LSWR B4 class
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The London and South Western Railway B4 class is a class of
0-4-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven. The wheels on the earliest four-coupled locomotives were ...
tank engine A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender. Most tank engines also have bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a tender-tank locomot ...
s originally designed for station piloting and dock shunting. They were later used extensively in
Southampton Docks The Port of Southampton is a passenger and cargo port in the central part of the south coast of England. The modern era in the history of the Port of Southampton began when the first dock was inaugurated in 1843. The port has been owned and op ...
for nearly half a century.


Design

The locomotives were designed by the
London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...
(LSWR) Locomotive Superintendent William Adams. They were unusual in having inside
Stephenson valve gear The Stephenson valve gear or Stephenson link or shifting link is a simple design of valve gear that was widely used throughout the world for various kinds of steam engines. It is named after Robert Stephenson but was invented by his employees. ...
but outside cylinders and coal bunkers on the footplate inside the cab. The class were originally built with Adams's design of stovepipe chimney, although these were later replaced by a lipped version designed by Adams' successor,
Dugald Drummond Dugald Drummond (1 January 1840 – 8 November 1912) was a Scottish steam locomotive engineer. He had a career with the North British Railway, LB&SCR, Caledonian Railway and London and South Western Railway. He was the older brother of the eng ...
. Some examples also had cut away cabs to improve visibility. They were designed for shunting in locations with a sharp curves, such as the dockyard at Devonport and as
pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
at the major stations.


Construction

The LSWR originally ordered ten locomotives in 1890 from its Nine Elms Works. The class was designated by their order number ‘B4’ and delivered during 1891 and 1892. A further ten locomotives were ordered in 1893 which were delivered in November and December of that year under order D6. Drummond designed a similar class of five locomotives in 1907, with a slightly smaller boiler and lipped chimney. These were delivered during 1908 under order K14. No. 84, delivered in June 1908 was the last locomotive to be built at Nine Elms Works prior to the works' transfer to Eastleigh. These locomotives were originally regarded as a new class. However, Drummond's successor
Robert Urie Robert Wallace Urie (22 October 1854 – 6 January 1937) was a Scotland, Scottish locomotive engineer who was the last chief mechanical engineer of the London and South Western Railway. Career After serving an apprenticeship with and working fo ...
, considered them to be so similar to the originals, that they were merged with the B4 class in 1912.


Service

The first ten locomotives were allocated to major stations throughout the system including
Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...
,
Exmouth Junction Exmouth Junction is the railway junction where the Exmouth branch line diverges from the London Waterloo to Exeter main line in Exeter, Devon, England. It was for many years the location for one of the largest engine sheds in the former Lo ...
,
Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...
and Plymouth Friary (for use on Cattedown Wharfs and the Turnchapel branch). In November 1892 the LSWR purchased the
Southampton Docks The Port of Southampton is a passenger and cargo port in the central part of the south coast of England. The modern era in the history of the Port of Southampton began when the first dock was inaugurated in 1843. The port has been owned and op ...
, and so both new and existing B4s were sent there over the next few years to replace the existing motive power as they became worn out. By 1899 their use as station pilots had ceased except at
Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
and fourteen were working in Southampton Docks. Other members of the class were assigned to various depots around the LSWR system, for yard and dock shunting. After 1923 the Southern Railway also used them at Dover Marine,
Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom * Ashford, Kent, a town ** ...
,
Stewarts Lane Stewarts Lane is a large railway-servicing facility in Battersea in London, England, founded by the London Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) in 1862, to serve London Victoria railway station. It is sited in the midst of a maze of railway lines ...
,
Hamworthy Hamworthy is a village, parish, peninsula and suburb of Poole in Dorset, England. It is sited on a peninsula of approximately that is bordered by the town of Upton to the north, Poole Harbour to the south, Lytchett Bay to the west and Hol ...
(for use at
Poole Quay Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council ...
) and at
Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...
(as a shed pilot). At least two were retained at
Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...
one of which was used to shunt the cramped goods yard at Winchester City railway station.


Names

The locomotives used by Southampton Docks, were also given names reflecting the destinations of ships then sailing from Southamton numbers.


Withdrawals

Following the introduction of the
SR USA class The SR USA class are some ex-United States Army Transportation Corps S100 Class steam locomotives purchased and adapted by the Southern Railway (SR) after the end of the Second World War to replace the LSWR B4 class then working in Southampton ...
to Southampton Docks in 1947, many of the class were made redundant. Withdrawals began under
British Railways 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 rai ...
in May 1948, but others were still in good condition and eleven were sold during 1948/9 for industrial use. Withdrawals resumed in 1957 following the introduction of diesel shunters and by 1961 only three survived. These were withdrawn in 1963.


Preservation

Two examples of the class have survived into preservation: *No. 96 (BR 30096) ''Normandy'' was sold to Corrall Limited and used at their Southampton coal depot, where it was named ''Corrall Queen''. It has been preserved on 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 ...
where, in the days before the line had any diesel locomotives, it was often used as a shunter. Its boiler certificate expired on 6 July 2006 and it is on static display awaiting overhaul. * No. 102 (BR 30102) ''Granville'' was purchased in 1964, after withdrawal from BR, by
Butlins Butlin's is a chain of large seaside resorts in the United Kingdom. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1966, ten camps were built, including one in Ireland and o ...
and then displayed alongside LMS Royal Scot class 6100 ''Royal Scot'' at the firm's Skegness Holiday Camp. In 1971 it was moved to
Bressingham Steam Museum Bressingham Steam & Gardens is a steam museum and gardens located at Bressingham (adjacent to a garden centre), west of Diss in Norfolk, England. The site has several narrow gauge rail lines and a number of types of steam engines and vehicles in ...
near
Diss, Norfolk Diss is a market town and electoral ward in South Norfolk, England, near the boundary with Suffolk, with a population of 7,572 in 2011. Diss railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line between London and Norwich. It lies in the valley of t ...
, where it remains on static display.


References

* *


External links


SEMG page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lswr B4 Class B4 0-4-0T locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1891 Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain