The SECR E class was a class of
4-4-0 tender locomotive
A tender or coal-car (US only) is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing its fuel (wood, coal, oil or torrefied biomass) and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, s ...
s designed by
Harry Wainwright
Harry Smith Wainwright (16 November 1864 – 19 September 1925) was an English railway engineer, and was the Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon Superintendent of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway from 1899 to 1913. He is best known for a se ...
for express passenger trains on the
South Eastern and Chatham Railway. It was a larger version of the
D class incorporating a
Belpaire firebox
The Belpaire firebox is a type of firebox used on steam locomotives. It was invented by Alfred Belpaire of Belgium in 1864. Today it generally refers to the shape of the outer shell of the firebox which is approximately flat at the top and sq ...
Overview
Following the success of his
D class 4-4-0 design, Wainwright obtained authority to build a further five similar locomotives incorporating a
Belpaire firebox
The Belpaire firebox is a type of firebox used on steam locomotives. It was invented by Alfred Belpaire of Belgium in 1864. Today it generally refers to the shape of the outer shell of the firebox which is approximately flat at the top and sq ...
to provide additional power. These were built at
Ashford railway works
Ashford railway works was in the town of Ashford in the county of Kent in England.
History South Eastern Railway
Ashford locomotive works was built by the South Eastern Railway on a new site in 1847, replacing an earlier locomotive repair fa ...
during the last few months of 1905 and entered traffic early in 1906. Once the design had proved to be successful, further orders were placed until 26 had been constructed at Ashford by April 1909.
In 1911 and 1912 two examples of the class received boilers with
superheaters, which significantly improved their fuel efficiency, but unfortunately the additional weight prevented them from working over the lines of the former
London Chatham and Dover Railway
The London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR or LC&DR) was a railway company in south-eastern England created on 1 August 1859, when the East Kent Railway was given parliamentary approval to change its name. Its lines ran through London and no ...
(LCDR) and so no further examples were so treated.
E1 class
![Margate station geograph-2641334-by-Ben-Brooksbank](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Margate_station_geograph-2641334-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg)
In 1917 the SECR Board decided that when the London to
Dover and
Folkestone boat train
A boat train is a passenger train operating to a port for the specific purpose of making connection with a passenger ship, such as a ferry, ocean liner, or cruise ship. Through ticketing is normally available. __NOTOC__
Notable named boat tr ...
s were reinstated after the war, they would be centred on
London Victoria railway station, using the LCDR lines. This created a serious problem of producing a locomotive with sufficient power but with an acceptable
axle load
An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearin ...
.
Richard Maunsell
Richard Edward Lloyd Maunsell (pronounced "Mansell") (26 May 1868 – 7 March 1944) held the post of chief mechanical engineer (CME) of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway from 1913 until the 1923 Grouping and then the post of CME of the ...
therefore ordered the rebuilding of one example with larger cylinders, boiler and firebox, while at the same time reducing unnecessary weight elsewhere in the locomotive. This work was largely undertaken by his Chief Locomotive Draughtsman
James Clayton. The experimental rebuilding was implemented following the
Armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...
in November 1918 and proved to be successful. A further ten examples were rebuilt by
Beyer, Peacock and Company
Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English railway locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Openshaw, Manchester. Founded by Charles Beyer, Richard Peacock and Henry Robertson, it traded from 1854 until 1966. The company exported locomotives, ...
during 1919 and 1920, and ten more were supposed to follow in 1921, although at the last minute ten
D class locomotives were rebuilt instead following the same principles.
Operation
The class was used on the London to
Dover and
Folkestone boat train
A boat train is a passenger train operating to a port for the specific purpose of making connection with a passenger ship, such as a ferry, ocean liner, or cruise ship. Through ticketing is normally available. __NOTOC__
Notable named boat tr ...
s and other Kent coast expresses on the
South Eastern Main Line
The South Eastern Main Line is a major long-distance railway route in South East England, UK, one of the three main routes crossing the county of Kent, going via Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Ashford and Folkestone to Dover. The other routes are the ...
. Locomotive No 506 was used to haul the train containing the Cavell Van ( No 132) bringing back the reamians of the Unknown Warrior from Dover to London on 10 November 1920. After 1914 they were replaced on the heaviest express trains by the
L class 4-4-0 on the lines of the former
South Eastern Railway but they remained the heaviest locomotives allowed on the LCDR lines until the rebuilt locomotives took over. Thereafter the remaining members of the class were employed on the secondary express trains on these lines.
In the years immediately following the
grouping
Grouping may refer to:
* Muenchian grouping
* Principles of grouping
* Railways Act 1921, also known as Grouping Act, a reorganisation of the British railway system
* Grouping (firearms), the pattern of multiple shots from a sidearm
See also ...
of the SECR with other railways to form the
Southern Railway (UK)
The Southern Railway (SR), sometimes shortened to 'Southern', was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent. The railway was formed ...
in 1923 the E class locomotives continued with their existing duties, but in 1931 three examples were transferred to the Central Section to assist with expresses on the
Brighton Main Line
The Brighton Main Line (also known as the South Central Main Line) is a major railway line in the United Kingdom that links Brighton, on the south coast of England, with central London. In London the line has two branches, out of and station ...
, followed by further examples. During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
they were also regularly employed on
the line
Line most often refers to:
* Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity
* Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system
Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to:
Arts ...
between and
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
.
The E1 class was replaced on the heaviest boat trains in the mid-1920s by the
LSWR N15 class
The LSWR N15 class was a British 2–cylinder 4-6-0 express passenger steam locomotive designed by Robert W. Urie. The class has a complex build history spanning three sub-classes and eight years of construction from 1918 to 1927. The first b ...
4-6-0 locomotives. For a while they were used on expresses to but in the 1930s several of the class were transferred to the former
London Brighton and South Coast Railway
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR; known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its ...
main lines in Sussex.
Withdrawal and preservation
The majority of the remaining E class locomotives were withdrawn during 1951 but one lasted until May 1955. The E1 rebuilds were withdrawn over a far longer period between May 1949 and November 1961, with three examples lasting until the 1960s. No examples have been preserved.
The Brighton Atlantic Group at the
Bluebell Railway
The Bluebell Railway is an heritage line almost entirely in West Sussex in England, except for Sheffield Park which is in East Sussex. It is managed by the Bluebell Railway Preservation Society. It uses steam trains which operate between an ...
has announced that, following the completion of new Brighton
H2 class No. 32424 ''Beachy Head'', it would begin construction on a new E class locomotive to take the number 516.
Accidents and incidents
*On 5 March 1909, locomotive No. 165 was hauling a mail train that was in collision with an express passenger train hauled by locomotive No. 497 at ,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
after the latter overran signals. Two people were killed and eleven were injured.
References
*Herring, Peter (2000) ''Classic British Steam Locomotives'', Enderby: Abbeydale,
*
*
External links
Class details''RailUK''
Class E1 details''RailUK''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Secr E Class
E
4-4-0 locomotives
Railway locomotives introduced in 1906
Scrapped locomotives
Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain
Passenger locomotives