Steam Trains and Engines

One of the masterpieces of British locomotive practice came about almost by accident. Soon after the introduction of Maunsell's ' Lord Nelson ' 4-6-Os on the Southern Railway, late in 1926, the Traffic Department had urgent need of a smaller version of the same basic design, suitable for hauling 400-ton passenger trains at an average speed of 55 m.p.h. In line with Maunsell's policy of standardisation, the new design was to utilise as many of the ' Lord Nelson ' parts as possible, such as cylinders, wheels and motion, and in 1930 the first locomotive appeared.

No. 900 was the first of forty 4-4-Os named after famous public schools, such as Rugby and Winchester, and was an immediate success. With three 16| in.x26 in. cylinders and 6 ft. 7 in. coupled wheels, the ' Schools' class have 220-lb. Boiler pressure and are the most powerful 4-4-Os ever built in this country. At first they were used on the Hastings line and on the Charing Cross-Folkestone expresses, but soon their use was extended to the North Kent line, on which our picture shows ' Hurstpierpoint' passing Beechings Crossing with a Ramsgate express, and to the very hilly Waterloo-Portsmouth route where they worked with great distinction.

Some of the class have been modified with multiple-jet blast pipes and large-diameter chimneys, but in general they remain exactly as built. After their pre-war hunting grounds were largely electrified, the ' Schools ' had few chances to show their full capabilities, but they remained firm favourites with their crews until the last and will go down in history as Maunsell's finest design.