SR N15 class 777 Sir Lamiel

Last updated

SR 777 Sir Lamiel
Restored locomotive Sir Lamiel 2011-07-20.jpg
777 Sir Lamiel near Redmire, 30 July 2011
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Designer Robert Urie / Richard Maunsell
Builder North British Locomotive Company
Serial number23223
Build dateJune 1925
Specifications
Configuration:
   Whyte 4-6-0
   UIC 2′C h2
Gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Leading dia. 3 feet 1 inch (0.940 m)
Driver dia.6 feet 7 inches (2.007 m)
Length66 feet 5+34 inches (20.263 m)
Loco weight80 long tons 19 cwt (181,300 lb or 82.2 t)
Fuel typeCoal
Boiler pressure200 psi (1.38 MPa)
Cylinders Two, outside
Cylinder size 20+12 in × 28 in (520 mm × 710 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effort 25,320  lbf (112.63  kN)
Career
Operators
Class
  • LSWR: N15
  • SR / BR: N15 King Arthur
Power class
  • LSWR / SR: A
  • BR: 5P
Locale Southern Region
WithdrawnOctober 1961
Current owner National Collection
DispositionUnder overhaul

Southern Railway 777 Sir Lamiel is an N15 "King Arthur" class 4-6-0 steam locomotive built for the Southern Railway by the North British Locomotive Company in June 1925, and withdrawn from service in October 1961. The locomotive is named after a fictional minor Knight of the Round Table named Sir Lamiel of Cardiff. Lamiel is mentioned in Book XIX of Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur , where it is said he was "a great lover". [1] [2] [3] No. 30453 King Arthur was first selected for preservation, but the lack of a Drummond water cart tender led to it being scrapped, and No. 30777 Sir Lamiel was selected for preservation instead. [4] [5]

Sir Lamiel is preserved as part of the National Collection, [6] under the care of the 5305 Locomotive Association, and has been based at the Great Central Railway in Loughborough since 1996. [7] [8]

Until 2017, the locomotive ran regular passenger services on the preserved section of the Great Central Railway, where it is based. It appeared in the ITV crime drama series Agatha Christie's Poirot (as a Great Western Railway engine) in two episodes of the third series: "The Plymouth Express" and "The Double Clue", both broadcast in 1991. It featured in the 1995 BBC Television play Cruel Train , an adaptation of Émile Zola 's novel La Bête Humaine which tells the tale of a murderous engine driver. [9]

Following repair work at Tyseley and Loughborough, Sir Lamiel emerged in October 2012 in Southern Railway malachite green livery as 777 for the first time (having previously carried Southern Railway olive green as 777 and British Railways Brunswick green as 30777 in preservation) and at the 2012 GCR Autumn Steam Gala, it ran and at some stages double headed with fellow Maunsell and malachite engine SR V Schools class 925 Cheltenham. [10] The locomotive continued to operate until 2017 when it was withdrawn from service, requiring another ten-yearly overhaul. Following several years of storage at Loughborough, plans to return the locomotive to service were announced in July 2020 with it scheduled to return to service in 2023. [8] [11] [12] In February 2022, a delayed return to service was announced with the new target of 2025. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Railway Museum</span> Railway museum in York, England

The National Railway Museum (NRM) is a museum in York, England, forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant railway vehicles such as Mallard, Stirling Single, Duchess of Hamilton and a Japanese bullet train. In addition, the National Railway Museum holds a diverse collection of other objects, from a household recipe book used in George Stephenson's house to film showing a "never-stop railway" developed for the British Empire Exhibition. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Central Railway (heritage railway)</span> Heritage railway based in Loughborough, England

The Great Central Railway (GCR) is a heritage railway in Leicestershire, England, named after the company that originally built this stretch of railway. It runs for 8.25 miles (13.28 km) between the town of Loughborough and a new terminus in the north of Leicester. It has period signalling, locomotives and rolling stock.

<i>Le Morte dArthur</i> 1485 reworking of existing tales about King Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory

Le Morte d'Arthur is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the Round Table, along with their respective folklore. In order to tell a "complete" story of Arthur from his conception to his death, Malory compiled, rearranged, interpreted and modified material from various French and English sources. Today, this is one of the best-known works of Arthurian literature. Many authors since the 19th-century revival of the legend have used Malory as their principal source.

The SR N15X class or Remembrance class were a design of British 4-6-0 steam locomotives converted in 1934 by Richard Maunsell of the Southern Railway from the large LB&SCR L class 4-6-4 tank locomotives that had become redundant on the London–Brighton line following electrification. It was hoped that further service could be obtained from these locomotives on the Southern's Western Section, sharing the duties of the N15 class locomotives. The locomotives were named after famous Victorian engineers except for Remembrance, which was the LBSCR's memorial locomotive for staff members who died in the First World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LSWR N15 class</span> Class of 74 two-cylinder 4-6-0 locomotives

The LSWR N15 class was a British 2–cylinder 4-6-0 express passenger steam locomotive designed by Robert Urie. The class has a complex build history spanning three sub-classes and ten years of construction from 1918 to 1927. The first batch of the class was constructed for the London and South Western Railway (LSWR), where they hauled heavy express passenger trains to the south coast ports and further west to Exeter. After the Lord Nelsons, they were the second biggest 4-6-0 passenger locomotives on the Southern Railway. They could reach speeds of up to 90 mph (145 km/h).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T</span>

The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T is a class of light 'mixed-traffic' steam locomotive introduced in 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SR V class</span> Class of 40 three-cylinder 4-4-0 locomotives

The SR V class, more commonly known as the Schools class, is a class of steam locomotive designed by Richard Maunsell for the Southern Railway. The class was a cut down version of his Lord Nelson class but also incorporated components from Urie and Maunsell's LSWR/SR King Arthur class. It was the last locomotive in Britain to be designed with a 4-4-0 wheel arrangement, and was the most powerful class of 4-4-0 ever produced in Europe. All 40 of the class were named after English public schools, and were designed to provide a powerful class of intermediate express passenger locomotive on semi-fast services for lines which could cope with high axle loads but some of which had short turntables.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LB&SCR A1 class</span> Class of British 0-6-0T steam locomotives

The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) A1 class is a class of British 0-6-0T steam locomotive. Designed by William Stroudley, 50 members of the class were built in 1872 and between 1874 and 1880, all at Brighton railway works. The class has received several nicknames, initially being known as "Rooters" by their south London crews. However, the engines were more famously known as "Terriers" on account of the distinctive 'bark' of the exhaust beat. Later in their careers, some engines were known as "Hayling Billy" on account of their work on the Hayling Island branch line. A pub of this name on the island was briefly home to the engine which is now No. W8 Freshwater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SR Lord Nelson class</span> Class of 16 four-cylinder 4-6-0 locomotives

The SR class LN or Lord Nelson class is a type of 4-cylinder 4-6-0 steam locomotive designed for the Southern Railway by Richard Maunsell in 1926. They were intended for Continental boat trains between London (Victoria) and Dover harbour, but were also later used for express passenger work to the South-West of England. Sixteen of them were constructed, representing the most powerful Southern 4-6-0 design. They were all named after famous admirals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SECR P class</span>

The South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR) P class is a class of 0-6-0T steam locomotive designed by Harry Wainwright.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LSWR S15 class</span> British 2-cylinder 4-6-0 steam locomotive

The LSWR S15 class is a British 2-cylinder 4-6-0 freight steam locomotive designed by Robert W. Urie, based on his H15 class and N15 class locomotives. The class had a complex build history, spanning several years of construction from 1920 to 1936. The first examples were constructed for the London and South Western Railway (LSWR), where they hauled freight trains to the south coast ports and further west to Exeter, as well as occasional passenger work in conjunction with their larger-wheeled N15 class counterparts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 5305</span>

London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 No. 5305 is a preserved British steam locomotive. In preservation, it has carried the name Alderman A.E. Draper, though it never carried this in service. It was named after Albert Draper, the man who rescued the locomotive in his own scrapyard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SR USA class</span>

The SR USA class are some ex-United States Army Transportation Corps S100 Class steam locomotives purchased and adapted by the Southern Railway (SR) after the end of the Second World War to replace the LSWR B4 class then working in Southampton Docks. SR staff nicknamed them "Yank Tanks".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SER O class</span>

The South Eastern Railway (SER) O Class was a class of 0-6-0 steam locomotive designed for goods work, and were the main goods 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 goods 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.

King Arthur is a legendary king of the Britons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LSWR T9 class</span>

The London and South Western Railway T9 class is a class of 66 4-4-0 steam locomotive designed for express passenger work by Dugald Drummond and introduced to services on the LSWR in 1899. One example has been preserved after British Railways ownership. They were given the nickname of "Greyhounds" due to their speed, up to 85 miles per hour (137 km/h), and reliability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fifteen Guinea Special</span>

The Fifteen Guinea Special was the last main-line passenger train to be hauled by steam locomotive power on British Rail on 11 August 1968 before the introduction of a steam ban that started the following day, the extra day added to allow for the movement of locomotive BR Standard Class 7 70013 Oliver Cromwell to Bressingham Steam Museum. It was a special rail tour excursion train organised for the occasion from Liverpool Lime Street via Manchester Victoria to Carlisle and back, and was pulled in turn by four steam locomotives during the four legs of the journey. The last scheduled standard gauge steam-hauled passenger services had run on 3 August 1968 from Preston. Steam continued to be used on the narrow gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway under British Rail, which was subsequently privatised in 1989.

The Bluebell Railway is a heritage line West Sussex and East Sussex in England.

LSWR O2 Class W24 <i>Calbourne</i>

W24 Calbourne is an example of the Adams LSWR O2 class 0-4-4T, which is based at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. It is the sole survivor of its class.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Locomotive Services Limited</span> Train operating company in Great Britain

Locomotive Services Limited is a train operating company in Great Britain. The company operates rail tours using heritage steam, diesel and electric locomotives with support from associated companies and trusts.

References

  1. Malory, Sir Thomas Le Morte d'Arthur, Book XIX: Chapter XI.
  2. "Steam locomotive, named Sir Lamiel". Science Museum Group. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  3. Hewitt, Sam (23 July 2020). "National collection locomotive No. 777 Sir Lamiel to undergo overhaul". The Railway Hub. Mortons Media Group Ltd. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  4. Bradley, D.L. (1987). LSWR Locomotives: The Urie Classes. Bath: Wild Swan Publications Ltd. ISBN   090686755X.
  5. "Southern Railway Class N15 King Arthur 4-6-0s". glostransporthistory.visit-gloucestershire.co.uk. Gloucester Transport Site. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  6. "30777 Sir Lamiel (SR E777, SR 777 & BR 30777)". Preserved British Steam Locomotives. Word Press. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  7. "30777 Sir Lamiel". 5305 Locomotive Association. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  8. 1 2 Holden, Michael (21 July 2020). "Steam locomotive 777 Sir Lamiel set for 5305 Locomotive Association mainline overhaul". RailAdvent.co.uk.
  9. "30777 "Sir Lamiel"". Locomotives of the Great Central Railway. Great Central Railway . Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  10. "Autumn Steam Gala 2012 press release" (PDF). gcrailway.co.uk. 29 August 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  11. Jones, Robin (August 2020). "Sir Lamiel 'back on the main line in 2023' after overhaul" . Heritage Railway . No. 270. p. 42 via Everand.com.
  12. "NRM agrees Sir Lamiel overhaul... with 2023 target". The Railway Magazine . No. 1433. August 2020. p. 8 via PressReader.com.
  13. Holden, Michael (10 February 2022). "2025 target set for steam locomotive 777 Sir Lamiel". RailAdvent.co.uk.