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SER 235 class

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

235 class
Class J
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerJames I. Cudworth
BuilderBrassey & Co
Build date1866
Specifications
Configuration:
 • Whyte0-4-4WT
Driver dia.5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Trailing dia.3 ft 8 in (1.12 m)
Wheelbase20 ft 6 in (6.25 m)
Loco weight34.65 long tons (35.21 t)
Fuel typeCoke
Fuel capacity1.25 long tons (1,270 kg)
Water cap.850 imp gal (3,900 L)
Firebox:
 • Grate area10.5 sq ft (0.98 m2)
Boiler pressure130 psi (0.90 MPa)
Heating surface903 sq ft (83.9 m2)
CylindersTwo, inside
Cylinder size15 in × 20 in (380 mm × 510 mm)
Career
OperatorsSouth Eastern Railway
Number in class7
Numbers235–241
DeliveredJuly–August 1866
WithdrawnJune 1887–June 1893
DispositionAll scrapped

The SER 235 class was a class of 0-4-4T steam locomotives on the South Eastern Railway. Introduced in 1866, they were the first locomotives of this wheel arrangement to be built for an English railway.

History

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Until 1864 the South Eastern Railway had very few tank locomotives.[1] In that year the 205 class 0-4-2T locomotives were introduced, for use on the London suburban passenger services. They were designed by James I. Cudworth, the company's locomotive superintendent.[1] They performed well, but their capabilities were restricted by their small fuel and water capacities,[2] so after twelve were built, Cudworth produced an enlarged version of the design.

With the fuel capacity raised from 0.75 long tons (760 kg) to 1.25 long tons (1,270 kg) and the water capacity raised from 690 imperial gallons (3,100 L) to 850 imp gal (3,900 L), the extra weight and length needed behind the cab required adding an extra trailing axle, producing an 0-4-4T - the first of that wheel arrangement to be built for an English railway (the first Scottish railway to use the 0-4-4T wheel arrangement was the Caledonian Railway, in 1873).[3][2][4] There were compensating levers to equalise the weight between the coupled axles, and the outside-framed bogie also had compensating levers;[3] it carried about a third of the locomotive's weight.[2] Like the 205 class, they burned coke for fuel.[5]

At first, they were mainly used on services to Greenwich.[2] Only one batch (of seven) was built in 1866;[6] there were troubles with the bogie, and so when more were required Cudworth once more used the 0-4-2T type, producing the 73 class. However, the 235 class continued to be used and all were given new boilers between 1877 and 1883.[7] Under Stirling's locomotive classification scheme of September 1879, they formed Class J.[8] They were withdrawn and scrapped between 1887 and 1893.[7]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Bradley 1985, p. 119.
  2. ^ a b c d Bradley 1985, p. 122.
  3. ^ a b Ahrons 1987, p. 172.
  4. ^ Grant 1959, p. 10.
  5. ^ Bradley 1985, p. 120,122.
  6. ^ Bradley 1985, pp. 122–123.
  7. ^ a b Bradley 1985, p. 123.
  8. ^ Bradley 1985, p. 15.

References

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  • Ahrons, E.L. (1987) [1927]. The British Steam Railway Locomotive 1825-1925. London: Bracken Books. ISBN 1-85170-103-6.
  • Bradley, D.L. (September 1985) [1963]. The Locomotive History of the South Eastern Railway (2nd ed.). London: RCTS. ISBN 0-901115-48-7.
  • Grant, John W. (January 1959). Cooke, B.W.C. (ed.). "Scottish 0-4-4 Tank Engines". The Railway Magazine. Vol. 105, no. 693. Westminster: Tothill Press.