Urie/Maunsell S15 class 4-6-0

Nº30844 at Feltham with
Standard 4 Tank Nº80137 in front
and an unidentified class 24 in the background.

photograph by Keith Harwood

Nº30842, one of the Maunsell-built engines,
16th May 1965.

photograph by Ray Soper

The modified design provided an excellent goods engine and they were best known for working heavy night express goods trains between Exeter and Nine Elms and Southampton and Nine Elms. They were also adaptable and were capable of putting up a creditable performance when pressed into passenger service during peak holiday periods. They outlived the King Arthur class, first withdrawals were in 1962 and the final members of the class were still in regular service in 1965. The last withdrawal, 30837, was in 1966. This had officially been withdrawn in 1965 but was retained to work an enthusiasts' special. Two Urie and five Maunsell S15s have survived into preservation.

Nº30847, the last S15 and, indeed, the last 4-6-0 to be built by the Southern Railway, basks in the sun at Feltham. Initially an Exmouth Junction engine, 30847 moved to Salisbury in June 1951 and then to Redhill in July 1959 for 4 years before a final six months at Feltham. She is seen here in November 1963 not long before her withdrawal in January 1964. Now owned by the Maunsell Society, 30847 is based at the Bluebell Railway.

photograph by Keith Harwood

Urie S15 Nº30500 depicted at Eastleigh in April 1963 with an ex-works U class Nº3163x buffered up to it. What was chalked on the tender is a mystery as it just cannot be deciphered!

photograph: Mike Morant collection

It was not unusual to see predominantly freight locomotives working passenger services on the South Western main line. Here S15 Nº30838 is seen heading west through Raynes Park with a train of Bulleid coaching stock on a service from Waterloo to Southampton Terminus on 26th September 1964.

photograph by Keith Harwood

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This page was last updated 17 March 2004