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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 two constituent railways of the SECR had both relied on 0-4-4T locomotives for London suburban, and semi-fast train services. The South Eastern Railway (SER) Q class was introduced in 1881, and the London Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) R class in 1891. Of these, the R was the most successful design, and was continued in production (in the form of the LCDR R1 class) by Harry Wainwright after the amalgamation of the railways in 1899. However, as traffic continued to increase there was a need for a new powerful 0-4-4T design to take over from the SER Q class. Wainwright therefore based his new design on the R1 class. [1]
The first seven locomotives were built by Ashford Works in November and December 1904. The design was soon found to be successful so that sixty-four were built at Ashford between 1904 and 1909. Following Wainwright's retirement Richard Maunsell discovered that sixty-six had been ordered and their components built, but had not been erected earlier. Therefore a further two were erected in 1915. [2]
The H class boiler design was found to be so successful that it was later used as a standard replacement boiler on the SECR R1 class, LCDR B1 class, LCDR B2 class, LCDR R class, SER O1 class, SECR Q1 class, and SER R1 class. [2] All 66 locomotives were equipped with vacuum brakes as used on the former SER, but thirteen also had Westinghouse air brakes and were used on the former LCDR lines. [3]
The majority of the class replaced Q class locomotives on the London suburban services of the SER and remained on these duties until after they entered Southern Railway stock in 1923. They began to be displaced by the electrification of these lines in 1925/6, when they began to be used on stopping trains further afield in the Eastern Section of Southern Railway in Kent. After 1929, they also began to be used on the Central Section (the former lines of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway) in East Sussex), where they replaced withdrawn D3 class locomotives. Between 1941 and 1952, two (and later three) examples were loaned to the Western Section and worked from Nine Elms on local shunting and empty stock. During 1943 and 1944 three examples were also loaned to the London Midland and Scottish Railway at Forfar. [4]
Two members of the class were withdrawn during the Second World War, but the remaining 64 entered British Railways stock in 1948. Forty five of the survivors were equipped for push-pull train working between 1949 and 1960, and the class was increasingly used on motor-trains on rural branches. With the completion of the Kent electrification scheme between 1959 and 1962, most of the surviving members of the class were withdrawn, except for a few examples working the non-electrified lines between Tunbridge Wells and Three Bridges. [5]
| Year | Quantity in service at start of year | Quantity withdrawn | Locomotive numbers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | 66 | 2 | 1264, 1312 | |
| 1945–50 | 64 | 0 | – | |
| 1951 | 64 | 5 | 31016, 31182, 31532/41/46 | |
| 1952–53 | 59 | 0 | – | |
| 1954 | 59 | 1 | 31311 | |
| 1955 | 58 | 4 | 31158, 31309/20, 31531 | |
| 1956 | 54 | 0 | – | |
| 1957 | 54 | 2 | 31274, 31321 | |
| 1958 | 52 | 1 | 31184 | |
| 1959 | 51 | 11 | 31164, 31259/69/79/95, 31327/29, 31503/23/48/54 | |
| 1960 | 40 | 7 | 31239/65–66, 31310/19, 31520/40 | |
| 1961 | 33 | 18 | 31161–62/77/93, 31261/76, 31306–07/22/26/28, 31500/12/17/19/50/52–53 | |
| 1962 | 15 | 8 | 31278, 31305/08/24, 31521/30/33/42 | |
| 1963 | 7 | 4 | 31005, 31522/43–44 | |
| 1964 | 3 | 3 | 31263, 31518/51 | 31263 preserved |
The final member of the class, SECR No. 263 (SR 1263, BR 31263), was withdrawn from Three Bridges on 4 January 1964. It remained in store at the locomotive depot until the following November, when it was purchased by the H-Class Trust and moved to Robertsbridge. Later it was preserved at the South Eastern Steam Centre at Ashford, but in 1975 the Trustees decided that the locomotive would have more scope for running if based on the Bluebell Railway in Sussex. In 2008 ownership was transferred to the Bluebell Railway Trust, which funded an overhaul that started in March 2009. [8] It returned to service on 28 July 2012.
Hornby announced in 2016 that they would be releasing a model of the H class in 3 liveries. The model was released in 2017. [9] [10]
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 SR Class W were 3-cylinder 2-6-4T tank engines designed in 1929 by Richard Maunsell for use on the Southern Railway. They were introduced in 1932 and constructed at Eastleigh and Ashford. The class was intended for short distance, inter-company/regional freight traffic transfer in London, and were standardised with parts from the N, N1, U and U1 classes.
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.
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.
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 B1 class was a class of 4-4-0 steam tender locomotive for express passenger service on the South Eastern and Chatham Railway. These engines were originally designed by James Stirling for the South Eastern Railway (SER) in 1898 and designated B class. The SER was merged into the SECR in 1899 and, between 1910 and 1927 the B class engines were rebuilt with new boilers by Harry Wainwright to become B1 class.
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 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
The LCDR R class was a class of 0-4-4T locomotives on the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR). No. 207 is notable as being the last former LCDR locomotive to be withdrawn from service. The whole class was fitted with condensing apparatus for working on the Widened Lines.
The SER R class was a class of 0-6-0T locomotives on the South Eastern Railway.
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.
SECR R class may refer to:
The SECR J class was a class of 0-6-4T steam tank locomotive built for heavy freight service on the South Eastern and Chatham Railway, by Harry Wainwright.
The SECR Q1 class was a class of 0-4-4T steam locomotives of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway. The class was rebuilt from older Stirling Q class locomotives by Harry Wainwright between 1903 and 1917 by fitting the boiler that had been designed for the H class 0-4-4T in 1902–03.
The SER Q class was a class of 0-4-4T steam locomotives of the South Eastern Railway. The class was designed by James Stirling and introduced in 1881.
The SER A class was a class of 4-4-0 locomotives on the South Eastern Railway.
