SECR O Class
Encyclopedia
The South Eastern Railway (SER) O Class (some of which were later rebuilt, becoming the O1 Class) was a class of 0-6-0
steam locomotive
designed for freight work, and were the main freight engines of the SER, and later the South Eastern and Chatham Railway
(SECR) for a number of years. However, they were displaced by the more powerful C class
locomotives following the amalgamation of the South Eastern Railway and London, Chatham and Dover Railway
(LCDR) in 1899. This relegated the class to working on the numerous branch lines in Kent, on both passenger and freight work. They worked most notably on the Kent & East Sussex Railway and East Kent Railway
, operating coal trains from the Kent coal fields to London, as well as shunting work at such locations as Shepherds Well
, Hoo Junction
and Ashford
. The majority were withdrawn before the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, and those that remained were slowly withdrawn from nationalisation onwards.
The death knell for the final few members of the class came with the Modernisation Plan of 1955, which closed down many of the branch lines they continued to serve in Kent, which included the branch lines to locations such as Hawkhurst, New Romney
, Tenterden and the Kent coal fields. Those lines which remained open generally either lost their freight services or were dieselised. All members of the class had been withdrawn by 1962, and only one member of the class has survived scrapping.
The balance (57 locomotives) were built at Ashford Works between 1882 and 1899, their numbers being scattered between 1 and 258, plus 299–301, 314–8, 331–4.
Between 1903 and 1932, 59 locomotives were given larger boilers, of the same type as was fitted to the SECR H class
0-4-4T; these rebuilds were designated the O1 class.
One O1 class, SECR No. 65 (SR No. 1065, BR No. 31065) has been preserved, and is currently based on the Bluebell Railway
in Sussex
.
(SER) at Ashford railway works
in 1896, and is the only surviving former SER locomotive. It was rebuilt in 1908, also at Ashford, into a form reminiscent of the more modern SECR C class
. The engine was withdrawn by British Railways in 1961, its major claim to fame being the working of the last railtour to run over the Hawkhurst branch
in Kent, along with C class
No. 31592, also preserved at the Bluebell Railway
. It was also a regular operator over the Kent & East Sussex Railway during the last decade of that line's operational lifespan. The engine went on to haul demolition trains.
Within a month of operating the special over the Hawkhurst branch, the engine was withdrawn from general traffic by British Railways and was moved to Bricklayers Arms steam shed for storage, along with a number of other former SECR engines. Work began on cutting the engine up for scrap, with the cutting of the locomotive's coupling rods, but work ceased and was later to be repaired prior to preservation.
in Kent. There, the engine worked during open days along with the former 31592 and H class
tank no. 31263, both now also Bluebell Railway residents.
As well as the steam engines, the centre played host to a number other vehicles, including Pullmans which were to go on to form part of the fleet for the VSOE pullman train. When the site closed, most of these vehicles were dispersed, the majority going to both the K&ESR and the Bluebell, but this was not so 31065. The engine needed a heavy overhaul, and was removed to a private site elsewhere in Kent for the work to take place. Once there, the engine was largely dismantled, but after some initial work on the boiler, including removal of several boiler tubes, the work faltered and the parts were separated. The engine remained in this state for around 20 years, often stored outside and subject to the ravages of the weather.
During the late summer of 1996, the owner of the engine visited the Bluebell to inspect the facilities available at Sheffield Park
with a view to restoring the engine properly. The rolling chassis arrived soon afterwards, and was followed by several of the other constituent parts of the engine, including the boiler, during the following months. With the impending centenary of the SECR due in 1999, work started swiftly on restoring the engine to traffic. A major overhaul ensued, as the engine had not received major work since before its withdrawal in 1961, and had been the victim of being stored outside.
The engine was returned to traffic for the centenary of the amalgamation of the SER and LCDR into the SECR
in 1999, and was finished in the ornate SECR goods livery, the same livery carried by C class no. 592, which had been a regular performer at the railway since its arrival in the 1970s. The two engines briefly ran together, with many photographic charters bringing the two together on a regular basis. This lasted until the C class' boiler ticket expired in 2000, and following the retirement of the P class
tank also operational (No. 323 Bluebell), the now-numbered 65 briefly became the sole operational ex-SECR engine in the world, until the restoration of another P class tank at the Kent & East Sussex Railway in 2001. It remained the only operational ex-SECR engine at the Bluebell Railway until the restoration to traffic of 592 in the summer of 2007.
The engine has performed regularly at the Bluebell Railway since its overhaul, often to be found operating the line's vintage trains, which is often formed of ex-SECR carriages. In May 2009 the engine made a historic return to the K&ESR, having been a regular on the line during the 1950s, including working some of the demolition trains. This was the first time since its arrival that the engine had left the Bluebell, although a previous visit to the Mid Hants Railway for a gala appearance in 2007 had been planned, but was cancelled owing to a failure. Despite this, it has been a reliable and regular performer, popular with both crews and passengers alike.
The engine's boiler certificate expired in July 2009, but owing to the amount of work done during the last overhaul, it is not thought to require much work to restore it, and is likely to be boosted by the recent return of 592 and P class
tanks nos. 178 and 323, and the impending return during 2012 of 263, thus creating the potential for five ex-SECR engines to be operational together for the first time since the 1960s.
0-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels...
steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
designed for freight work, and were the main freight engines of the SER, and later the South Eastern and Chatham Railway
South Eastern and Chatham Railway
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies Joint Management Committee , known by its shorter name of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway was a working union of two neighbouring rival railways, the South Eastern Railway and London, Chatham and Dover Railway , that operated services between...
(SECR) for a number of years. However, they were displaced by the more powerful C class
SECR C Class
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway C Class is a class of 0-6-0 steam locomotive, designed by Harry Wainwright and built between 1900 and 1908. They were designed for freight duties, although occasionally used for passenger trains. They operated over the lines of the railway in London and...
locomotives following the amalgamation of the South Eastern Railway and London, Chatham and Dover Railway
London, Chatham and Dover Railway
The London, Chatham and Dover Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1859 until the 1923 grouping which united it with other companies to form the Southern Railway. Its lines ran through London and northern and eastern Kent to form a significant part of the Greater London...
(LCDR) in 1899. This relegated the class to working on the numerous branch lines in Kent, on both passenger and freight work. They worked most notably on the Kent & East Sussex Railway and East Kent Railway
East Kent Light Railway
The East Kent Light Railway was part of the Colonel Stephens group of cheaply built rural light railways in England. Holman Fred Stephens was engineer from its inception, subsequently becoming director and manager...
, operating coal trains from the Kent coal fields to London, as well as shunting work at such locations as Shepherds Well
Shepherds Well railway station
Shepherds Well railway station serves Shepherdswell in Kent. It is served by Southeastern. It is adjacent to the terminus of the East Kent heritage line, which is spelt as one word, Shepherdswell....
, Hoo Junction
Hoo Junction
Hoo Junction is a rail yard on the North Kent Line. It is located near the village of Higham, Kent and also Shorne Marshes; it is operated by EWS...
and Ashford
Ashford International railway station
Ashford International railway station serves Ashford in Kent, England. Services are provided by Southeastern, Southern and Eurostar.International services use platforms 3 & 4, whilst domestic trains use the original platforms 1 & 2, and a new island built when the Channel Tunnel opened...
. The majority were withdrawn before the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, and those that remained were slowly withdrawn from nationalisation onwards.
The death knell for the final few members of the class came with the Modernisation Plan of 1955, which closed down many of the branch lines they continued to serve in Kent, which included the branch lines to locations such as Hawkhurst, New Romney
New Romney and Littlestone-on-Sea railway station
New Romney and Littlestone-on-Sea was a railway station which lay in between the villages of New Romney and Littlestone-on-Sea in Kent, England. The station opened in 1884 and closed in 1967.- Early years :...
, Tenterden and the Kent coal fields. Those lines which remained open generally either lost their freight services or were dieselised. All members of the class had been withdrawn by 1962, and only one member of the class has survived scrapping.
Construction
122 locomotives of the O class were built between 1878 and 1899, the last five entering service after the SER locomotive stock had been pooled with that of the LCDR to form the SECR. Sharp, Stewart and Company received four orders totalling 65:| Order no. | Works nos. | New | Running nos. | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E758 | 2796–2807, 2810–7 | October 1878–April 1879 | 279–298 | 20 |
| E984 | 3711–20 | August–September 1891 | 369–378 | 10 |
| E1024 | 3946–65 | September–December 1893 | 379–398 | 20 |
| E1100 | 4302–16 | August–October 1897 | 425–39 | 15 |
The balance (57 locomotives) were built at Ashford Works between 1882 and 1899, their numbers being scattered between 1 and 258, plus 299–301, 314–8, 331–4.
Rebuilding
28 of the O class locomotives were given replacement boilers between 1900 and 1923, of basically similar dimensions to the originals; however, the fireboxes were deeper, and so the boiler was mounted higher in the frames.Between 1903 and 1932, 59 locomotives were given larger boilers, of the same type as was fitted to the SECR H class
SECR H Class
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway H Class is a class of 0-4-4T steam locomotive originally designed for suburban passenger work, designed by Harry Wainwright in 1904...
0-4-4T; these rebuilds were designated the O1 class.
Preservation
Bluebell Railway
The Bluebell Railway is a heritage line running for nine miles along the border between East and West Sussex, England. Steam trains are operated between and , with an intermediate station at .The railway is managed and run largely by volunteers...
in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
.
Pre-preservation history
No. 65 was originally built for the South Eastern RailwaySouth Eastern Railway (UK)
The South Eastern Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent...
(SER) at Ashford railway works
Ashford railway works
Ashford railway works was in the town of Ashford in the county of Kent in England.-South Eastern Railway:Ashford locomotive works was built by the South Eastern Railway on a new site in 1847, replacing an earlier locomotive repair facility at New Cross in London...
in 1896, and is the only surviving former SER locomotive. It was rebuilt in 1908, also at Ashford, into a form reminiscent of the more modern SECR C class
SECR C Class
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway C Class is a class of 0-6-0 steam locomotive, designed by Harry Wainwright and built between 1900 and 1908. They were designed for freight duties, although occasionally used for passenger trains. They operated over the lines of the railway in London and...
. The engine was withdrawn by British Railways in 1961, its major claim to fame being the working of the last railtour to run over the Hawkhurst branch
Hawkhurst Branch Line
The Hawkhurst Branch Line was a short railway line in Kent that connected Hawkhurst, Cranbrook, Goudhurst and Horsmonden with the town of Paddock Wood and the South Eastern and Medway Valley lines, a distance of ....
in Kent, along with C class
SECR C Class
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway C Class is a class of 0-6-0 steam locomotive, designed by Harry Wainwright and built between 1900 and 1908. They were designed for freight duties, although occasionally used for passenger trains. They operated over the lines of the railway in London and...
No. 31592, also preserved at the Bluebell Railway
Rolling stock of the Bluebell Railway
- Operational :- Undergoing repair or restoration :-Under construction:- Stored or on display :- Bluebell locomotives based elsewhere :*- On loan :- Operational :*- Stored or on display :- 4- and 6-wheeled coaches :...
. It was also a regular operator over the Kent & East Sussex Railway during the last decade of that line's operational lifespan. The engine went on to haul demolition trains.
Within a month of operating the special over the Hawkhurst branch, the engine was withdrawn from general traffic by British Railways and was moved to Bricklayers Arms steam shed for storage, along with a number of other former SECR engines. Work began on cutting the engine up for scrap, with the cutting of the locomotive's coupling rods, but work ceased and was later to be repaired prior to preservation.
Preservation (1963-1996)
Following withdrawal, the engine was purchased by Mr Lewis-Evans in 1963 for the scrap value of £850. The engine was moved from storage at Bricklayers Arms to the Ashford Steam Centre, based on part of the former Ashford railway worksAshford railway works
Ashford railway works was in the town of Ashford in the county of Kent in England.-South Eastern Railway:Ashford locomotive works was built by the South Eastern Railway on a new site in 1847, replacing an earlier locomotive repair facility at New Cross in London...
in Kent. There, the engine worked during open days along with the former 31592 and H class
SECR H Class
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway H Class is a class of 0-4-4T steam locomotive originally designed for suburban passenger work, designed by Harry Wainwright in 1904...
tank no. 31263, both now also Bluebell Railway residents.
As well as the steam engines, the centre played host to a number other vehicles, including Pullmans which were to go on to form part of the fleet for the VSOE pullman train. When the site closed, most of these vehicles were dispersed, the majority going to both the K&ESR and the Bluebell, but this was not so 31065. The engine needed a heavy overhaul, and was removed to a private site elsewhere in Kent for the work to take place. Once there, the engine was largely dismantled, but after some initial work on the boiler, including removal of several boiler tubes, the work faltered and the parts were separated. The engine remained in this state for around 20 years, often stored outside and subject to the ravages of the weather.
Preservation (1996 onwards)
Sheffield Park railway station
Sheffield Park is the southern terminus of the Bluebell Railway and also the headquarters of the line. It is located on the southern bank of the River Ouse and is also situated on the Greenwich Meridian....
with a view to restoring the engine properly. The rolling chassis arrived soon afterwards, and was followed by several of the other constituent parts of the engine, including the boiler, during the following months. With the impending centenary of the SECR due in 1999, work started swiftly on restoring the engine to traffic. A major overhaul ensued, as the engine had not received major work since before its withdrawal in 1961, and had been the victim of being stored outside.
The engine was returned to traffic for the centenary of the amalgamation of the SER and LCDR into the SECR
South Eastern and Chatham Railway
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway Companies Joint Management Committee , known by its shorter name of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway was a working union of two neighbouring rival railways, the South Eastern Railway and London, Chatham and Dover Railway , that operated services between...
in 1999, and was finished in the ornate SECR goods livery, the same livery carried by C class no. 592, which had been a regular performer at the railway since its arrival in the 1970s. The two engines briefly ran together, with many photographic charters bringing the two together on a regular basis. This lasted until the C class' boiler ticket expired in 2000, and following the retirement of the P class
SECR P Class
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway P Class is a class of 0-6-0T steam locomotive designed by Harry Wainwright.They were inspired by, and loosely based on, the more successful LB&SCR A1 Class "Terriers" and eight were built in 1909 and 1910. They were originally intended for lightweight...
tank also operational (No. 323 Bluebell), the now-numbered 65 briefly became the sole operational ex-SECR engine in the world, until the restoration of another P class tank at the Kent & East Sussex Railway in 2001. It remained the only operational ex-SECR engine at the Bluebell Railway until the restoration to traffic of 592 in the summer of 2007.
The engine has performed regularly at the Bluebell Railway since its overhaul, often to be found operating the line's vintage trains, which is often formed of ex-SECR carriages. In May 2009 the engine made a historic return to the K&ESR, having been a regular on the line during the 1950s, including working some of the demolition trains. This was the first time since its arrival that the engine had left the Bluebell, although a previous visit to the Mid Hants Railway for a gala appearance in 2007 had been planned, but was cancelled owing to a failure. Despite this, it has been a reliable and regular performer, popular with both crews and passengers alike.
The engine's boiler certificate expired in July 2009, but owing to the amount of work done during the last overhaul, it is not thought to require much work to restore it, and is likely to be boosted by the recent return of 592 and P class
SECR P Class
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway P Class is a class of 0-6-0T steam locomotive designed by Harry Wainwright.They were inspired by, and loosely based on, the more successful LB&SCR A1 Class "Terriers" and eight were built in 1909 and 1910. They were originally intended for lightweight...
tanks nos. 178 and 323, and the impending return during 2012 of 263, thus creating the potential for five ex-SECR engines to be operational together for the first time since the 1960s.