LSWR CLASS T9

The London and South Western Railway 'T9 Class ' was a class of 66 4-4-0 steam locomotive designed for express passenger work by Dugald Drummond and introduced to services on the LSWR in 1899. One example has been preserved after British Railways ownership.

Contents

Background

Construction history

Livery and numbering

LSWR and Southern

Post-1948 (nationalisation)

Operational details and preservation

References

Further reading

Background

Intended for express passenger work in South-West England, 66 were eventually built and saw several improvements throughout their service careers. The classes operated until 1961 when all were withdrawn, and only a solitary example, 30120 has happily been saved from the cutter's torch. It can be seen on the Bluebell Railway.

Construction history

The design spawned from the relative failure of Drummond's C8 Class of 1898, utilising many lessons learned from this design. Bradley, D. L.: ''An illustrated history of LSWR Locomotives: the Drummond Classes'' (Didcot: Wild Swan Publications, 1986) ISBN 0906867428 A larger boiler was implemented, and such confidence was placed in Drummond's design that an order of 50 locomotives was placed straight off the drawing board. Large fireboxes and Stephenson link valvegear ensured a free-steaming locomotive. Herring, Peter: ''Classic British Steam Locomotives'' (Abbeydale Press: London, 2000) Section "Merchant Navy Class" ISBN 1-86147-057-6

Construction was shared between Nine Elms and Glasgow: 20 at the LSWR's own workshops at Nine Elms, London, and 30 were built by Dübs and Company in Glasgow. Herring, Peter: ''Classic British Steam Locomotives'' (Abbeydale Press: London, 2000) Section "Merchant Navy Class" ISBN 1-86147-057-6
These were constructed between 1899 and 1900 and supplied with six wheel tenders.
A second batch was ordered, and 15 more were constructed at Nine Elms, while a final, solitary example was constructed at Dübs and Company for the Glasgow Exhibition of 1901. Bradley, D. L.: ''An illustrated history of LSWR Locomotives: the Drummond Classes'' (Didcot: Wild Swan Publications, 1986) ISBN 0906867428 Detail improvements on this final batch were a wider cab and revised wheel splasher that hid the 'throw' of the connecting rod, with cross-water tubes fitted into the firebox. Herring, Peter: ''Classic British Steam Locomotives'' (Abbeydale Press: London, 2000) Section "Merchant Navy Class" ISBN 1-86147-057-6
This was an attempt to increase the heat surface area of the water, which was achieved, though at a cost in boiler complexity. This batch was also fitted with the Drummond "watercart" eight-wheel tender for longer running, whilst the previous was retrofitted with the design. Herring, Peter: ''Classic British Steam Locomotives'' (Abbeydale Press: London, 2000) Section "Merchant Navy Class" ISBN 1-86147-057-6

Upon Drummond's departure from the LSWR in 1912, his successor, Robert Urie, supplied the class with superheaters, and from 1922, the entire class was so treated. Bradley, D. L.: ''An illustrated history of LSWR Locomotives: the Drummond Classes'' (Didcot: Wild Swan Publications, 1986) ISBN 0906867428 Their sterling performance as a class precluded any further modifications, apart from the removal of the cross-water tubes, an enlarged smokebox, addition of a stovepipe chimney, and an increase of the cylinder bore to 19". These had been completed by 1929. Herring, Peter: ''Classic British Steam Locomotives'' (Abbeydale Press: London, 2000) Section "Merchant Navy Class" ISBN 1-86147-057-6

Livery and numbering

LSWR and Southern

Livery under the LSWR was Drummond's LSWR Passenger Sage Green, with purple-brown edging and black and white lining. Swift, Peter: ''Maunsell 4-6-0 King Arthur Class'' (Locomotives in Detail series volume 4) (Hinckley: Ian Allan Publishing, 2006), ISBN 0711030863 Under Southern Railway ownership from grouping in 1923, the locomotives were outshopped in Richard Maunsell 's darker version of the LSWR Sage Green with yellow lettering on the tender, with black and white lining.
This livery was continued under Bulleid despite his experimentations with Malachite Green, though the 'Southern' lettering on the tender was changed to the 'Sunshine Yellow' style. During the Second World War, members of the class outshopped form overhaul were turned out in wartime black.
The class was haphazardly numbered by the LSWR. The Nine Elms batch was numbered 113 to 122 and 280 to 289, whilst the Glasgow batch was allocated 702 to 719 and 721 to 732. A final locomotive, 773, was constructed in Glasgow. Numbering under the Southern retained the LSWR allocations. Bradley, D. L.: ''An illustrated history of LSWR Locomotives: the Drummond Classes'' (Didcot: Wild Swan Publications, 1986) ISBN 0906867428

Post-1948 (nationalisation)

Livery after Nationalisation was initially Southern livery with 'British Railways' on the tender, and an 'S' prefix on the number. The class was subsequently outshopped in BR Mixed Traffic Black with red and white lining, with the BR crest on the tender. Longworth, Hugh: ''British Railway Steam Locomotives: 1948-1968'' (Oxford: Oxford Publishing Company, 2005) ISBN 0860935930
Locomotive numbering was per BR standard practice, from 30115-30122; 30281-30289; 30300-30313; 30338-30338 and 30702-30733. Numbering was based upon the batches built. However, thirteen of the locomotives had been withdrawn by the end of 1948, resulting in gaps in the sequence. Longworth, Hugh: ''British Railway Steam Locomotives: 1948-1968'' (Oxford Publishing Company: Oxford, 2005) ISBN 0860935930

Operational details and preservation

The T9 Class locomotives were well liked by their crews, and gained the nick-name Greyhounds early in their operational career due to the good turn of speed that these locomotives were capable of on LSWR expresses. They proved of great use west of Salisbury where their light axle loadings and short frame lengths were better suited to the tight curves of the Southern's Western Section. Herring, Peter: ''Classic British Steam Locomotives'' (Abbeydale Press: London, 2000) Section "Merchant Navy Class" ISBN 1-86147-057-6

In 1947, 13 locomotives were converted to oil burning. This experiment ended in 1948, and all locomotives involved were withdrawn Longworth, Hugh: ''British Railway Steam Locomotives: 1948-1968'' (Oxford Publishing Company: Oxford, 2005) ISBN 0860935930
LSWR/SR 119 (BR 30119) was used by the Southern Railway and early British Railways as a Royal engine and as such was painted in malachite green livery Longworth, Hugh: ''British Railway Steam Locomotives: 1948-1968'' (Oxford Publishing Company: Oxford, 2005) ISBN 0-86093-5930
The class remained intact throughout Southern Railway ownership 1923-1947 and 20 still remained on BR's books in 1959, being used on lighter duties in the westcountry.^[1][2] All, however, had been withdrawn by 1961 upon the advent of the BR Modernisation Plan. Longworth, Hugh: ''British Railway Steam Locomotives: 1948-1968'' (Oxford Publishing Company: Oxford, 2005) ISBN 0-86093-5930
One engine, LSWR/SR 120 (BR 30120), was saved for preservation by the National Railway Museum. Withdrawn from Exmouth Junction shed, Exeter in 1961 she was repaired at Eastleigh Works and returned to service in LSWR green for special trains in 1962. She was again overhauled in the early 1980s on the Mid Hants Railway and returned to steam.^[3] Currently, the engine resides on the Bluebell Railway, awaiting overhaul and major boiler repairs that have prevented its use for several years.

References

1. The twilight years of the Greyhounds in Wessex, Siviour, Gerald, , , Steam Days,
2. Gone to the dogs?, Grayer, Jeffery, , , Backtrack,
3. Greyhound 120, Cooper, Peter, , , Urie S15 Preservation Group, ,

Further reading

★ The Drummond Greyhounds of the LSWR, Bradley, D. L., , , David & Charles, ,

★ A look at the Drummond T9 class, Crosse, J. A., , , Backtrack,