LCDR M1 class

The LCDR M1 class was a class of 4-4-0 steam locomotives of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR), very similar to the earlier M class but with steel frames, larger tenders and other detailed differences. The class was designed by William Kirtley and introduced in 1880.[1]

LCDR M1 class
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerWilliam Kirtley
BuilderLonghedge Works
Build date1880-1881
Total produced4
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte4-4-0
Gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Driver dia.6 ft 6 in (1.981 m)
Loco weight74 long tons (75.2 t)
Fuel typeCoal
Water cap2,550 imperial gallons (11,592.5 l; 3,062.4 US gal)
Boiler pressure140 psi (0.97 MPa)
CylindersTwo,
Stephenson valve gear
Cylinder size17.5 in × 26 in (444 mm × 660 mm)
Career
OperatorsLCDR • SECR •
ClassM1
Number in class1 January 1923: 1
Withdrawn1912-1923
DispositionAll scrapped

History

Kirtley had requested six more examples of his earlier M class built by Neilson and Company for the London-Dover boat trains, but this request was turned down by the LCDR board, although he was given permission to build similar locomotives at the company’s Longhedge Works in Battersea. Two locomotives were built during 1880 and a further two in 1881. However a fire in the machine shop seriously delayed work on the final two which eventually appeared as members of the M2 class in 1885. The class proved to be successful and completed high mileages. on the heaviest semi-fast trains. The locomotives passed to the South Eastern and Chatham Railway in 1899 and were considered to be sufficiently useful to be worth re-boilering between 1898 and 1904.[1] The class began to be withdrawn and scrapped from 1912. Only one example survived into Southern Railway ownership in 1923, but was withdrawn almost immediately thereafter.

References
  1. Bradley 1979, pp. 108-110.
  • Bradley, D.L. (1979). The Locomotive History of the London Chatham and Dover Railway. Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. ISBN 0901115479.
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