LSWR K10 CLASS

The London and South Western Railway 'K10 Class' was a class of 40 4-4-0 steam locomotives designed for mixed traffic work. They were introduced on the London and South Western Railway in 1901 and 1902 to the design of Dugald Drummond, where they earned the nickname "Small Hoppers".

Contents

Background

Construction history

Livery and numbering

LSWR and Southern

Post-1948 (nationalisation)

Operational details

References

Further Reading

External links

Background

The failure of the C8 Class spawned the T9 Class of 1899 for use on passenger dutuies. However, the requirement for a mixed-traffic version that could undertake any work left over provided a problem of uniting both power and traction in a compact locomotive design.Burtt, F.: ''L. & S.W.R. locomotives: 1872-1923'' (London: Ian Allan, 1949) A response was required that needed to be fleet of foot, therefore having smaller wheels to handle these duties.
Dugald Drummond attempted to create a mixed-traffic version of the T9 using similar features, in order for the new design to be standardised with other classes operating at the time. The result was the K10 Class, which was inended to be capable of moving light to medium loads over long distances.

Construction history

The Drummond K10 was designed between 1901/2, and shared the same boiler as his first 4-4-0 for the LSWR, the relatively unsuccessful C8 Class of 1897. They were originally intended as a mixed traffic version of the C8 Class, and were therefore fitted with smaller wheels for this purpose. These were powered by two Stephenson link inside cylinders, a proven combination on his previous T9 Class design. A Drummond North British-style lipped chimney and dome capped off the boiler.
40 of the class were subsequently outshopped from the LSWR's Nine Elms locomotive works. Several were equipped with a six-wheeled tender because of their intended short journey lengths, which included local stopping trains and medium-level freight haulage, whilst others had the Drummond eight-wheeled 'watercart' tender for longer trips.

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. 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 30135 to 30153 and 30329 to 30394. 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

The class shared the same inability to sustain their power over long distances as the C8s, leading to the K10s being employed only on occasional main line trips over short distances. The class therefore gained the nickname of "Small Hoppers" from their crews. The aforementioned defect was not a hindrance, with the class leading an admirable career on secondary routes. Due to the LSWR being primarilly a passenger railway, there were few heavy goods services that would have proved too much for the design despite its flaws.
Twenty-three passed into British Railways ownership in 1948. None has survived to be preserved.

References

Further Reading

★ Ian Allan ABC of British Railways Locomotives, 1949 edition, part 2

External links

★ SEMG gallery