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THE TRANSITION FROM STEAM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




BRITISH RAILWAYS SOUTHERN REGION (SR)

On January 1st 1948, the former 'Big Four' railway companies: London North Eastern Railway (LNER); London Midland & Scottish Railway (LMSR); Great Western Railway (GWR) and Southern Railway (SR) were amalgamated to form the new British Railways. A total of 20,211 steam locomotives were taken into State ownership consisting of: 1,838 from the SR, 3,856 from the GWR, 6,525 from the LNER, and 7,805 from the LMSR. The rest was made up of service engines and Departmental locomotives.

 

(Below) Prior to nationalisation, the Southern Railway was the most progressive of all the four main railway companies, having invested heavily in 3rd rail electrification during the 1930s. Electrification of the former London & South Western Railway suburban services began in 1925 and was operated by two 3-car power units with non-driving trailer coaches between. This inflexible arrangement was eliminated when the SR began reforming the former LSWR units into four-car sets, though full-scale implementation of this conversion could not take place until after the Second World War when new steel trailer coaches were built to convert existing 3-car sets into four-car. The numbers were carried on front and rear of each set - No 4535 was photographed near Dorking on March 4th 1956. Photo © ER Morten

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HELP! 'Bringing back The Brighton Belle to the mainline'. Neil Marshall recently contacted the site on behalf of the 5BEL Charitable Trust, which is restoring a complete five car 5BEL set to mainline use. The Trust is recording for posterity stories and images of people and buildings connected with the Belle and Preston Park Pullman Works - for example, the Trust recently filmed an interview with 90 year-old Jim Bishop, a chargehand of the paint shop at Preston Park Pullman Works, from just after the war until British Railways took over. Neil is Communications Director of the 5BEL Trust and asks if visitors to the site have any images of Preston Park and/or the Brighton Belle that they might allow to be displayed [with a full attribution] on the 5BEL Trust's website? Click here to visit the website, which gives background information, progress reports and contact details. Alternatively contact Neil direct via email - neil.marshall@brightonbelle.com Kind regards Neil Marshall. Registered Charity No. 1133545

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

(Above) The SR's Chief Mechanical Engineer, OV Bulleid, had plenty of experience with small-wheel multiple unit motor bogies, but was looking at diesel-electric traction as an alternative to costly third-rail electrification on some west of England routes. The result was the SR/EE Co diesel electric No 10 201, built at Ashford works in 1950. The power unit was the same 16-cylinder 16SVT engine as fitted to the LMS Co-Co s Nos 10000/1 (see 'Pioneer Main Line Diesels' Page 8) but equipped with the EE Co's Napier 75100 Turbocharger producing a 1,750hp prototype. The SR locomotives had flat ends with rounded corners, giving them a rather distinctive box-like appearance. However, the subtle body-side contours followed that of traditional Bulleid coaching stock, which was a subtle design touch. Still in grey livery, the first of the SR's main line diesels, No 10201, was photographed at Ashford works prior to completion in November 1950. Photo © GEC-Alstom 

In 1948, six new BR Regions were formed, their new boundaries corresponding closely to the lines of the former 'Big Four' railway companies. Britain's railways was now made up of the Western Region, Southern Region, Scottish Region, Eastern Region, North Eastern Region and London Midland Region - the old LNER being divided amongst the two newly-formed Regions - Eastern and North Eastern, whilst the Scottish Region was composed partly of the former LMS and LNER. Over the years, the Regional boundaries diminished significantly as many locomotives (from an operational standpoint) worked beyond their arbitrary Regions, so in many ways it is meaningless to classify any particular class of locomotive as belonging to any one of the six Regions during the transition from steam. For example, it was not unusual for the LMR's Stanier 'Black 5' or Ivatt 2MT tanks to be found working hundreds of miles from the Region they were initially allocated. 

(Below) The Adams Class '0415' 1P 4-4-2Ts were used on suburban work in the London area, but following 3rd-rail electrification a large number were taken out of service and stored at Eastleigh. Three examples were retained by the Southern Railway for working the Lyme Regis branch where the 4-4-2T's flexible wheel base was found ideal for the many curves on the branch. Upon nationalisation, the three engines became Nos 30582-30584 and continued to work the Lyme Regis branch until 1961. The line closed after being taken over by the Western Region and the three engines were subsequently withdrawn. One example, No 30583, was secured for preservation and restored to its old livery as LSWR 488. Photo © D Pritchard


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please note...some photos have been re-sized to fit the page. If the text is illegible - simply click on photo (as you would a thumbnail) to see the original (readable) size.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



(Above) Introduced to traffic in 1946, Ivatt 2MT 2-6-2T No 41210 was the first of fifty engines (Nos 41210-29/41270-89 and 41320-29) to be fitted with vacuum control gear for push-pull operation. The driver operated th e vacuum controlled auxiliary regulator valves (fitted in each steampipe leading from the header to the cylinders) from a compartment at the head of the train. The fireman remained on the locomotive and communication between the two crewmen was made via a system of bell codes. No 41210 was transferred from the LMR at Warrington to the Southern Region at Eastleigh in December 1962. From there it went to Barnstaple Junction in April 1963, then to Exmouth Junction in February 1964, ending its days at Salisbury before withdrawal on 10th May 1964. The last of the class was withdrawn in 1967, but four have survived in preservation. Photo © British Railways

(Below) Back in the 1950s, BR trains were predominantly in the hands of steam, even on the Southern Region where third-rail electrification was well to the fore, particularly on London's commuter lines. Constructed at Eastleigh and Nine Elms works between 1897 and 1911, the Drummond Class M7 0-4-4Ts became a popular choice for London's suburban commuter traffic. A total of 105 M7s were built, but by the end of 1963 they were down to just 14, the majority being used on branch line duties in the Bournemouth area. The class was retired in May 1964. Photo © PR Batty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Below) From 1948, steam locomotives were carrying their new BR numbers with the exception of the Great Western engines which retained their brass and cast iron cabside number plates below 10,000. The Southern engines were numbered in the 30,000s, the LMSR in the 40,000s and 50,000s, and the LNER engines appeared in the 60,000s. The new renumbering scheme also embraced a small number of diesel locomotives (mostly 0-6-0 shunters belonging to the former LMSR and LNER) which were allocated the numbered series in the 10,000s, while a small quantity of electric and gas turbine locomotives appeared in the 20,000s. Finally, the batch of WD 'Austerity' freight locomotives, built to Ministry of Supply design, and working on loan at the time of nationalisation, were purchased by BR in early 1949 and renumbered in the 90,000s.  Fresh from the workshops, BR's recently acquired WD 'Austerity' 2-10-0 No 90766 (one of the original batch of 100 locos built by the North British Locomotive Co, Glasgow, in 1943) has yet to receive British Railways lettering on the tender side at Brighton in 1949. These 'Austerity' 2-10-0s were a development of the earlier WD 2-8-0 locomotives designed by Riddles at the Ministry of Supply for use by the British Army overseas during World War 2. Among the first batch of 100 was No 600 Gordon, which was allocated to the Longmoor Military Railway. The loco was withdrawn in October 1969 following closure of the military establishment. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Below) I'm afraid the Southern Railway's engines were all foreign to me, and the 'Spam Cans' in their original form (with air-smooth casing) did little to change that view. Odder still, under the Southern Railway's numbering scheme the Pacifics carried a 21C prefix that represented the continental system of wheel arrangement - the number of axles on the bogie was denoted by a '2', followed by a '1' for the pony truck, and the six driving wheels were represented by the letter 'C'. The first Bulleid Pacifics were named in honour of the Merchant seamen and shipping lines involved in the U-Boat war in the Atlantic, and became known as the 'Merchant Navy' class. Here, No 35020 Bibby Line is endowed with the 'Devon Belle' chevrons at its home shed of Nine Elms.Photo © D Pritchard collection

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Left) Bulleid's light Pacific was essentially a scaled-down version of the earlier 'Merchant Navy' class. The new engines were named after cities, towns and tourist spots in south-west England, hence their 'West Country' origin. Later examples had wartime commemorat ive names, taken chiefly from RAF squadrons associated with the Battle of Britain. The new Pacifics embodied the same features as the heavier 'Merchant Navy' class, with 'air-smoothed' casing and Bulleid's innovative chain-driven valve gear encased in an oil bath. Eventually a total of 110 were built between 1945-1949, including No 34017 Ilfracombe, seen here in rebuilt form at Eastleigh in May 1964. The 'West Country' and 'Battle of Britain' class had a wide route availability throughout the SR network and, as a fitting testimony no fewer than 20 have been preserved, nine of them in unrebuilt condition Photo PR Batty.

 

In 1948, the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission (BTC) announced its preference for developing future steam power rather than dabbling with new, untried diesel traction. This led to the Locomotive Interchange Trials, supervised by RA Riddles, then member of the BTC's Railway Executive who was responsible for mechanical and electrical engineering. He was assisted by ES Cox, then executive member of the British Transport Commission for design - both ex-LMSR men, who doubtless had in mind their well intentioned plan for evaluating the relative performance of former companies engines in normal operating conditions. However it came as no great surprise that out of the twelve new BR standard classes (numbered in the 70-80,000s and 92,000s) many designs incorporated the latest features taken from LMSR practice.

(Below) Although the BR Standard 7MTs were initially allocated to the GE line out of Liverpool Street, thre e Britannias were transferred to the Southern Region, with No 70009 going to Nine Elms and Nos 70004/70014 goi ng to Stewarts Lane. Out of all the Britannias, however, the best known to the public was No 70004 William Shakespeare, which was displayed at the Festival of Britain exhibition in 1951. Thereafter it was kept in immaculate condition for hauling the 'Golden Arrow' and other boat train services to the continent

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

(Above) Not wishing to incur the wrath of SR fans, but the removal of the air-smooth casing greatly enhanced the looks of the Bulleid Pacifics. Here, rebuilt 'Battle of Britain' class No 34088 213 Squadron is entrusted with hauling the famous cross-Channel London Victoria-Folkestone and Dover 'Golden Arrow' Pullman car train that ran in conjunction with the 'Fleche d'Or' for the Calais-Paris run. By 1972, increased competition from air travel meant that BR couldn't justify the retention of a set of Pullman cars for just one return trip daily from the Capital to the Channel coast and this prestigious service was withdrawn. Both photos © D Pritchard collection


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Below) Designed by RW Urie for the London & South Western Railway in 1918, the 44 members of the 2-cylinder N15 class were named by the Southern Railway after characters and places from Arthurian legend. It was an imaginative naming policy as the Knights of the Round Table are associated with the south-west of England through which the company's London-Salisbury-Exeter line ran. In 1925, REL Maunsell, the SR's CME 1923-1937, began updating the express passenger fleet with some fine locomotives, among them the 'Arthurs' made up of 20 modified Urie N15s Nos 30736-30755. A further 30 locomotives, Nos 30763-30792, followed in 1926, built with modified cabs to meet the Eastern section's loading gauge and most were coupled to 6-wheel bogie tenders. No 30776 Sir Galagars awaits its next turn of duty at Bricklayers Arms in April 1953. Photo © P R Batty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

(Above) This ex-works USA 0-6-0 tank engine No 30067 is a typical American 'Switcher' type for use in heavy dock shunting. The class was built in 1942 for the US Army Transportation Corps and 14 of these e ngines were purchased by the Southern Railway in 1946 for use in Southampton Docks to replace the Adams B4 class 0-4-0Ts. Subsequently numbered 30061-30074 in the BR fleet, the somewhat brutish-looking engines had a stove-pipe chimney, three domes - the centre one carrying the whistle - plus outside cylinders, valve gear, and connecting rods driving the rear axle. The 'USA' tanks did sterling work until the last of the class was replaced by Ruston & Hornsby diesels in July 1967. In the background, the graceful lines of an ex-LSWR 'Greyhound' complete with separate splashers over the wheels and coupling rods makes the USA 0-6-0 look even uglier. The photograph was taken at Eastleigh in September 1957. Photo © PR Batty              

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

LINKS TO RAILWAY PRESERVATION SITES I HAVE ENJOYED VISITING

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