LB&SCR D1 class

LB&SCR D1 Class
D1 class, 230 Brookhouse, as built
Power type Steam
Designer William Stroudley
Builder Brighton works (90),
Neilson & Co. (35)
Build date 1873–1887
Total produced 125
Configuration 0-4-2T
UIC classification B1
Gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm)
Driver diameter 66 in (1.676 m)
Trailing wheel
diameter
54 in (1.372 m)
Locomotive weight 38.15 long tons (38.76 t)
Fuel type Coal
Boiler pressure 140 psi (0.97 MPa)
Cylinders Two, inside
Cylinder size 17 × 24 in (432 × 610 mm)
Tractive effort 15,200 lbf (68 kN)
Career LB&SCR,
Southern Railway
British Railways
Class LBSC: D1
Power class BR: 0P
First run 1873
Withdrawn 1903–50

The LB&SCR D1 class were powerful 0-4-2 suburban passenger tank locomotives, designed by William Stroudley of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway in 1873. They were originally known as "D-tanks" but later reclassified as class D1. Members of this very successful class survived in service until 1951.

Contents

Background

The D1 class were Stroudley's second tank engine class, intended for heavier tasks than could be undertaken by his A1 class "Terriers" which had been introduced in 1872. They had larger 5' 6" coupled wheels and a 140 psi (970 kPa) boiler pressure. Between November 1873 and March 1887, 125 locomotives of the class were built, 90 of which at Brighton railway works and the remainder by Neilson & Co.[1] After 1883, new locomotives were given boilers with 150 psi (1,000 kPa) pressure,[2] and in 1892 following Stroudley's death, the boiler pressure for replacement boilers was raised to 160 psi (1,100 kPa).[3]

Pre-grouping

For twenty years the class were the mainstay of the LB&SCR outer suburban services, until gradually replaced by R.J. Billinton's D3 class 0-4-4 tank engines in the mid 1890s. Thereafter they were used on a variety of secondary passenger, and occasionally freight services throughout the railway. The first locomotive was withdrawn in December 1903, but many of the locomotives were still in good condition and popular with the engine crews. Douglas Earle Marsh therefore sought to rebuild six examples in 1910 with a larger boiler and cylinders. These locomotives were known as D1X class, but although they were more powerful than the originals, they were found to be unsteady at speed and so no further rebuilds were authorised.

Post-grouping

There were 84 D1 and D1X locomotives surviving in December 1922 at the grouping of the railways of southern England to form the Southern Railway. The class continued to find useful work on secondary services throughout the new railway, often in preference to far newer locomotives. During the Second World War six surviving examples were loaned to the London Midland and Scottish Railway and served in the north of Scotland. Nine examples were fitted with water pumps and firefighting equipment and were stationed at the major motive power depots in London to deal with incendiary bomb attacks.

British Railways

Seventeen members of the class survived the nationalisation of the Southern Railway to form British Railways in January 1948 but many of these had been in storage for several years. The last surviving example in B.R. service was withdrawn from Nine Elms in December 1951 and no examples have been preserved.

Private ownership

In 1947 the Whittingham Hospital Railway in Lancashire acquired number 2357 from the Southern Railway at a cost of £750. It was renamed James Fryers in honour of the Chairman of the Hospital Management Committee. Serious boiler defects in 1956 curtailed its working career and the engine was scrapped that year when it proved beyond economic repair. At that time, it was the sole surviving member of its class.[4]

Locomotive summary

Descendants

The D1 class had a lasting influence on a number of locomotive classes designed by Stroudley himself, and his two assistants Robert Billinton and Dugald Drummond.

Stroudley produced a tender locomotive version of the design for secondary passenger duties which was later classified D2, and then went on to build express passenger versions of the 'Richmond' and B1 classes. Likewise, Billinton extended the design to create his D3 passenger tanks.

During the 1870s Drummond built six 0-4-2 tank locomotives that were almost identical for the North British Railway after 1875. He too extended the design to produce the first of his several successful 0-4-4T designs for the North British and Caledonian Railway. Durmmond's successful LSWR M7 class is also a direct descendant of the D1 class.[5]

References

  1. ^ Ellis, (1949) p.85
  2. ^ Bradley 1972, p. 8
  3. ^ Bradley 1972, pp. 11,14
  4. ^ Casserley, 1957: p. 313
  5. ^ Ellis, (1949) pp.90-4.

Sources

External links