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 SECR E class 273 at Cannon Street | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The SECR E class was a class of 4-4-0 tender locomotives designed by Harry Wainwright for express passenger trains on the South Eastern and Chatham Railway. It was a larger version of the D class incorporating a Belpaire firebox
Following the success of his D class 4-4-0 design, Wainwright obtained authority to build a further five similar locomotives incorporating a Belpaire firebox to provide additional power. These were built at Ashford railway works during the last few months of 1905 and entered traffic early in 1906. [1] Once the design had proved to be successful, further orders were placed until 26 had been constructed at Ashford by April 1909. In 1911 and 1912 two examples of the class received boilers with superheaters, which significantly improved their fuel efficiency, but unfortunately the additional weight prevented them from working over the lines of the former London Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) and so no further examples were so treated. [2]
In 1917 the SECR Board decided that when the London to Dover and Folkestone boat trains were reinstated after the war, they would be centred on London Victoria railway station, using the LCDR lines. This created a serious problem of producing a locomotive with sufficient power but with an acceptable axle load. Richard Maunsell therefore ordered the rebuilding of one example with larger cylinders, boiler and firebox, while at the same time reducing unnecessary weight elsewhere in the locomotive. This work was largely undertaken by his Chief Locomotive Draughtsman James Clayton. The experimental rebuilding was implemented following the Armistice in November 1918 and proved to be successful. A further ten examples were rebuilt by Beyer, Peacock and Company during 1919 and 1920, [3] and ten more were supposed to follow in 1921, although at the last minute ten D class locomotives were rebuilt instead following the same principles. [4]
The class was used on the London to Dover and Folkestone boat trains and other Kent coast expresses on the South Eastern Main Line. Locomotive No 506 was used to haul the train containing the Cavell Van ( No 132) bringing back the remains of the Unknown Warrior from Dover to London on 10 November 1920. After 1914 they were replaced on the heaviest express trains by the L class 4-4-0 on the lines of the former South Eastern Railway but they remained the heaviest locomotives allowed on the LCDR lines until the rebuilt locomotives took over. Thereafter the remaining members of the class were employed on the secondary express trains on these lines.[ citation needed ]
In the years immediately following the grouping of the SECR with other railways to form the Southern Railway (UK) in 1923 the E class locomotives continued with their existing duties, but in 1931 three examples were transferred to the Central Section to assist with expresses on the Brighton Main Line, followed by further examples. During the Second World War they were also regularly employed on the line between Redhill and Reading.[ citation needed ]
The E1 class was replaced on the heaviest boat trains in the mid-1920s by the LSWR N15 class 4-6-0 locomotives. For a while they were used on expresses to Ramsgate but in the 1930s several of the class were transferred to the former London Brighton and South Coast Railway main lines in Sussex.[ citation needed ]
The majority of the remaining E class locomotives were withdrawn during 1951 but one lasted until May 1955. The E1 rebuilds were withdrawn over a far longer period between May 1949 and November 1961, with three examples lasting until the 1960s. No examples have been preserved.[ citation needed ]
The Brighton Atlantic Group at the Bluebell Railway has announced that, following the completion of new Brighton H2 class No. 32424 Beachy Head, it would begin construction on a new E class locomotive to take the number 516. [5] [6] [7]
| Year | Quantity in service at start of year | Quantity withdrawn | Locomotive numbers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | 26 | 1 | 31163 | E1 class |
| 1950 | 25 | 2 | 31179, 31511 | E1 class |
| 1951 | 23 | 13 | 31036, 31157/59–60/75–76, 31273/75, 31514–16/47/87 | 31160 E1 class, remainder E class |
| 1952 | 10 | 0 | – | |
| 1953 | 10 | 1 | 31491 | E class |
| 1954 | 9 | 1 | 31315 | E class |
| 1955 | 8 | 1 | 31166 | E class (last one) |
| 1956–57 | 7 | 0 | – | |
| 1958 | 7 | 2 | 31504/06 | E1 class |
| 1959 | 5 | 1 | 31165 | E1 class |
| 1960 | 4 | 1 | 31497 | E1 class |
| 1961 | 3 | 3 | 31019/67, 31507 | E1 class |
The Southern Railway took a key role in expanding the 660 V DC third rail electrified network begun by the London & South Western Railway. As a result of this, and its smaller operating area, its steam locomotive stock was the smallest of the 'Big Four' companies.
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.
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR) P class is a class of 0-6-0T steam locomotive designed by Harry Wainwright.
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR) H Class is a class of 0-4-4T steam locomotive originally designed for suburban passenger work, designed by Harry Wainwright in 1904. Most of the sixty-six members of the class were later equipped for push-pull working for use on rural branch lines.
The B4 class were 4-4-0 steam locomotives for express passenger work on the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. They were designed by R. J. Billinton and were either built at Brighton works 1899–1902 or else by Messrs Sharp, Stewart and Company in 1901. Twelve members of the class were rebuilt from 1922 to 1924 by L. B. Billinton with a larger boiler, cylinders and a superheater. The rebuilt locomotives were classified B4X.
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.
The South Eastern Railway (SER) O Class was a class of 0-6-0 steam locomotive designed for freight work, and were the main freight engines of the SER, and later the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR) for a number of years. However, they were displaced by the more powerful C class locomotives following the amalgamation of the South Eastern Railway and London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) in 1899. This relegated the class to working on the numerous branch lines in Kent, on both passenger and freight work. They worked most notably on the Kent & East Sussex Railway and East Kent Railway, operating coal trains from the Kent coal fields to London, as well as shunting work at such locations as Shepherds Well, Hoo Junction and Ashford. The majority were withdrawn before the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, and those that remained were slowly withdrawn from nationalisation onwards.
The SECR N class was a type of 2-6-0 ("mogul") steam locomotive designed in 1914 by Richard Maunsell for mixed-traffic duties on the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR). Built between 1917 and 1934, it was the first non-Great Western Railway (GWR) type to use and improve upon the basic design principles established by GWR Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) George Jackson Churchward. The N class was based on the GWR 4300 Class design, improved with Midland Railway concepts.
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The SECR D class is a class of 4-4-0 tender locomotives designed by Harry Wainwright for the South Eastern and Chatham Railway.
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.
The SECR K class was a type of 2-6-4 tank locomotive designed in 1914 by Richard Maunsell for express passenger duties on the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR), which operated between London and south-east England. The Southern Railway (SR) K1 class was a three-cylinder variant of the K class, designed in 1925 to suit a narrower loading gauge. They were among the first non-Great Western Railway (GWR) types to use and improve upon the basic design principles of power and standardisation established by GWR Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) George Jackson Churchward. The locomotives were based on the GWR 4300 class, improved by the Midland Railway's ideals of simplicity and ease of maintenance.
The Southern Railway L1 class was a class of 4-4-0 steam tender locomotives built for express passenger service on the South Eastern Main Line of the UK Southern Railway. They were designed by Richard Maunsell as a development of Harry Wainwright's L class.
The LCDR R1 class was a class of 0-4-4T locomotives on the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR), which were based on an existing London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) design.
The LCDR M3 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 1891.
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.
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 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.