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Text hereThe Second World War saw a vast increase in goods
traffic traversing the rails in the south of England and the Southern Railway
found itself short of suitable motive power to haul it. In peacetime the
railway was primarily a passenger hauler and as such had a fleet consisting
mostly of passenger and mixed traffic rated locomotives with a comparatively
small number of specialised goods engines. The most obvious option would have
been to produce a further batch of Q class goods 0-6-0s, a type which had
been commissioned by Richard Maunsell before his retirement but only introduced
after Oliver Bulleid had taken over. Bulleid disliked the Q class, regarding it
to be dated for the time (indeed it was because essentially it had its origins
in Victorian loco design) and of disappointing performance, and he regretted
his arrival had been too late to prevent construction of the class. So the
decision was taken to build a new design - his second for the Southern
Railway.
Bulleid never needed an excuse to be innovative in locomotive design and construction methods but the requirement for a rugged, lightweight goods locomotive with wide route availability at a time of scarce raw materials and labour provided a suitable challenge for his talents. What resulted was a powerful (30,000 lb at 85% boiler pressure) acceptably reliable loco with the largest fire grate area of any British 0-6-0 (27 sq. ft) weighing some 14 tons lighter than a comparable engine which could operate over 93% of the Southern system. However the need to keep the weight down and make efficient use of materials resulted in a controversial design - most notably a very boxy appearance, a lack of a running plate and splashers - which appalled students of British locomotive design, locomen and railway enthusiasts alike. The Q1 class attracted more nicknames, mostly uncomplimentary, than any other SR loco class (see our Steam Locomotive Directory for further details). The class of 40 locos was built at both Brighton and Ashford Works during 1942. The Q1's greatest weakness was its restricted braking power on unfitted goods trains and it is this that prevented further batches being built after the war. It was built as an "Austerity" design to serve during the war but such was its success that it lasted well towards the end of steam operations on British Railways, mostly hauling heavy goods trains over short distances. Throughout its service life the class did also get used on occasions on passenger services and proved quite capable of delivering a respectable turn of speed - so much so that some think the railway would have been better served building fewer light Pacifics and more Q1s. However the lack of running plate and splashers proved a liability at speed in rain with loco crew only leaning out of their cab windows when absolutely necessary! Only one Q1 is preserved and forms part of the National Railway Museum's working collection. Having been on long term loan to the Bluebell Railway it returned to the NRM in 2004, a couple of years after its boiler certificate expired. |
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Introduced: Driving Wheel: Length: Total Weight: Water Capacity: Cylinders (2): Boiler Pressure: Tractive Effort: Coal Capacity: Power Classification: |
1942 5 ft 1 ins 54 ft 10½ ins 89 tons 5 cwt 3,700 gals 19 in x 26 in 230 lb sq in 30,080 lb 5 ton 0 cwt 5-F |
SR N° | BR N° | Builder | Built | Withdrawn | |
C1 | 33001 | Brighton | Mar 1942 | May 1964 * | |
C2 | 33002 | Brighton | May 1942 | Jul 1963 | |
C3 | 33003 | Brighton | May 1942 | Jun 1964 | |
C4 | 33004 | Brighton | Jun 1942 | Jan 1965 | |
C5 | 33005 | Brighton | Jun 1942 | Jun 1963 | |
C6 | 33006 | Brighton | Jun 1942 | Jan 1966 | |
C7 | 33007 | Brighton | Jul 1942 | Jan 1964 | |
C8 | 33008 | Brighton | Jul 1942 | Aug 1963 | |
C9 | 33009 | Brighton | Jul 1942 | Sep 1965 | |
C10 | 33010 | Brighton | Sep 1942 | Jan 1964 | |
C11 | 33011 | Brighton | Sep 1942 | Aug 1963 | |
C12 | 33012 | Brighton | Sep 1942 | Nov 1964 | |
C13 | 33013 | Brighton | Oct 1942 | Jul 1963 | |
C14 | 33014 | Brighton | Oct 1942 | Jan 1964 | |
C15 | 33015 | Brighton | Nov 1942 | Nov 1964 | |
C16 | 33016 | Brighton | Nov 1942 | Aug 1963 | |
C17 | 33017 | Ashford | May 1942 | Jan 1964 | |
C18 | 33018 | Ashford | Apr 1942 | Jul 1965 | |
C19 | 33019 | Ashford | May 1942 | Dec 1963 | |
C20 | 33020 | Ashford | May 1942 | Jan 1966 | |
C21 | 33021 | Ashford | Jun 1942 | Aug 1963 | |
C22 | 33022 | Ashford | Jun 1942 | Jan 1964 | |
C23 | 33023 | Ashford | Jun 1942 | Jun 1964 | |
C24 | 33024 | Ashford | Jun 1942 | Aug 1963 | |
C25 | 33025 | Ashford | Jul 1942 | Jul 1963 | |
C26 | 33026 | Ashford | Jul 1942 | Sep 1965 | |
C27 | 33027 | Ashford | Jul 1942 | Jan 1966 | |
C28 | 33028 | Ashford | Aug 1942 | Feb 1963 | |
C29 | 33029 | Ashford | Aug 1942 | Jan 1964 | |
C30 | 33030 | Ashford | Sep 1942 | Jun 1964 | |
C31 | 33031 | Ashford | Oct 1942 | Sep 1963 | |
C32 | 33032 | Ashford | Nov 1942 | Jan 1964 | |
C33 | 33033 | Ashford | Nov 1942 | Jun 1964 | |
C34 | 33034 | Ashford | Nov 1942 | Jan 1964 | |
C35 | 33035 | Ashford | Dec 1942 | Jun 1964 | |
C36 | 33036 | Ashford | Dec 1942 | Jun 1964 | |
C37 | 33037 | Brighton | Dec 1942 | Oct 1963 | |
C38 | 33038 | Brighton | Dec 1942 | Jan 1964 | |
C39 | 33039 | Brighton | Dec 1942 | Jan 1964 | |
C40 | 33040 | Brighton | Dec 1942 | Jan 1964 | |
* | Preserved by NRM, formerly at the Bluebell Railway, now at York |
This page was last updated 7 July 2011