Bulleid Q1 class 0-6-0
| The 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. |
| NºC28 on shed at Hither Green during Southern Railway
ownership.
photograph: Mike Morant collection |
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Nº33038 in early British Railways days, still bearing the
name "SOUTHERN" on the tender.
photograph: mike morant collection |
| 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). |
 Nº33006 at Guildford, photograph by Keith Harwood |
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. It is currently on long term loan to the Bluebell Railway. Its boiler certificate expired in June 2002, although the loan agreement, which expired with the boiler certificate, has been extended. |
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Nº33006 again, but this time on shed at Eastleigh and all
spruced up for railtour duty!
photograph by Ray Soper |
| When it comes to historical study or modelling it can often
be difficult to find a photograph of the prototype in action illustrating the
specific details we need. This rare view of the rear top of the tender will
hopefully solve a few queries.
photograph by Mike Watts |
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All photographs are copyright
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This page was last updated 12 April 2008
