SR N15X class
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The SR N15X class or ''Remembrance'' class were a design of
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
4-6-0 A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abse ...
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
s converted in 1934 by
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 ...
of the Southern Railway from the large LB&SCR L class 4-6-4 tank locomotives that had become redundant on the London–Brighton line following electrification.Holcroft, ''Locomotive Panorama vol 1'' It was hoped that further service could be obtained from these locomotives on the Southern's Western Section, sharing the duties of the N15 class locomotives.Clarke: ''Steam World'' (April 2008), p. 49 The locomotives were named after famous Victorian engineers except for ''Remembrance'', which was the LBSCR's memorial locomotive for staff members who died in the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. In their new form the locomotives were similar in outline to the N15 class, though suffered from the expectation amongst crews that they were an improved version of this type. Despite this, their ability to accelerate well was put to good use on cross-country trains between main lines. The class saw service into
nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
in 1948.Burridge, p. 46 All had been withdrawn by 1957, with none preserved.


Background

With the impending electrification of the Southern Railway's Central Section (the former LB&SCR lines), the question arose as to what to do with the relatively new and powerful LB&SCR designs. Maunsell looked at the possibility of converting the
LB&SCR 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 ...
“Remembrance” or L Class 4-6-4 tanks built by
L. B. Billinton Lawson Butzkopfski (or Boskovsky) Billinton (4 February 1882 – 19 November 1954) was the Locomotive Engineer of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway from 1912 until the company became part of the Southern Railway in 1923. He joined the ...
between 1914 and 1922. These Baltics had proved to be capable machines on the Brighton line, although their relatively low boiler pressure (), the excessive difference between "first valve" and "second valve" on the regulator, and more particularly their small () piston valves in relation to their large () cylinders were a significant limitation, precluding their use on any other part of the Southern system. The limited coal and water capacity also limited their range, though adequate for the short runs on the Brighton line. The decision was taken to rebuild them into more conventional 4-6-0 tender locomotives.


Conversion

All seven of the Billinton L Class locomotives entered Eastleigh works in 1934 for rebuilding, each leaving the works the same year. Conversion into the 4-6-0 tender type, entailed removing the trailing
bogie A bogie ( ) (in some senses called a truck in North American English) is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transp ...
, water tanks, and
bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. ...
, shortening the mainframes and fitting new cabs; these were of the side-window variety already used on the Lord Nelson class. At the same time there was a revision of the locomotives' front end arrangement incorporating a "King Arthur" N15 type of blast pipe and chimney; boiler pressure was increased to , whilst the piston diameter was marginally decreased from to . The class received bogie tenders from
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 ...
's S15 class and Southern-type smoke deflectors on either side of the
smokebox A smokebox is one of the major basic parts of a steam locomotive exhaust system. Smoke and hot gases pass from the firebox through tubes where they pass heat to the surrounding water in the boiler. The smoke then enters the smokebox, and is e ...
. The result was classified N15X, the suffix corresponding to the old LBSCR designation for a rebuilt/modified locomotive. The conversion process created a locomotive that was similar in appearance to the N15 "King Arthur" class as modified by Maunsell in the 1920s.


Naming the locomotives

Two of the locomotives retained their original names: number 2333 ''Remembrance'' and 2329 ''Stephenson,'' whilst the other members of the L class, were newly new named after famous railway engineers.Burridge, p. 46 The new locomotive names were suggested by Maunsell's assistant, Harry Holcroft, and were distributed as thus: 2327 ''Trevithick'', 2328 ''Hackworth'', 2329 ''Stephenson'', 2330 ''Cudworth'', 2331 ''Beattie'', 2332 ''Stroudley'', 2333 ''Remembrance'' 2333 ''Remembrance'' retained its name as it had been the LBSCR's designated memorial to employees lost in the First World War.Scott-Morgan, p. 68 However the original LBSCR nameplates were straight for water tank mounting, necessitating new rounded plates to fit over the central wheel splashers (see colour plate in infobox above).Burridge, p. 46


Operational details

The rebuilding caused a certain amount of controversy among footplate crews, with some maintaining that one could not make so many changes and have a reliable locomotive at the end of the process. The class suffered on the South Western section from the expectation that they were an improved version of the N15 "King Arthur" class. Once this misconception was overcome, the class came into their own on the
Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...
services, where their ability to accelerate well was put to good use.Scott-Morgan, p. 68 However, the rebuilds gained a reputation for rough riding and relatively poor efficiency when compared to the N15s, and were dissimilar in performance to the original L class locomotives, making them unpopular with crews.Scott-Morgan, p. 68 Because of this, the class was used on secondary duties, cross-country and inter-regional trains around Basingstoke rather than the heavy
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to
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expresses for which they were intended.Russell, "N15X" Several of the class were loaned to the
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
between 1942 and 1944 to assist in bolstering freight power, of which there was an acute shortage on that railway during the Second World War. The class saw use after nationalisation in 1948, but with increasing numbers of Bulleid Pacifics able to take over their duties the ''Remembrance'' class began to be withdrawn from service during the mid-1950s. ''Hackworth'' was the first to be withdrawn, in 1955, and finally ''Beattie'' in 1957. The early withdrawal of the class ensured that none were preserved.


Accidents and incidents

*In 1940, No. 2328 Hackworth was at the Nine Elms shed when it and LSWR T14 No. 458 and four LSWR Class N15 express engines which included 751 Etarre, No. 755 The Red Knight, No. 775 Sir Agravaine, and No. 776 Sir Galagars suffered air raid damage. The T14 engine was scrapped while the other engines were eventually repaired. *On 23 December 1955, locomotive No. 32327 ''Trevithick'' was hauling a passenger train that ran into the rear of another at
Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...
, Surrey. The locomotive was deemed beyond economic repair and was scrapped at
Eastleigh Works Eastleigh Works is a locomotive, carriage and wagon building and repair facility in the town of Eastleigh, in the county of Hampshire in England. History LSWR The London and South Western Railway (LSWR) opened a carriage and wagon works at Eas ...
,
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
.Earnshaw (1991), p.18


Livery and numbering


Southern

Under Southern ownership, the "Remembrances" were originally painted in Maunsell's Olive Green livery as seen above, with "Southern" and the locomotive's number on the tender tank.Swift, p. 56 Wartime service under the Southern saw the locomotives painted in black livery with "Sunshine Yellow" lettering.Swift, p. 56 Numbers allocated to the locomotives were 2327 to 2333.Burridge, p. 47 After the war, the locomotives were turned out in Bulleid's Southern Railway
Malachite Green Malachite green is an organic compound that is used as a dyestuff and controversially as an antimicrobial in aquaculture. Malachite green is traditionally used as a dye for materials such as silk, leather, and paper. Despite its name the dye is ...
livery with "Sunshine Yellow" lettering.


British Railways

After nationalisation in 1948, the locomotives' initial livery was a slightly modified Southern Malachite Green livery, where "British Railways" replaced "Southern" in "Sunshine Yellow" lettering on the tender sides.Swift, p. 56 From 1949, the class was turned out in British Railways mixed-traffic black livery with red and cream lining. The British Railways crest was placed on the tender water tank sides. Numbering was in the 32xxx series, as numbers 32327 to 32333.Banks, p. 64


References


Notes


Bibliography

*Banks, Chris: ''BR Locomotives 1955'' (Oxford Publishing Company: Oxford, 2001), *Bradley, D.L., ''Locomotives of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Vol 3'' *Clarke, Jeremy: 'The Locomotives of R. E. L. Maunsell' (Steam World: 254, August 2008) * *Holcroft, Harry: ''Locomotive Panorama vol 1'' *Haresnape, Brian: ''Maunsell Locomotives – a pictorial history'' (Ian Allan Ltd, 1977), *''Ian Allan ABC of British Railways Locomotives'', 1954-55 edition *Scott-Morgan, John: Maunsell Locomotives (Ian Allan Publishing: Hinckley, 2002), *Russell, J. H.: ''A Pictorial Record of Southern Locomotives'' (Oxford Publishing Company: Oxford) *Swift, Peter: ''Maunsell 4-6-0 King Arthur Class'' (Ian Allan Publishing: Hinckley, 2006) (Locomotives in Detail series volume 4) (Hinckley: Ian Allan Publishing, 2006),


External links


SEMG gallery
{{good article N15X 4-6-0 locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1934 Scrapped locomotives Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain