Maunsell V "Schools" class 4-4-0
| Of all Richard Maunsell's designs for the Southern Railway his "Schools" Class V is without hesitation not only his most successful but without doubt one of the finest applications of British steam locomotive practice ever. |
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An unusual opportunity to see the cab details without the tender
in the way! Nº927 Clifton in the works with some of the boiler
cladding removed.
photograph: Mike Morant Collection |
| With the new Lord Nelson class and King Arthur class engines maintaining the majority of express passenger services the operating department issued a requirement for an express passenger locomotive of intermediate power that would be able to operate on lines with severe restrictions such as the Tonbridge to Hastings and Chatham to Ramsgate lines. The initial reaction was to offer a cut down (3 cylindered 4 drivered) Lord Nelson. However this was not found to be practicable since the use of the Nelson's Belpaire firebox within a such a restricted loading gauge would severely impede the forward view from the cab. The solution was to use a shortened King Arthur pattern boiler but retaining the full late series N15/S15 firebox. The boiler operating pressure was 220 psi - 20 psi higher than a King Arthur. The end result more than exceeded expectations since the design proved to be extremely free steaming even with poor grades of coal and with remarkably low internal friction contributing to a tractive effort of 25120 lb - only 200 lb less than a King Arthur. With that power and only 42 tons adhesion weight the class required careful handling when starting from rest! |
| A lovely photograph of a pristine Nº922
Marlborough on shed at an unknown location.
photograph: Mike Morant collection |
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Nº905 Tonbridge at Hastings in October 1943.
photograph: Mike Morant Collection |
| The first engine emerged from Eastleigh works in mid-March 1930 and was numbered 900. Reflecting the by-now successful public relations policy the class was to be named after Public boarding schools - a traffic flow with which at the start and end of school terms the railway had a long association. 900 was named Eton. It was displayed to the public at Waterloo on 26th March 1930 and not long after taken to Windsor for inspection by boys of that College. This practice was repeated with the relevant school with many of the new introductions. |
| Nº910 Merchant Taylors near Petts Wood during
1947.
photograph: Mike Morant Collection |
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Nº901 Winchester still in Southern Railway livery,
passes Chelsfield in April 1948.
photograph: Mike Morant collection |
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This page was last updated 19 June 2008
