South Eastern 0-4-4 Locomotives in Great_Britain

Class Q (Locobase 3645)

Data from E L Ahrons, The British Railway Locomotive, 1825-1925 (London: Locomotive Publishing Company, 1926); "Bogie Tank Engine, South-Eastern Railway", Engineer, Volume 77, No 4 (26 January 1894), pp. 46, 65, 66, and 72; and from "Mr Stirling's Engines on the South Eastern Railway," The Locomotive Magazine, Volume VIII [8] (2 May 1903), p. 304-305.

This was a James Stirling design that remained in production from 1881 to 1897. The company's Ashford Works supplied 30 of them (1881, 1885, 1887-1889, 1892-1895). The others came from Neilson & Co (works numbers 2687-2696 in 1881, 2907-2916 1882-1883, 3930-3939 in 1889, 4304-4318 in 1891, 5100-5114 in 1897) and Sharp, Stewart (works numbers and 3966-3975).

Detail changes over the run including switching to a horizontal grate that slightly reduced firebox heating surface, some batches receiving a larger bunker and consequently a longer wheelbase, some even new boilers. The class was widely used in commuter service in the suburban London area, often in preference to newer locomotives.

The Engineer's 1894 report summarized the class's high reputation. "They are employed upon local and short service trains, with the greatest possible advantage to the company." The writer followed with a laundry list of positive qualities: "They are powerful and get away smartly [a matter of] great importance to the traffic at such a place as Cannon street ...very hand engines [that] can do fast running, local goods traffic, or shunting when required."

Stirling's bogie under the cab and bunker came in for special mention. After 15 years, it had proved "free upon curves, and very steady, even at high speeds, which is much more than can be said of many bogies."

Class unknown (Locobase 3508)

Data from Ahrons (1927).

These J.I. Cudworth engines were back-up 4-4-0 tank engines. It's not clear to me what advantage might have been gained, although in suburban service the high factor of adhesion placed well forward might have meant better starts ...