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LSWR Adams X2/T6 Class 4-4-0

photograph: Mike Morant collection.

X2 class N°E578 piloting T3 class N°E560 on a double-headed train at Basingstoke in early Southern Railway days.

Although with two designations, X2 and T6, and some differencies these two classes were considered to be one class with driving of 7ft 1ins. The first X2 left Nine Elms in June 1890, to be followed by nineteen more by May 1892. Then in the September 1895 the first of the T6 engines left the works to be followed by another nine by May 1896, making an overall total of thirty engines. These engines, together with the T3 class and X6 class 4-4-0s, were very successful locomotives lasting well into Southern Railway days, with the final withdrawal not taking place until 1945. These four classes represented the pinnacle of Adam's career and were at least on a par with, and in many cases better than, contemporary locomotives of other lines. They had a suspension that minimised the tendency for outside cylinder locomotives to be unsteady which, together with their long wheelbase, did in fact lead to very smooth running. When the equalizing beams were removed later in their lives the running was considerably impaired.

The build of the first twenty locomotives did vary a bit with the second ten, numbers 587 to 596, built to order F3, though still designated as class X2. The only differences being the first five 'X2' engines had separate splasher casings whilst the remaining fifteen engines had small segmental covers enclosing the top centres of their coupling rods. Unlike previous Adams locomotives, these had their sandboxes beneath the footplate and a rather ornate rendering of the company's intertwined initials on the front splasher.

Technical Details

Introduced:
Driving Wheel:
Bogie Wheel:
Length:
Weight:
Water Capacity:
Cylinders (2):
Boiler Pressure:
Tractive Effort:
Coal Capacity:
Urie Power Classification:

X2

1890
7 ft 1ins
3 ft 7ins
53 ft 8 3/8 ins
81 tons 17½ cwt
3,300 gals
19 in x 26 in
175 lb sq in
22,150 lbs
5 tons
I

T6

1895
7 ft 1ins
3 ft 7ins
54 ft 5 5/8 ins
83 tons 6½ cwt
3,300 gals
19 in x 26 in
175 lb sq in
22,150 lbs
5 tons
I

Data

LSWR/SR N° #	Class	Built	Order N°	Withdrawn
577	X2	Jun 1890	X2-1	Feb 1933
578	X2	Dec 1890	X2-2	Feb 1933
579	X2	Dec 1890	X2-3	May 1932
580	X2	Dec 1890	X2-4	Feb 1933
581	X2	Dec 1890	X2-5	Jan 1932
582	X2	Mar 1891	X2-6	Mar 1931
583	X2	Apr 1891	X2-7	Jan 1931
584	X2	Apr 1891	X2-8	Sep 1933
585	X2	May 1891	X2-9	Sep 1931
586	X2	May 1891	X2-10	Nov 1942
587	X2	Oct 1891	F3-1	Aug 1937
588	X2	Nov 1891	F3-2	Mar 1932
589	X2	Nov 1891	F3-3	May 1931
590	X2	Dec 1891	F3-4	Apr 1937
591	X2	Dec 1891	F3-5	May 1931
592	X2	Mar 1892	F3-6	Dec 1936
593	X2	Mar 1892	F3-7	Jul 1931
594	X2	Mar 1892	F3-8	May 1931
595	X2	Apr 1892	F3-9	Dec 1930
596	X2	May 1892	F3-10	May 1931
677	T6	Sep 1895	T6-1	Feb 1933
678	T6	Oct 1895	T6-2	May 1936
679	T6	Nov 1895	T6-3	Apr 1937
680	T6	Dec 1895	T6-4	Jun 1937
681	T6	Dec 1895	T6-5	Jun 1943
682	T6	Dec 1895	T6-6	Jun 1936
683	T6	Mar 1896	T6-7	Aug 1933
684	T6	Mar 1896	T6-8	May 1940
685	T6	May 1896	T6-9	Feb 1936
686	T6	May 1896	T6-10	May 1936
# Between 1923 and 1928 SR numbers were the L&SWR numbers with the added prefix 'E', although the prefix may not have been removed until some time later!

This page was last updated 21 December 2010