SECR C Class
Encyclopedia
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway
(SECR) 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 south-east England until the early 1960s. One example was rebuilt as an S Class' saddle tank
locomotives were tested: former London, Chatham and Dover Railway
B2 class No. 194 designed by William Kirtley
; and former South Eastern Railway
O class
No. 436 designed by James Stirling
. The Kirtley design proved superior and a new order for 40 locomotives based on it was placed. These new locomotives were designed by Harry Wainwright
, the new Chief Mechanical Engineer
of the railway, and formed the first of the C class.
The first fifteen locomotives were constructed by Neilson, Reid and Company and delivered in June 1900, followed by a further fifteen from Sharp, Stewart and Company. The remainder were built by the SECR workshops at Ashford
(70 examples 1900-1908) and Longhedge Works
(9 examples 1903-4).
specials), throughout the SER between Reading railway station
and the Kent
Coast. The last twelve locomotives were fitted with steam carriage heating
equipment to enable them to be used to haul prepare empty stock for express trains. The remainder of the class were also so equipped by the Southern Railway after 1923.
overran signals and ran into the back of another goods train just to the west of Paddock Wood station. The Margate train was hauled by C class No. 721. It had 50 goods vehicles including three brake van
s. The other train was hauled by C class No. 61. The fireman of this train was killed in the accident. Although the main cause of the accident was the driver of the Margate train failing to obey signals, the signalman at Tonbridge East signal box was also censured for failure to give the driver adequate warning that although the train had been accepted by the signalman at Paddock Wood, the line was not clear. The signalman at Paddock Wood had accepted the train under Regulation No 5 - "Section clear but station or junction blocked".
On 18 February 1948, locomotive 1225 was wrongly despatched into the north sidings at Goudhurst and derailed.
stock as shunters at Ashford Works until 1966.
ST for use as a heavy-duty shunter at Richborough port
which was then being used to ship locomotives and armoured equipment to the Western Front
. After the War it was used as a shunter at Bricklayers' Arms
until 1951.
. It has recently returned to traffic after its most recent overhaul in 2007. In 1999, it featured as the Green Dragon locomotive in the a television film of The Railway Children
.
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) C Class is a class of 0-6-0
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 by Harry Wainwright
Harry Wainwright
Harry Smith Wainwright was the Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon Superintendent of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway from 1899 to 1913. He is best known for a series of simple but competent locomotives produced under his direction at the company's Ashford railway works in the early years of the...
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 south-east England until the early 1960s. One example was rebuilt as an S Class' saddle tank
History
The SECR held trials in November 1898 to decide on a standard freight locomotive design. Two existing 0-6-00-6-0
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...
locomotives were tested: former 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...
B2 class No. 194 designed by William Kirtley
William Kirtley
William Kirtley was the Locomotive Superintendent of the London Chatham and Dover Railway in England from 1874 until the merger to form the South Eastern and Chatham Railway at the end of 1898.-Biography:...
; and former South Eastern Railway
South 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...
O class
SECR O Class
The South Eastern Railway O 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 for a number of years...
No. 436 designed by James Stirling
James Stirling (1835-1917)
James Stirling was a Scottish mechanical engineer. He was Locomotive Superintendent of the Glasgow and South Western Railway and later the South Eastern Railway.-Biography:...
. The Kirtley design proved superior and a new order for 40 locomotives based on it was placed. These new locomotives were designed by Harry Wainwright
Harry Wainwright
Harry Smith Wainwright was the Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon Superintendent of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway from 1899 to 1913. He is best known for a series of simple but competent locomotives produced under his direction at the company's Ashford railway works in the early years of the...
, the new Chief Mechanical Engineer
Chief Mechanical Engineer
Chief Mechanical Engineer and Locomotive Superintendent are titles applied by British, Australian, and New Zealand railway companies to the person ultimately responsible to the board of the company for the building and maintaining of the locomotives and rolling stock...
of the railway, and formed the first of the C class.
The first fifteen locomotives were constructed by Neilson, Reid and Company and delivered in June 1900, followed by a further fifteen from Sharp, Stewart and Company. The remainder were built by the SECR workshops at Ashford
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...
(70 examples 1900-1908) and Longhedge Works
Longhedge Railway Works (Battersea)
Longhedge railway works was a locomotive and carriage works built by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway in the borough of Battersea, South London to serve their new London terminus at Victoria...
(9 examples 1903-4).
Operational use
The locomotives were used on freight services and occasional passenger excursion trains (such as hop-pickingHopper hut
A hopper hut was a form of temporary accommodation provided for hop-pickers on English farms in the 19th and 20th centuries.-Background:thumb|Hopper huts at Grange Farm, TonbridgeBefore the days of mechanised farming, hop picking was a labour-intensive process, requiring a vastly greater number of...
specials), throughout the SER between Reading railway station
Reading railway station
Reading railway station is a major rail transport hub in the English town of Reading. It is situated on the northern edge of the town centre, close to the main retail and commercial areas, and also the River Thames...
and the Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
Coast. The last twelve locomotives were fitted with steam carriage heating
Steam generator (railroad)
Steam generator is the term used to describe a type of boiler used to produce steam for climate control and potable water heating in railroad passenger cars...
equipment to enable them to be used to haul prepare empty stock for express trains. The remainder of the class were also so equipped by the Southern Railway after 1923.
Accidents
At 03:40 hrs on 5 May 1919, a goods train from Bricklayers Arms to Margate SandsMargate railway station
Margate railway station serves the town of Margate in Thanet in Kent, England. Train services are provided by Southeastern.Trains from the station generally run to London Victoria via , or to via Ramsgate, Canterbury West and Ashford International...
overran signals and ran into the back of another goods train just to the west of Paddock Wood station. The Margate train was hauled by C class No. 721. It had 50 goods vehicles including three brake van
Brake van
Brake van and guard's van are terms used mainly in the UK, Australia and India for a railway vehicle equipped with a hand brake which can be applied by the guard...
s. The other train was hauled by C class No. 61. The fireman of this train was killed in the accident. Although the main cause of the accident was the driver of the Margate train failing to obey signals, the signalman at Tonbridge East signal box was also censured for failure to give the driver adequate warning that although the train had been accepted by the signalman at Paddock Wood, the line was not clear. The signalman at Paddock Wood had accepted the train under Regulation No 5 - "Section clear but station or junction blocked".
On 18 February 1948, locomotive 1225 was wrongly despatched into the north sidings at Goudhurst and derailed.
Withdrawal
In common with other freight locomotives in Southern England, the class was very heavily used during the Second World War and repairs and maintenance deferred. As a result one locomotive had to be withdrawn in December 1947, but the remaining 107 examples entered service with British Railways in 1948. Withdrawals of the remainder of the class began in 1953, but accelerated after the Kent Coast electrification in 1959-1960. However, three examples (31271, 31280, 31592) remained in DepartmentalSR departmental locomotives
The Southern Railway numbered its departmental stock, both locomotives and carriages in a series commencing at 1S. The series was retained by the Southern Region of British Rail, but amended so that the numbers carried a 'DS' prefix instead of an 'S' suffix. This page lists the locomotives...
stock as shunters at Ashford Works until 1966.
S class conversion
In 1917 one example, no. 685 was converted into an S class 0-6-00-6-0
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...
ST for use as a heavy-duty shunter at Richborough port
Richborough
Richborough is a settlement north of Sandwich on the east coast of the county of Kent, England. Richborough lies close to the Isle of Thanet....
which was then being used to ship locomotives and armoured equipment to the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
. After the War it was used as a shunter at Bricklayers' Arms
Bricklayers' Arms
Bricklayers' Arms is a busy road intersection between A2 and the London Inner Ring Road in south London, England. It is the junction of Tower Bridge Road, Old Kent Road, New Kent Road and Great Dover Street; Old Kent Road and New Kent Road east-bound are connected by a flyover.The area is named...
until 1951.
Preservation
One, 592 (Southern Railway 1592, BR 31592), has been preserved on the Bluebell RailwayBluebell 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...
. It has recently returned to traffic after its most recent overhaul in 2007. In 1999, it featured as the Green Dragon locomotive in the a television film of The Railway Children
The Railway Children
The Railway Children is a children's book by Edith Nesbit, originally serialised in The London Magazine during 1905 and first published in book form in 1906...
.