Locomotive Performance

Review: The smaller Southern Locos
 
Having previously covered the Bulleid pacifics, the Maunsell Lord Nelson and King Arthur 4-6-0's, and the Schools 4-4-0's, we now cover on this page the other Southern locomotive classes, from the Mixed Traffic 4-6-0 right down to the diminutive "Normandy" an 0-4-0 tank engine that once worked in the Southampton Docks, but now resides in the Sussex on the Bluebell line.

Whilst a good proportion of  the journeys that are covered below were made  in the 1950's and 1960's on either British Rail scheduled services or on Rail tours, many others were made on our Heritage Railways. Do not be deceived, our Heritage Railway locomotives work hard for their living, and there are plenty of examples below on such lines as the North York Moors, Mid Hants, Kent & East Sussex, East Lancashire, Bluebell, and Severn Valley.

Long may it continue.
 
   S15 & H15 4-6-0 CLASSES 
11th July 1956: 30523 (H15) Hinton Admiral to Southampton on the 11.36am Bournemouth West to Southampton stopping service [view log of 30523]
4th April 1965: 30837 (S15) 30837 Waterloo to Reading on the LCGB Wessex Downsman railtour  [view log of 30837]
1st September 1987: 841 (S15) on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway [view log of 841]
6th May 1989: 506 (S15) on the Mid Hants Railway [view log of 506]
28th August 1993: 30506 (S15) on the East Lancashire Railway [view log of 30506]
 
   U & N 2-6-0 CLASSES 
5th July 1956: 31795 (U) Southampton to Salisbury on the 2.33pm Portsmouth & Southsea to Bristol  [view log of 31795]
7th July 1956:  31634 (U) Southampton to Basingstoke on the 1.28pm Saturday Lymington Pier to Waterloo   [view log of 31634]
7th July 1956: 31809 (U) Southampton to Salisbury on the 3.27pm Portsmouth & Southsea to Cardiff [view log of 31809]
8th July 1961: 31411 (N) Clapham Junction to Brighton on the 7.10am Saturday Wolverhampton to Brighton and Hastings. The loco took over from a Grange class 4-6-0  at Kensington Olympia  [view log of 31411]
21st July 1984: 31874 (N) on the Mid Hants Railway [view log of 31874] and on 1st July 1989 also on the Mid Hants Railway [view log of 31874]
8th April 1985: 31806 (U) on the Mid Hants Railway [view log of 31806]
 
   Q, Q1 & 700 0-6-0 CLASSES 
2nd July 1956: 30536 (Q) Poole to Christchurch on the 5.17pm Wareham to Christchurch  [view log of 30536]

2nd September 1962: 30309 (700) Salisbury to Andover, Romsey, Southampton, and Eastleigh on the SCTS South Western Limited railtour  [view log of 30309] 

4th October 1964: 33026 (Q1) Waterloo to Guidford on the LCGB Vectis railtour  [view log of 33026] 
25th June 1994: 33001 on the Bluebell Railway in 1994  [view log of 33001] and again on 8th February 1997 and 14th March 1998 [view 1997 &1998 logs of 33001] 
 
   H2 4-4-2 CLASS AND T9 & L 4-4-0 CLASSES 
3rd July 1956: 32425 Trevose Head (H2 Class 4-4-2): Southampton Central to Brockenhurst on the 9.40am Brighton to Bournemouth West  [view log of 32425]
3rd April 1956: 31776 (L class 4-4-0) no 31776: Ashford to Tonbridge on the 10.42am Ashford to Redhill stopping service [view log of 31776]
5th July 1956: 30707 (T9) Southampton Central to New Milton on the 6.07pm stopping service from Southampton Terminus to Bournemouth  [view log of 30707]
5th July 1956: 30728 (T9) Brockenhurst to Southampton Central on the 1.50pm Bournemouth West to Brighton. Unusual for a T9 on this service  [view log of 30728]
7th July 1956: 30732 & 30285 (T9's) Salisbury to Southampton Central  on the 5.07pm Salisbury to Southampton Terminus [view log of 30732 & 30285]
3rd May 1986: 30120 (T9) on the Mid Hants Railway [view log of 30120]
 
   M7, O2 & H 0-4-4T CLASSES 

13th July 1955: 30676 (M7) Exeter Central to Exmouth on the 4.45pm service [view log of 30676]

13th July 1955: 30023 (M7) Tipton St Johns to Sidmouth Junction on the 5.45pm from Sidmouth [view log of 30023]

13th July 1955: 30671 (M7) Sidmouth Junction to Exeter Central on the 6.38pm from Honiton [view log of 30671]
1st April 1956: 31193 (H) on the 6.11pm Tonbridge to Sevenoaks [view log of 31193]
4th July 1956: 30040 (M7) on the 2.08pm Rail motor from Brockenhurst to Bournemouth West via the Ringwood line  [view log of 30040]
2nd September 1958: 30676 (M7) Sidmouth Junction to Tipton St Johns on the 2.04pm Sidmouth Junction to Sidmouth, which included a through Waterloo to Sidmouth and Exmouth  coaches  from the Atlantic Coast Express [view log of 30676]
2nd September 1962: 30025 & 30024 (M7's) double heading from Sidmouth Junction to Budleigh Salterton and Exmouth, then on to Exeter Central on the SCTS South Western Limited railtour from Waterloo [view log of 30024 & 30025]
4th October 1964: 14 Fishbourne (02): Ryde Pier to Ventnor and return [view log of 14]  and 28 Ashey (02): Ryde Pier to Newport  return [view log of 28]  on the LCGB Vectis Railtour.
5th July 1964: 30053 (M7) on the L.C.G.B Surrey Wanderer Railtour [view log of 30053]
30th March 2003: 30053 (M7) on the West Somerset Railway [view log of 30053]
 
   E4 0-6-2T & 0415 4-4-2T CLASSES 
24th July 1955: 30583 (0415 4-4-2T) on the Sunday 1.00pm Axminster to Lyme Regis and the 2.50pm Lyme Regis to Axminster  [view log of 30583]

28th February 2004: 473 Birch Grove (E4 0-6-2T) on the Bluebell Railway [view log of 473]

12th March 2005: 32473 (E4 0-6-2T), formerly 473 Birch Grove, on the Severn Valley Railway [view log of 32473]
 
   A1X TERRIER 0-6-0T CLASS 

15th June 1985: 10 & 32670 double heading on the Kent & East Sussex Rly [view log of 10 & 32670] and on 19th July 1986: 10 on the Kent & East Sussex Rly [view log of 10]

30th July 1987: 8 on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway between Havenstreet and Wootton [view log of 8]

21st September 2003: 32678 on the Severn Valley Railway [view log of 32678]
 
  OTHER VINTAGE TANK ENGINES & COMBINATIONS 
31st May 1982: Caledonian 0-4-4T no 419 and H class 0-4-4T no 263 double heading on the Bluebell Railway [view log of 419 & 263]
8th February 1997: 592 (C class 0-6-0) on the Bluebell Railway [view log of 592]
28th February 2004: 96 Normandy (B4 0-4-0T) on the Bluebell Railway [view log of 96]
28th February 2004: 55 & 65 double heading on the Bluebell Railway [view log of 55 & 65]
8th September 1985: 55 & 488 double heading on the Bluebell Rly [view log of 55 & 488]
8th September 1985: 323 & 72 double heading on the Bluebell Rly [view log of 323 & 72]
 
HIGHLIGHTS: The Highlights from a locomotive performance point of view were (1) The unexpected thrash all the way from Ashford to Tonbridge on a stopper in 1956 on my only run on an L class 4-4-0, no 31776. (2) Another 4-4-0 on a stopper, this time T9 no 30707, from Southampton to New Milton, also in 1956. (3) Excellent running with M7 0-4-4T no 30053 on the West Somerset line at their Spring 2003 gala, (4) Excellent hillclimbing on both the North Yorshire Moors and Mid Hants lines with the S15's, 841 and 506, and (5) More good work on the Mid Hants line in the  1980's & 1990's, with the SR Moguls, particularly 31806.

And anything involving a Stroudley A1X Terrier 0-6-0T is a highlight, where I am concerned.

And a special word of thanks to the Bluebell Railway and the National Railway Museum for ensuring that we shall continue enjoy the sight, and sound, of not only Southern Railway locomotives, but those that originate from the pre 1923 Southern constituent railways, the London & South Western, the London Brighton and South Coast, The South Eastern, and London Chatham and Dover Railways.