LB&SCR A1 class

Infobox Locomotive
powertype=Steam
name = LB&SCR A1 Class

---

caption = Boxhill is preserved as part of the National Collection at the National Railway Museum.
designer =
builder = LBSCR Brighton Works
builddate = 1872 and 1874-1880.
totalproduction = 50
whytetype = 0-6-0
uicclass = C
gauge = RailGauge|ussg
driversize = convert|48|in|m|3|abbr=on
length = 26 ft 0½ in (12 ft wheelbase)
wheelbase = convert|12|ft|m|2|abbr=on
weight = convert|27.5|LT|t|
fueltype = Coal
fuelc

waterc

cylindercount = 2
cylindersize = 12×20 in (305×508 mm)
firearea = 33 ft² (3.07 m²)
boilerpressure = convert|150|psi|MPa|abbr=on|lk=on
tractiveeffort = convert|7650|lbf|kN|abbr=on|lk=on
railroad = LB&SCR,
Southern Railway
British Railways
railroadclass = LBSC: A1
BR: 0P

The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) A1 Class is a class of 0-6-0T steam locomotive generally known as Terriers. Designed by William Stroudley, 50 were built in 1872 and 1874-1880. They were designed for hauling commuter trains, mainly in South London and East London (including through Marc Isambard Brunel's Thames Tunnel), but were soon made obsolete and put on other work, often finding use on branch line passenger and freight workings and as shunting engines. Between 1911 and 1913, 12 were reboilered, with another four following suit after the Great War; these engines forming the A1X Class. Many however were withdrawn between 1898-1920.

Fifteen of the class entered British Railways stock in 1948, and BR gave them the power classification 0P. They lasted longer than most classes of pre-grouping tank engine due to the presence of several light railways in the Southern Region's jurisdiction, which needed small engines such as the 'Terrier' class due to severe weight restrictions. The most notable of these lines were the Kent & East Sussex Railway and the Hayling Island branch.

Preservation

The following members of the class (10 in total) have been preserved, and may be seen at a number of lines in the South of England. The engines are listed in order of their LB&SCR identity; the identity in bold is their current running identity as of September 2006.

* 40 "Brighton" (preserved at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway as W11 "Newport" )
* 46 "Newington" (preserved at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway as W8 "Freshwater" )
* 50 "Whitechapel" (preserved at the Spa Valley Railway as no. 32650 "Sutton" )
* 54 "Waddon" (preserved at the Canadian Railway Museum)
* 55 "Stepney" (preserved at the Bluebell Railway)
* 62 "Martello" (preserved at the Bressingham Steam Museum as 662 "Martello" )
* 70 "Poplar" (preserved at the Kent & East Sussex Railway as 3 "Bodiam" )
* 72 "Fenchurch" (preserved at the Bluebell Railway as 672 "Fenchurch" )
* 78 "Knowle" (preserved at the Kent & East Sussex Railway as 32678)
* 82 "Boxhill" (preserved at the National Railway Museum)

Late in their LB&SCR careers, the two-digit numbers were prefixed by a 6 and their names replaced the inscription LBSC on their side tanks (so 55 became 655).

In Southern Railway ownership the class were renumbered with a 2 prefix (so 670 became 2670)

A further renumbering in BR ownership saw the remaining members of the class gain a 3 at the start (2678 becoming 32678, for instance).

The A1 class in fiction

An A1 class locomotive, "Stepney" appears in "Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine", one of the books in The Railway Series of children's books written by Rev. W. Awdry. "Boxhill " was referred to in "Thomas & the Great Railway Show".

Trivia

* No.40 "Brighton" was hand-chosen by William Stroudley to represent the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway at the Paris Exhibition of 1878, and won a gold medal for her workmanship.

* No.55 "Stepney" (as no. 32655) was the first engine to arrive at the first standard gauge preserved line in the UK, the Bluebell Railway on 17 May 1960, joined by sister 'Terrier' no.32636 (formerly no.72 "Fenchurch") in 1963, effectively making her the doyen of the current heritage railway movement.

* There were plans during her restoration in the early 2000s to restore no.662 "Martello" to full mainline standards to allow her to appear at Open Days on the mainline in steam, but the costs involved prevented this.

* At the time of her withdrawal in late 1962, No.32636 (formerly 72 "Fenchurch") was widely acclaimed as the oldest working steam engine in British Railways ownership.

* During a visit in May 2006, 662 "Martello" became the first LB&SCR-liveried engine to run over the Lavender Line for over a century.

* During 2006 there were two separate gatherings of five of the currently six serviceable engines. The Kent & East Sussex Railway event over the weekend of the 6th and 7th May had "Stepney", "Fenchurch". "Martello", "Knowle" and "Bodiam" in action, while the Bluebell Railway event over the weekend of the 10th to 13th November played host to "Stepney", "Fenchurch", "Knowle", "Martello" and "Freshwater". It had been planned that this event would also feature "Bodiam" but a failure the week before forced it to pull out.

* 8 locomotives were built by local Australian builders to the LBSCR's general arrangement drawings for the New South Wales Government Railways, Australia and entered traffic at about the same time as the terriers in England. They were essentially identical engines, except for a simpler cab, larger bunker, larger sand boxes and other detailed differences. They became redundant from about 1890 after the introduction of larger and more powerful tank locomotives and many were fitted with small cranes in place of the bunker. Some saw service with other groups into the 1930's. They were less successful than their English cousins due to different operating conditions and unfortunately all were scrapped before the start of the preservation era.

* One locomotive of this type, No.43 "Gipsy Hill" was sold to the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Railway where it was given the number 5 and named "Portishead". It subsequently passed to the GWR. A model of this loco is now produced by Hornby, but with no modifications from their normal Terrier moulds.cite book | first = Tom| last = Middlemass| authorlink = | coauthors = | year = | month = | title = Stroudley and his Terriers| chapter = | editor = | others = | edition = | pages = pp64-65| publisher = Pendragon| location = York| id = ISBN 1 899816 00 3| url = ]

References

External links

* [http://www.semgonline.com/steam/a1x_01.html SEMG page about the A1 Class]
* [http://www.terriertrust.org.uk/ The Terrier Trust]

Gallery