LT&SR 1 Class

LT&SR 1 class
Works photograph of the LT&SR 1 Class built by Sharp, Stewart & Co.
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer William Adams/Thomas Whitelegg Builder Sharp, Stewart & Co., Nasmyth, Wilson & Co. Build date 1880–1892 Total produced 36
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-4-2T  • UIC 2′B1 n2t Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Leading dia. 3 ft 1 in (940 mm) Driver dia. 6 ft 0 in (1,830 mm) Trailing dia. 3 ft 1 in (940 mm) Wheelbase 8,940 mm (29.331 ft) Length 11,200 mm (36.745 ft) Height 3,996 mm (13.110 ft) Adhesive weight 32.7 tonnes (32.2 long tons; 36.0 short tons) Loco weight 58.60 long tons (59.54 t) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 2.0 tonnes (2.0 long tons; 2.2 short tons) Water cap. 5.9 tonnes (5.8 long tons; 6.5 short tons) Firebox: ​  • Grate area 17 square feet (1.6 m2) Boiler pressure 160 psi (1.10 MPa) Heating surface: ​  • Tubes 85.5 m2 (920 sq ft)  • Total surface 1,020 square feet (95 m2) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 17 in × 26 in (432 mm × 660 mm) Valve gear Stephenson
Performance figures Tractive effort 13,998 lbf (62.3 kN)
Career Operators LTSR MR LMS Power class MR/LMS/BR: 1P Number in class 1 January 1923: 36 1 January 1948: 0 Nicknames "Tilbury tank" Withdrawn 1929–1936 Disposition All scrapped

The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway 1 class was a class of 4-4-2T suburban tank engines. Thirty-six were built between 1880–1892, by Sharp, Stewart and Company and Nasmyth, Wilson and Company. They were the first locomotives owned by the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway and were the first 4-4-2T locomotives to operate in Britain.

Prior to 3 July 1880, all train services on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LT&SR) had been run by the Great Eastern Railway (GER) under contract. An injunction prevented the GER from building locomotives for the LT&SR after this date. The railway therefore approached William Adams, a former locomotive superintendent of the GER, then working for the London and South Western Railway who supervised the new design which was officially ascribed to Thomas Whitelegg.^[1]

The design was based on William Adams's 46 class 4-4-0T but with 6 ft 1 in (1.854 m) driving wheels and an extended coal bunker supported by a radial axle making them the first 4-4-2 tanks to be used in the United Kingdom.

Eighteen locomotives were built by Sharp, Stewart and Company in 1880-1881, followed by a further twelve in 1885, and a final batch of six by Nasmyth, Wilson & Co. in 1895. They were used on the railway's commuter services between London Fenchurch Street railway station and Upminster, Southend and Tilbury. The class proved successful and most survived in service for fifty years or more. One member of this class was recorded as having hauled a train of 240 t (236 long tons; 265 short tons) at an average of 82.2 km/h (51.1 mph) to Southend with water taken during runs.^[2]

The merit of the engines was such that enlarged versions, the LT&SR 37 Class, LT&SR 51 Class and LTSR 79 Class, were produced in 1897, 1900 and 1909 respectively, and the LMS built further examples of the 79 Class as late as 1930. In total, 97 engines of the four classes were built over a 50 year period.

On the LTSR they were numbered 1–36 and named for places on or near their railway line. In 1912, the LTSR was absorbed by the Midland Railway and the locomotives were renumbered 2110–2145 and the names removed. At the grouping in 1923, all passed to the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and at first retained their former MR numbers. However between 1923 and 1927 twenty-five were progressively renumbered—2110–19 to 2200–09 in 1923, 2120–24 to 2210–14 in 1925, and 2125–34 to 2190–99. In 1930, all 36 were renumbered in the 2056–2091 range.

Retirements started in 1929, and by 1936, all had been withdrawn and scrapped.

• http://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno-plus?aid=lok&datum=1914&page=9&size=45
• http://orion.math.iastate.edu/jdhsmith/term/slgblts.htm