957 to make way for a new depot for servicing electric trains. The site is now occupied by the Stewarts Lane Traction Maintenance Depot.
The London, Chatham and Dover Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England. It was created on 1 August 1859, when the East Kent Railway was given parliamentary approval to change its name. Its lines ran through London, and northern and eastern Kent, to form a significant part of the Greater London commuter network. The company existed until 31 December 1922, when its assets were merged with those of other companies to form the Southern Railway as a result of the grouping determined by the Railways Act 1921.
Ashford railway works was a major locomotive and wagon construction and repair workshop in Ashford, Kent in England. Constructed by the South Eastern Railway in 1847, it became a major centre for railway works in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After years of decline, it closed in 1982.
Brighton railway works was one of the earliest railway-owned locomotive repair works, founded in 1840 by the London and Brighton Railway in Brighton, England, and thus pre-dating the more famous railway works at Crewe, Doncaster and Swindon. The works grew steadily between 1841 and 1900 but efficient operation was always hampered by the restricted site, and there were several plans to close it and move the facility elsewhere. Nevertheless, between 1852 and 1957 more than 1200 steam locomotives as well as prototype diesel electric and electric locomotives were constructed there, before the eventual closure of the facility in 1962.
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR) C Class is a class of 0-6-0 steam locomotive, designed by Harry Wainwright and built between 1900 and 1908. They were designed for freight duties, although occasionally used for passenger trains. They operated over the lines of the railway in London and south-east England until the early 1960s. One example was rebuilt as an S Class saddle tank.
Harry Smith Wainwright was an English railway engineer, and was the Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon Superintendent of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway from 1899 to 1913. He is best known for a series of simple but competent locomotives produced under his direction at the company's Ashford railway works in the early years of the twentieth century. Many of these survived in service until the end of steam traction in Britain in 1968, and are regarded as some of the most elegant designs of the period.
Nine Elms Locomotive Works were built in 1839 by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) adjoining their passenger terminus near the Vauxhall end of Nine Elms Lane, in the district of Nine Elms in the London Borough of Battersea. They were rebuilt in 1841 and remained the principal locomotive carriage and wagon workshops of the railway until closure in stages between 1891 and 1909. Thereafter a large steam motive power depot remained open on the site until 1967, serving Waterloo railway station.
The SECR L class was a class of 4-4-0 steam tender locomotive built for express passenger service on the South Eastern and Chatham Railway. Although designed by Harry Wainwright, they were built during the Maunsell era.
William Kirtley was an English railway engineer, and was the Locomotive Superintendent of the London Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) in England from 1874 until the merger to form the South Eastern and Chatham Railway at the end of 1898.
Stewarts Lane is a large railway-servicing facility in Battersea in London, England, founded by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) in 1862, to serve London Victoria railway station. It is sited in the midst of a maze of railway lines between 'Factory Junction' and 'Stewarts Lane Junction', adjacent to the site of the former Longhedge Railway Works and the Stewarts Lane Chord formerly used by Eurostar trains from the Kent freight lines to Waterloo International station. Prior to 1962 it was one of the largest motive power depots in the UK. Following the end of steam traction in the early 1960s it was converted into a traction maintenance depot which is currently operated by Govia Thameslink Railway.
The LCDR M class was a class of 4-4-0 steam locomotives of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway. The class was designed by William Kirtley and introduced in 1877, intended for the heaviest express services between London and Dover.
William Martley was the locomotive superintendent of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) in England from 1860 until his death.
The LCDR M1 class was a class of 4-4-0 steam locomotives of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR), very similar to the earlier M class but with steel frames, larger tenders and other detailed differences. The class was designed by William Kirtley and introduced in 1880.
The LCDR C class or Europa Class was a class of 2-4-0 steam locomotives of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR). The class was designed by William Martley and introduced in 1873, intended for the heaviest express services between London and Dover.
The LCDR L class or Enigma Class was a class of 2-4-0 steam locomotives of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR). The class was designed by William Martley and introduced in 1869, intended for services between London and Dover.
The LCDR Second Sondes class was a class of six 2-4-0T steam locomotives. They were designed by William Martley for the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR), and built at the LCDR's Longhedge works during 1865, using components from the Sondes class 4-4-0ST locomotives, including the boilers.
The LCDR Aeolus class was a class of four 4-4-0 steam locomotives. They were supplied to the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) by R. & W. Hawthorn & Co. acting as agents for Robert Stephenson & Co. which built the locomotives, but had subcontracted some components to Hawthorn. They were delivered to the LCDR between September 1860 and April 1861. They were all renewed by William Martley as 2-4-0T at the LCDR's Longhedge works in 1872–73, using components from the original locomotives, including the boilers.
The LCDR Brigand class was a pair of steam locomotives of the 0-4-2 wheel arrangement supplied to the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR). They were designed by Patrick Stirling for the Glasgow and South Western Railway (GSWR), which ordered twenty in 1860 from Sharp, Stewart & Co.. At this time, the LCDR needed more locomotives but had little money available, so their locomotive superintendent, William Martley, visited various manufacturers to find out what was available quickly and cheaply. He arranged for two of the locomotives ordered by the GSWR to be delivered instead to the LCDR – they arrived in August 1861, two more being ordered from Sharp, Stewart for the GSWR as replacements.
The LCDR Tiger class was a class of twenty-four steam 4-4-0 locomotives. They were designed by Thomas Russell Crampton for the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) as general purpose passenger locomotives.
The LCDR Echo class was a class of five steam locomotives, initially of the 4-2-0 wheel arrangement. They were designed by Thomas Russell Crampton for the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) as "1st class fast passenger" locomotives.
The LCDR Acis class was a class of fourteen 0-6-0 steam locomotives designed by William Martley for the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) to haul goods trains.