The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LTSR) 79 Class is a class of 4-4-2T suburban tank engines. They were designed by Thomas Whitelegg, as a development of the earlier 37 Class. They could reach a top speed of 65 mph (105 km/h).[1]

LT&SR 79 class
Preserved LTSR 4-4-2T No. 80 Thundersley
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerThomas Whitelegg
Builder
Serial number
  • RS 3366–3369,
  • NW 1448–1452
Build date1909–1930
Total produced39
Specifications
Configuration:
 • Whyte4-4-2T
 • UIC2′B1 t
Gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Leading dia.3 ft 6 in (1.067 m)
Driver dia.6 ft 6 in (1.981 m)
Trailing dia.3 ft 6 in (1.067 m)
Wheelbase30 ft 9+12 in (9.39 m)
Length39 ft 0 in (11.89 m)
Loco weight71.50 long tons (72.65 t)
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity2.75 long tons (2.79 t)
Water cap.1,800 imp gal (8,200 L; 2,200 US gal)
Boiler pressure170 psi (1.17 MPa)
CylindersTwo, outside
Cylinder size19 in × 26 in (483 mm × 660 mm)
Valve gearStephenson
Performance figures
Tractive effort17,390 lbf (77.4 kN)
Career
Operators
Power classMR/LMS/BR: 3P
Number in class1 January 1923: 4
1 January 1948: 39
LocaleLondon Midland Region
Withdrawn1951–1960
DispositionOne preserved, remainder scrapped

The four locomotives ordered by the LTSR were numbered 79–82 and were named after places in Essex, near the LTSR route. After absorption by the Midland Railway in 1912, they were renumbered 2176–2179 and their names were removed. The Midland gave them the power classification 3P, and later continued construction; an order for 10 locomotives was delivered in 1923, just after grouping.

List of LTSR locomotives

edit
LTSR
No.
LTSR Name Builder Built MR
No.
LMS 1923
No.
LMS 1930
No.
BR
No.
Withdrawn
79 Rippleside RS 3366 1909 2176 2176 2147 41965 1951
80 Thundersley RS 3367 1909 2177 2177 2148 41966 1956
81 Aveley RS 3368 1909 2178 2178 2149 41967 1952
82 Crowstone RS 3369 1909 2179 2179 2150 41968 1951

Additional orders

edit

In addition to those constructed by the LTSR and MR, 35 were delivered to the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) – ten in 1923, five in 1925, ten in 1927, and a final 10 in 1930. The ten delivered in 1923 were to an outstanding order placed by the MR, the remainder were ordered by the LMS.[2] The five delivered in 1925 were built by Nasmyth, Wilson and Company, with the other thirty built by the LMS's Derby Works. In 1947 the LMS assigned them the numbers 1928–1975, to clear their previous numbers for new LMS Fairburn 2-6-4T locomotives, but none of these was applied before nationalisation in 1948, leaving British Railways to apply the numbers 41928–41975.

LMS Lot No. Built Builder LMS No. BR No. Withdrawn
Lot 5 1923 Derby Works 2110–2119 41928–41937 1951–1959
Lot 24 1925 NW 1448–1452 2120–2124 41938–41342 1952–1959
Lot 48 1927 Derby Works 2125–2134 41943–41952 1956–1960
Lot 70 1930 Derby Works 2151–2160 41969–41978 1955–1959

They were later displaced from the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway and found work on ex-Midland lines in the East Midlands.

Preservation

edit

One, 80 Thundersley has been preserved and is on static display at the Bressingham Steam Museum in Norfolk.

References

edit
  1. ^ Train: The Definitive Visual History. DK Publishing. 2014. p. 97. ISBN 978-1465436580. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  2. ^ Cook, A.F. (1990). Greenwood, William (ed.). LMS Locomotive Design and Construction. Lincoln: RCTS. pp. 58–61, 63, 67. ISBN 0-901115-71-1.