The Urie N15s. 191-199

The Urie large engine 4-6-0 family added a passenger class after World War One numbered N15. 736-745 were built in 1918-19, with 746-755 added in 1922-3.  Within the family, many parts were interchangeable for efficiency. All the below have 8 wheel tenders, but some later models had 6 wheel tenders because of line restrictions. These engines were later integrated into the King Arthur Class and given Arthurian names. Many of these photographs show the engines before naming. See also above photos 71-3 and 75 showing 737, 740, 752 and 755.

191. LSWR 737 was later named King Uther. These before and after photographs show the value of photo-enhancement.

192. LSWR 736, later Excalibur

  

194.   LSWR 740, later Merlin in three photos

 LSWR 740

 LSWR 740

195. LSWR 745, later Tintagel

 196. LSWR 747, later Elaine. Note the tender with oil tank, hence around 1921.

197. LSWR 748 was later named Vivien

198. LSWR 755, later The Red Knight

199. LSWR 749, in Southern livery, but still unnamed. Later named Iseult.  Worth recording in spite of the blemish on the print.

71-77 Knights with their spurs...

Here we have a group of examples of the N15 King Arthur class named after Arthurian characters from 1925. A heavy 4-6-0 from the Eastleigh Works for passenger traffic, the first batch (736-755) of Eastleigh built engines first emerged in 1918. Ten engines  replaced scrapped Drummond G14s, keeping their numbers and tenders (448-457). A third batch were built by the North British Locomotive Ltd in 1925 (763-792). The final batch of 14 engines were built at Eastleigh for the Brighton section in 1926 - 793-806. These had 6 wheeled tenders to fit the Brighton turntables.

71. LSWR 740, later to be called Merlin but here in unnamed pre-grouping days in Clapham Cutting near Earlsfield. The "Down Plymouth". The Urie stovepipe chimney of these early engines was later replaced by a more efficient one, as seen in pater pictures. Note the electic rail in the foreground. Photo possibly by F E Mackay. M I Bray, Railway Picture Postcards (picture 55) describes it as the "Down North Cornwall Express". He also calls it "760 Class".

72. (E)752, later to become  Linette, is seen at the same location in Southern livery, around 1924. "Down Portsmouth near Earlsfield" is pencilled on the back.. It also has the Urie stovepipe chimney .

73. No electified rail here. 737 is still in LSWR livery and Urie chimney. It will later become King Uther.

74. The (E)450, later to be named Sir Kay, was from batch 2, the Drummond G14 replacements. Notice the shorter and more shapely chimney. Unknown vnrue, maybe Clapham Junction. (Repeat of 49)

75. A few posed engines now. Batch 1 'Arthur' showing off is new livery and name The Red Knight, a works photograph judging by the proud-looking crew.

76. Batch 2  (E)448 Sir Tristram is still in its photographic grey paint.

77. Batch 2 (E)451 Sir Lamorak with posing crew is here sporting front-end indicator trial equipment. This picture is from The Locomotive Publishing Co Ltd, 3 Amen Corner.  

The same treatment was given to  (E)742 Camelot, photographed often by CH. Photo 8 in Nock (see below) is acknowledged as British Railways but I have it as a Locomotive Publishing Co print.

Nock, Southern Steam Photo 8 of Camelot (David & Charles).

Clapham Cutting

These four 1924 pictures can be identified as Clapham Cutting as the name appears on the signal box in the first two photographs. The box is idiosyncratic, looking more like a fashionable summer-house. The third electrified rail can be clearly seen in the foreground. Clapham Cutting comes out of Clapham Junction, away from London and towards Wandsworth Common. The next station is Earlsfield, another frequent photographic location.

67. This first is an unrebuilt T9, LSWR (E)721. Rebuilt T9s looked more like the D15 in picture 68, following. Marked "Down Portsmouth" on the back.

68. An LSWR D15, (E)472. Marked "Down Bournemouth" on the back.

69. Southern N15 number (E)791 Sir Uwaine of the King Arthur class is seen in its new Southern green livery.  The distant church tower is clear in this picture. Marked "Down 3.30 Bournemouth" on the back.

70. Another D15, (E)464. The second passenger carriage is older stock (see Roger's comment below). Marked on the back "Down Portsmouth 464D rebt M.S. [Maunsell Superheater?]+6wtdr" [6 wheel tender].

LSWR Traffic

All the photographs in this post have details on the back indicating that the are CH photos. His comments are given in the titles.
47. T14 'Paddleboat' type, No. (E)443. Rear note says 'North Cornwall Express' and "as built". Geoff: "11.00 a.m. North Cornwall and Bude" F.E.Mackay, RM Feb 1912, his 250th published. Mackay glass plate negatives were destroyed on his death in the 1930s so it is exciting to find photo-quality images.

48. LSWR (E)738, King Pellinore. The reverse says "Up Ilfracombe", the number, and "oil". If you enlarge, you can see the oil tank in the tender. Location is possibly Earlsfield near Clapham. Note the electrified rail. 1921.

49. LSWR N15 (E)450, Sir Kay, Clapham Junction. The 9 is the Nine Elms duty number. This train became the Atlantic Coast Express from 1926, though the date of this picture is uncertain.

50. The rear says "Up Bournemouth Excursion, 330A, so an H15 "rebt" (rebuilt) and a hieroglyph I am still working on (looks like "2gnd". David Vidler comments: The rectangular board carries the train reporting number used to identify trains on summer Saturdays. This says to me 1930s rather than 1920s. 330 carries a Nine Elms duty number and was allocated there for the summer of 1935. It returned to Salisbury when the N15X started to arrive at Nine Elms. Geoff Smith suggests:  The building on the bridge looks like Weybridge, and the curvature looks right. 

51. The rear says "Up Southampton, 137". So a K10, which looks right.Note the third rail. Venue possibly Clapham Cutting? The headcode is Waterloo-Southampton via Alton, although it seems to be a long train for one from Southampton by that route - could be a short working from Alton.

52.Rear says "Up local. 33K OB" [or maybe 073]. (E)33 was an M7 tank. David Vidler says: Headcode is Waterloo-Portsmouth via Woking although with an M7 it is likely that it started from Guildford or Woking. The train is formed with two 4 plus van sets and two loose coaches  - and the M7 is still blowing off at the safety valves. Could it be a train of empties? It is long for a local train. Geoff Smith suggests Weybridge, as in picture 50.

53. Rear says "Down Aldershot". Anoither M7 tank. Peter of SEmG says: Photo 53 is  interesting because it shows M7 No 126 which was the only member of the class to be superheated.  The location is Clapham Cutting. DV comments: Headcode is for 'Specials for Race Meetings and Special Events'. The C on the top disc indicates that it is the third of a series of trains for the event. The rear carriages look like one of the sets of 6-wheelers kept for race meetings. 

54. Rear says "Up Portsmouth". Location as in 50 and 52?

55. (E)422, an L12. Rear says "Down Folkestone, Sandling Jun[ction?] 422". Sandling is near Maidstone, so an LSWR type on Ashford territory? I am told that Sandling Junction was "between Ashford and Folkestone, once the junction for the Hythe and Sandgate branch.  A favourite spot for railway photographers in those days." DV comments: 10 L12s were transferred to the Eastern Section and worked between London and Deal until the L1s arrived in 1926. The L12s were then used elsewhere on the Eastern and Central Sections until returned to the Western Section in WW2.

56. Rear says "Down Bournemouth". Note electrified 3rd rail.

57. Rear says "Down Salisbury 423B". Another L12. DV says: the power class should be E not B. The train is formed with one 4 plus van set and two loose coaches. Geoff Smith says: 57 : Clapham Cutting, Heathfield Road bridge, with Trinity Road in the background. 

58. Rear says "Down Pullman Ltd (Brighton)  304 H.6. Funnel cut down". 304 was a T9 (Greyhound type). Geoff: 58 : "... July 1930 ... Sunday Third Class Brighton Sunday Pullman near Hassocks", credited to Real Photographs in "The Drummond Greyhounds", Bradley. 

Lord Nelson and friends...

34. The top two show Lord Nelson with Gladstone,  at an open day at Nine Elms in 1927. LB&SCR class B1 214 Gladstone,the first of this class, has even then been given a perfect museum livery thanks to the Stephenson Locomotive Society in 1927 (it is now in the NRM). There is a front view and a side view. DV says: not at Eastleigh but Nine Elms with the remains of the old coal stage in the background. The two engines were exhibited at Waterloo on 14 May 1927.

35.

36. Next,  Isle of Wight 02 tank no. W22 heading for Ventnor from Sandown. Peter of SEmG notes: It is reproduced in ‘Isle of Wight Album’ (Ian Allan, 1967) and is credited to H. Gordon Tidey. The coaches are ex-North London Railway four-wheelers."

Picture removed for copyright reasons.

37. And now back on the main Southampton to Portsmouth line:
LSWR T7  720 (missing from 1944 ABC). The smoke blinkers are unusual. Peter at SEmG comments: " Class T7 was a solitary loco and the first of Drummond's double singles, the driving wheels were not coupled, there were 4 cylinders, the inside pair driving the leading pair od driving wheels and the outside pair the trailing pair.  A second attempt at this arrangement gave rise to the E10 class of 5 locos which had larger boilers."

38. LSWR H15  no. (E)491. Bournemouth line.

39. LSWR Drummond D15 no (E)470 before superheating. DV says: Bournemouth line train - 470 had been superheated in 1917 - note extended smokebox.

Southern Locomotives, 1920s.

I have had for the last forty years two small suitcases full of railway photographs some taken in the1920s by Cyril Hawkesworth, including some glass negatives and others collected on postcards. They were gifted to me by his dying widow around 1970 just hours before they were due to be thrown into a skip. Photographs clearly taken bu Hawksworth are set out in a separate collection. Cyril collected railway photographs from commercial companies, and where appropriate I will declare these sources. I am attempting to share them for research purposes, though it takes time to rephotograph and research each picture.  Each is rephotographed digitally and enhanced, so these photographs are crisper and clearer than the originals. One photograph, of T9 4-4-0 No.300 "near Earlsfield" appears (unacknowledged) in O.S.Nock's Southern Steam. Some books misidentify classes - I have come across two photos of U1s misnamed as N15 because the Ashford (A) and Eastleigh (E) numbering system in the early days of Southern was not understood. I use O.S. Nock's Southern Steam, Ian Allen's ABC of Railway Locomotives 1944 Edition (reprints are available from NRM), and the excellent Southern Email Group website. Nevertheless, I am always happy to be corrected. I will be happy for any comments about the engines featured. Cyril died unknown - he was married and moved away and after 1929 this collection stops. In time this collection will be deposited with an appropriate museum so that it survives a few more generations. Thanks to David Vidler for corrections and additions. Headcodes are given in David Wragg, The Southern Railways Handbook, appendix 1. This collection is not for profit, and apologies if I am unaware of copyright status.
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1.SR N15 (E)801 Sir Durnore (King Arthur Class) at Victoria. From the last batch built in Eastleigh, 1928.

2. SR N15 (E)773 Sir Lavaine

3. LSWR N15 742 Camelot - one of the original Urie builds, 742 and her sisters were poor steamers and had to be given redesigned smokeboxes and valveports. Compare her with the previous two photos and you will see subtle differences. They were enormous engines, two big to fit into some eastern stations without hitting the platform edge.

4. The A above number 755 stands for Ashford, Kent so this is a class L1, later numbered 1755. A works photo showing new paint.

5. Again an Ashford engine, (A) 735 (later 1735) is class D1 though very similar to the class L1.

6. Ashford engine (A)763, class L.

7. LSWR H15 no. (E)335.  The white circle headcodes could stand for London to Portsmouth/Southsea or to Exeter. The number 25 is a Nine Elms duty number

8. LSWR  T9 number (E)114, Waterloo to Portsmouth.

9. LSWR N15 (E)742 Camelot. The white circle headcodes stand for express from London to either Southampton or more likely Exeter and Plymouth.

10. LSWR Class T9 no. (E) 284. . Geoff: 10 : "284 passes Esher with a Weymouth express September 1923. H. Gordon Tidey" in "The Drummond Greyhounds" Bradley 1977, p.60. In Bradley, a white catalogue number appears on the platform edge. The 'T' prefix you have noted in "Greyhounds" I understood to have been used by John Smith to distinguish negs/plates by H.Gordon Tidey, which effectively confirms the photographer and explains why it doesn't appear on your print. However, that doesn't quite square with the Wikipedia entry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Gordon_Tidey 

11. LSWR class S15 no. (E)498, works photo, in works photographic grey.

12. Ashford engine (A)781, class L, and interesting contrast to the class L1 above.

13. Another class L (A)776. The white circle headcodes stand for the Victoria to Ramsgate route.

14. LSWR  (E)850 Lord Nelson with bright new paint. The Lord Nelsons were introduced right at the end of Cyril's period of photography, around 1928-9. The white circle headcodes may stand for  Southampton to Andover by Eastleigh. David Vidler notes: "the restriction 1 carriages indicate an Eastern Section train". Geoff:  Climbing Grosvenor Bank, out of Victoria, Eastern Section. 

15. Repeat of 53.

16. The M7 (E)375.

17. NSWR class N15 (King Arthur class) 755 The Red Knight. The triple headcode suggests the Brighton to Bournemouth direct line. The 52 is the Nine Elms duty number.

18. LSWR class L12 (E)417

19. LSWR class A12 (E)618 in  Strawberry Hill (David V)

20. (E)120 DV says: Eastleigh shed - possibly 1927 when 120 was newly superheated.

21. LSWR class D15, (E)464. Eastleigh shed.

22. LSWR Class N15, (E)755 The Red Knight without nameplate, works photo. Names were added only in 1925. Naming was not an LSWR tradition and it met resistance. 736-755 were thus unnamed when first introduced.

23. LSWR Class N15, 737 King Uther without nameplates, works photo. Oil burner: DV says: can be dated as 1921 when running as oilburner.

24. Class N15, (E)753 Melisande. Eastleigh Shed. 1926

25. LSWR, Class S15, (E)515, works photo, oilburner. DVsays: can be dated as 1921 when running as oilburner.

26. LSWR class A12, (E)624. The van after the first two carriages is interesting. DV says: I think this could be an Alton train. It is possible that it was Waterloo-Southampton via Alton but I doubt that an A12 would have been trusted with a train that size over the Mid-Hants line.

27. LSWR class T9, (E) 302 perhaps?  The back of the photo is inscribed 'Up White Star Line'. DV says: The black centre to the disc indicates a special train - the Ironclad Pantry Brake First behind the engine confirms that is a Southampton boat train.