Wikipedia

SER Q class

Not to be confused with SR Q class.

The SER Q class was a class of 0-4-4T steam locomotives of the South Eastern Railway. The class was designed by James Stirling and introduced in 1881.[1]

SER Q class
South Eastern Railway Class Q, 312
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerJames Stirling
Build date1881–1897
Total produced118
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte0-4-4T
 • UICB2′ n2
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Driver dia.5 ft 6 in (1.676 m)
Trailing dia.3 ft 0 in (0.914 m)
Wheelbase22 ft (7 m)
Axle load16 long tons (16.3 t)
Loco weight48.65 long tons (49.4 t)
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity0.15 long tons (0.2 t)
Water cap.1,050 imp gal (4,800 L; 1,260 US gal)
Firebox:​
 • Grate area16 sq ft (1 m2)
Boiler pressure140 lbf/in2 (0.97 MPa)
Heating surface:​
 • Tubes and flues922.5 sq ft (85.70 m2)
CylindersTwo, inside
Cylinder size18 in × 26 in (457 mm × 660 mm)
Valve gearStephenson
Performance figures
Tractive effort15,189 lbf (67.56 kN)
Career
Operators
ClassQ
Number in class1 January 1923: 32
Withdrawn1907–1929
DispositionAll scrapped

Construction

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Prior to the appointment of James Stirling as Locomotive Superintendent of the South Eastern Railway (SER) in 1878, that railway possessed only a small number of tank locomotives suitable for the London suburban passenger services. There were twelve 0-4-2WT of the 205 class (later G class) dating from 1863–64; seven 0-4-4WT of the 235 class (later J class) dating from 1866; six 0-4-2WT of the 73 class (later H class) dating from 1867–69; and nine 0-4-4T of the 58 class (later M class) dating from 1877–78.[2]

The SER had opened a connection to the London, Chatham and Dover Railway in June 1878 giving access to Blackfriars station, the Widened Lines and thus the Great Northern Railway. Tender locomotives were not suitable for working this route, and nor were many of the existing tank engines which were not powerful enough. As a stop-gap pending the preparation of a new design, the SER purchased three newly-built Metropolitan Railway B Class 4-4-0T locomotives from that railway in April 1880, which were used on SER services from Woolwich Arsenal via Blackfriars and Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace. They were sold back to the Metropolitan Railway in November 1883.[3][4]

In his previous post with the Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR), Stirling had designed an 0-4-4T for suburban passenger services, the G&SWR 1 class. He kept copies of the drawings and used these as the basis for a new class for the SER, which became the SER Q class. One hundred and eighteen locomotives were built between 1881 and 1897, of which 60 were built by Neilson and Company; 48 by the SER at Ashford Works; and ten by Sharp, Stewart and Company.[5]

Table of orders and numbers
Years Builder Quantity SER Nos.
1881 Neilson 10 303–312
1881–82 Ashford 12 177, 178, 158, 161, 162, 164, 5, 181, 27, 182, 180, 184
1882–83 Neilson 10 319–328
1885 Ashford 2 329, 330
1887 Ashford 10 129, 193, 237, 239, 40, 26, 12, 72, 200, 235
1888 Ashford 5 16, 81, 83, 141, 173
1889 Ashford 4 23, 85, 220, 82
1889 Neilson 10 343–352
1891 Neilson 15 354–368
1891 Ashford 6 58, 134, 146, 73, 115, 224
1892 Ashford 3 135, 136, 138
1893–94 Sharp Stewart 10 399–408
1894–95 Ashford 6 6, 50, 95, 76, 168, 169
1897 Neilson 15 410–424

Most were built with tall chimneys giving an overall height of 13 ft 3+1⁄2 in (4.051 m) and two injectors for the boiler feed. The 1881–82 Ashford series were built for working through the Snow Hill tunnel and the tunnels of the East London Railway, and so were provided with condensers and short chimneys giving an overall height of 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m), one injector being omitted and a boiler feed pump fitted instead.[6]

The first 34, built between 1881 and 1885, had bogies of wheelbase 4 ft 10 in (1.47 m) having wheels of 3 ft (0.91 m) diameter. These bogies had a fixed centre pin and were troublesome, and so beginning in 1887 new locomotives had a better bogie design based upon that of the contemporary 4-4-0s of the F class. This had 13⁄16 in (21 mm) side play, its wheelbase being 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m); and after four of these had been built using the 3-foot wheel, subsequent locomotives had the bogie wheel diameter increased to 3 ft 9 in (1.14 m) to make them fully interchangeable with those of the F class.[7]

Rebuilding

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The locomotives passed to the South Eastern and Chatham Railway in 1899 and 55 were rebuilt by Harry Wainwright to class Q1 between 1903 and 1919.

Numbering

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Thirty-two unrebuilt locomotives survived into Southern Railway ownership on 1 January 1923 with random numbers between 6 and 424. All had been withdrawn by 1929.

Table of withdrawals
Year Quantity in
service at
start of year		 Quantity
withdrawn		 Locomotive numbers Notes
1925 32 1 A346
1926 31 15 A40, A72, A73, A82, A135, A220, A237, A345, A352, A358, A360,
A405, A417, A418, A422
1927 16 11 A6, A26, A136, A169, A235, A356, A399, A410, A414, A421, A424
1928 5 3 A23, A173, A401
1929 2 2 A349, A368

References

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  1. ^ Casserley & Johnston 1974, p. 42.
  2. ^ Bradley 1985, pp. 121, 123, 125, 135–6, 160.
  3. ^ Bradley 1985, pp. 160, 217–8.
  4. ^ Goudie 1990, pp. 14, 24.
  5. ^ Bradley 1985, p. 160.
  6. ^ Bradley 1985, pp. 160–1.
  7. ^ Bradley 1985, pp. 160, 162.

Bibliography

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  • Ahrons, E.L. (1926). The British Steam Railway Locomotive. Ian Allan.
  • Bradley, D.L. (September 1985) [1963]. The Locomotive History of the South Eastern Railway (2nd ed.). London: RCTS. ISBN 0-901115-48-7. OCLC 642415860.
  • Casserley, H.C.; Johnston, S.W. (1974). Locomotives at the Grouping 1, Southern Railway. Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0552-4.
  • Goudie, Frank (1990). Metropolitan Steam Locomotives. Harrow Weald: Capital Transport. ISBN 1-85414-118-X.


 

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