The LCDR R class was a class of
0-4-4T locomotives on the
London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR). No. 207 (eventually no. 31666) is notable as being the last former LCDR locomotive to be withdrawn from service. The whole class was fitted with
condensing apparatus for working on the
Widened Lines
The Widened Lines (also known as the City Widened Lines; formerly known as the Moorgate Line) is a double-track railway line forming part of the Thameslink route between St Pancras and within Central London.
For most of their life the Widened ...
.
History
For many years the
London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) had favoured the
0-4-4T wheel arrangement for suburban and stopping passenger trains, and when more were required in 1890, consideration was given to ordering a further batch of the existing
A2 class 0-4-4T (introduced 1883); it was then decided that a modified design was required. The R class locomotives were designed by
William Kirtley as a development of his earlier A2 class, and 18 were built by
Sharp, Stewart and Company
Sharp, Stewart and Company was a steam locomotive manufacturer, initially located in Manchester, England. The company was formed in 1843 upon the demise of Sharp, Roberts & Co.. It moved to Glasgow, Scotland, in 1888, eventually amalgamating wit ...
in 1891.
Numbering
Their LCDR numbers were 199–216, which under the
South Eastern and Chatham Railway
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies Joint Management Committee (SE&CRCJMC),Awdry (1990), page 199 known as the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR), was a working union of two neighbouring rival railways, the South Easte ...
became 658–675 from 1899. They were renumbered three more times: to A658–A675 by the
Southern Railway (SR) from 1923; to 1658–1675 by the SR from 1931; and to 31658–31675 by
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British ra ...
ways from 1948.
Withdrawal
Three (Nos. 1664, 1668 and 1669) were withdrawn in 1940 to provides spares for the others, and withdrawal of the rest occurred between 1949 and 1955.
See also
*
LCDR R1 class
Notes
References
*
*
*
R
0-4-4T locomotives
Railway locomotives introduced in 1891
Sharp Stewart locomotives
Condensing steam locomotives
Scrapped locomotives
Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain
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