LCDR R class

LCDR R class

No. 1675 at Tonbridge Locomotive Depot, 18 May 1946

Type and origin
Power type	Steam
Designer	William Kirtley
Builder	Sharp, Stewart & Co
Serial number	3722–3739
Build date	September–December 1891
Total produced	18

Specifications
Configuration:
• Whyte	0-4-4T
• UIC	B2′ n2t
Gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Driver dia.	5 ft 6 in (1.676 m)
Wheelbase	21 ft 6 in (6.55 m)
Loco weight	49.75 long tons (50.55 t)
Fuel capacity	2 long tons (2.0 t)
Water cap.	1,100 imp gal (5,000 L; 1,300 US gal)
Firebox:
• Grate area	16.25 sq ft (1.510 m²)
Boiler pressure	150 psi (1.03 MPa)
Heating surface	1,071 sq ft (99.5 m²)
Cylinders	Two, inside
Cylinder size	17 in × 24 in (432 mm × 610 mm)
Train brakes	Westinghouse

Career
Operators	London, Chatham and Dover Railway → South Eastern and Chatham Railway → Southern Railway → British Railways
Class	R
Numbers	LCDR: 199–216 SECR: 658–675 SR: A658–A675 → 1658–1675 BR: 31658–31675
Nicknames	Bobtails
Withdrawn	May 1940 – December 1955
Disposition	All scrapped

The LCDR R class was a class of 0-4-4T locomotives on the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR). No. 207 (eventually no. 31666) is notable as being the last former LCDR locomotive to be withdrawn from service.^[1] The whole class was fitted with condensing apparatus for working on the Widened Lines.^[2]

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Transcription

History

For many years the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) had favoured the 0-4-4T wheel arrangement for suburban and stopping passenger trains, and when more were required in 1890, consideration was given to ordering a further batch of the existing A2 class 0-4-4T (introduced 1883); it was then decided that a modified design was required.^[3] The R class locomotives were designed by William Kirtley as a development of his earlier A2 class,^[3] and 18 were built by Sharp, Stewart and Company in 1891.^[4]^[5]

Numbering

Their LCDR numbers were 199–216, which under the South Eastern and Chatham Railway became 658–675 from 1899.^[4] They were renumbered three more times: to A658–A675 by the Southern Railway (SR) from 1923; to 1658–1675 by the SR from 1931; and to 31658–31675 by British Railways from 1948.

Withdrawal

Three (Nos. 1664, 1668 and 1669) were withdrawn in 1940 to provides spares for the others,^[1] and withdrawal of the rest occurred between 1949 and 1955.^[5]

Table of withdrawals^[6]
Year	Quantity in service at start of year	Quantity withdrawn	Numbers
1940	18	3	1664, 1668, 1669
1949	15	1	31672
1951	14	3	31659, 31667, 31670
1952	11	5	31658, 31665, 31673–31675
1953	6	3	31660, 31662, 31663
1954	3	1	31671
1955	2	2	31661, 31666

Notes

^ ^a ^b Bradley 1979, p. 87.
^ Smith 1994, p. 25.
^ ^a ^b Bradley 1979, pp. 82–83.
^ ^a ^b Bradley 1979, p. 83.
^ ^a ^b Bradley 1979, pp. 87–88.
^ Bradley 1960, p. 33.

References

Bradley, D.L. (March 1979) [1960]. The Locomotive History of the London, Chatham & Dover Railway (2nd ed.). London: RCTS. ISBN 0-901115-47-9.
Bradley, D.L. (1960). The Locomotives of the London, Chatham & Dover Railway (1st ed.). London: RCTS.
Smith, Martin (1994). Steam on the Underground. Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-2282-8.

South Eastern and Chatham Railway locomotives

SER

B. Cubitt (1842–45)	13 1 (1841) 7 19 23
J. Cudworth (1845–76)	1 (1846) 88 68 115 144 27 81 134 152 47 95 6 21 113 59 179 118 19 205 10 235 (G1) 124 171 152
A. M. Watkin (1876–77)	259
R. C. Mansell (1877–78)	58
J. Stirling (1878–98)	A B F O Q R

LCDR

J. Cubitt & T. R. Crampton (1853–60)	Sondes Tiger (G Class) Echo (K Class)
Secondhand (1860–61)	Meteor Swale Magnet Hercules Aeolus ex-LNWR 2-2-0s Brigand (O Class) Ruby (S Class)
W. Martley (1860–74)	Acis (H Class) <i>Adrian</i> (J Class) Huz New Aeolus (S Class) <i>Rose</i> (Q Class) Second Sondes (F Class) Scotchmen (E Class) Large Scotchmen (D Class) Dawn (N Class) Bluebell (P Class) Reindeer (L Class) Enigma (L Class) Europa (C Class)
W. Kirtley (1874–99)	A A1 A2 B B1 B2 M M1 M2 M3 R R1 T