LB&SCR E2 class

LB&SCR E2 class
First series E2 with short side tanks, 1913
Power type	Steam
Designer	L. B. Billinton
Builder	Brighton works
Build date	1913–1916
Total produced	10
Configuration	0-6-0T
Gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Driver diameter	4 ft 6 in (1.372 m)
Length	30 ft 1 in (9.17 m)
Locomotive weight	52 long tons 15 cwt (118,200 lb/53.6 t)
Fuel type	Coal
Fuel capacity	1,090 imp gal (5,000 l; 1,310 US gal) or 1,256 imp gal (5,710 l; 1,508 US gal)
Boiler pressure	170 psi (1.2 MPa)
Cylinders	Two inside
Cylinder size	17.5 × 26 in (440 × 660 mm)
Tractive effort	21,307 lbf (94.78 kN)
Power class	BR: 3F

The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) E2 Class was a class of 0-6-0T steam locomotives designed by Lawson Billinton, intended for shunting and short distance freight trains. Ten examples were built between 1913 and 1916, and were withdrawn from service between 1961 and 1963.

Background

By 1910 many of the Stroudley E1 class locomotives were worn out or inadequate for the heavier duties required of them. D. E. Marsh intended to rebuild some examples with a larger boiler, but only one E1X rebuild had been completed by the time of his unexpected retirement. Marsh's successor Billinton reversed this policy and instead ordered five new, more powerful locomotives from Brighton works. The new class included several features found on other LB&SCR classes including an I2 class boiler. They were delivered between June 1913 and January 1914.

The second series E2 with extended side tanks, 1915

Second Series

The new design was judged to be successful, except that they were found to have inadequate water supply. Thus when a further order for five locomotives was placed they were given extended side tanks. The second batch were delayed by the onset of the war but were eventually delivered between June 1915 and October 1916.

Use

The E2 class locomotives were mainly used for the heavier shunting and short distance freight duties in the London area and on the south coast, as their small coal bunkers made them unsuitable for long trips. These included empty stock workings at Victoria and London Bridge Stations.

Two were tried in 1914 as passenger locomotives on push-pull duties with the locomotives in the middle of a rake of six coaches, but the experiment was abandoned during the same year as they had insufficient coal capacity.

Following the electrification of the Brighton line in 1936 the class was used as replacements for the former London Chatham and Dover Railway T class at the Herne Hill marshalling yard, around Victoria station and at Dover harbour. During the Second World War they also replaced the SR Z class at Hither Green marshalling yard.

In the mid-1950s the class were tried out as shunters at Southampton Docks, and found to be useful, and six examples were retained for this purpose until their replacement by British Rail Class 07 diesel shunters in 1962.

Withdrawal of the class took place between February 1961 and April 1963. None has survived to preservation.

Locomotive summary

LB&SCR No.	Date Built	S.R. No.	B.R. No.	Date Withdrawn
100	01913-06 June 1913	2100	32100	01961-11 November 1961
101	01913-08 August 1913	2101	32101	01962-09 September 1962
102	01913-10 October 1913	2102	32102	01961-10 October 1961
103	01913-12 December 1913	2103	32103	01962-10 October 1962
104	01914-01 January 1914	2104	32104	01963-04 April 1963
105	01915-06 June 1915	2105	32105	01962-09 September 1962
106	01915-09 September 1915	2106	32106	01962-10 October 1962
107	01916-03 March 1916	2107	32107	01961-02 February 1961
108	01916-07 July 1916	2108	32108	01962-06 June 1962
109	01916-10 October 1916	2109	32109	01963-04 April 1963

Thomas the Tank Engine

In 1946, Reginald Payne used the later series of E2 locomotives as the basis for the character Thomas the Tank Engine in the second book of The Railway Series by the Reverend W. Awdry. According to some sources Thomas was originally going to be modelled on one of the L.N.E.R. J tank classes.^{[citation needed]}

00 gauge models

Hornby produced the locomotive in its earliest form as an 00 gauge model. Production lasted from 1979 to 1985, and the model was later used as the basis for the Thomas the Tank Engine model.

Bachmann have also produced several different-coloured E2-based models in their Junior Range, based on their Thomas model. These are considerably smaller than the Hornby variant, as Bachmann's models were based on the engines of the TV series instead of the "real" loco.

References

• Bradley, D.L. (September 1974). Locomotives of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway: Part 3. London: Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. 
• Sibley, Brian (1995). The Thomas the Tank Engine Man. London: Heinemann. ISBN 0 434 96909 5. 

External links

• Railuk database
• LB&SCR online, E2 class
• Southern E-Group - LB&SCR E2 Class page