The LSWR 700 class was a class of 30

0-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. This was the most common wheel arrangement ...

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...

s designed for freight work. The class was designed by

Dugald Drummond Dugald Drummond (1 January 1840 – 8 November 1912) was a Scottish steam locomotive engineer. He had a career with the North British Railway, LB&SCR, Caledonian Railway and London and South Western Railway. He was the older brother of the eng ...

in 1897 for the

London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exete ...

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and built by

Dübs and Company Dübs & Co. was a locomotive manufacturer in Glasgow, Scotland, founded by Henry Dübs in 1863 and based at the Queens Park Works in Polmadie. In 1903 it amalgamated with two other Glasgow locomotive manufacturers to create the North British Loco ...

at that company's Queen's Park works at

Polmadie Polmadie (; gd, Poll Mac Dè, lit=Son of God pool) is a primarily industrial area of Glasgow in Scotland. Situated south of the River Clyde, Polmadie is close to residential neighbourhoods including Govanhill (to the west) and Toryglen (south- ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

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Overview

The class was originally numbered 687–716 but the year after delivery numbers 702–716 were given new numbers vacated by engines that had been withdrawn. The locomotives gained the nickname 'Black Motor' early in their career. They were well designed and had few major modifications during the existence of the fleet – the exception being fitted with

superheater A superheater is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet steam into superheated steam or dry steam. Superheated steam is used in steam turbines for electricity generation, steam engines, and in processes such as steam reforming. There ar ...

s from 1919 to 1929, which required the fitting of an extended

smokebox A smokebox is one of the major basic parts of a steam locomotive exhaust system. Smoke and hot gases pass from the firebox through tubes where they pass heat to the surrounding water in the boiler. The smoke then enters the smokebox, and is ...

. They shared many standard parts with Drummond's other designs (including sharing boilers with the M7 class).

Construction and numbering

Nos. 702–716 were renumbered by the LSWR between June and August 1898, becoming 306, 308, 309, 315, 317, 325–327, 339, 346, 350, 352, 355, 368, 459 respectively. In June 1912, no. 459 was renumbered again, to 316. Soon after the locomotives passed to Southern Railway (SR) ownership, their LSWR numbers were prefixed "E" to denote Eastleigh Works - this was done to distinguish similarly-numbered locomotives from the other constituents of the SR; thus, LSWR no. 687 became SR no. E687. These prefixes were dropped from mid-1931. In the meantime, there had been a proposal (prepared in March 1927) to renumber some classes into continuous blocks: the 700 class were allocated the series E336–9, E369–379 and E686–701 but none were actually renumbered, and the plan was cancelled in December 1927.

Ownership changes

Guildford Station geograph-2663116-by-Ben-Brooksbank

The 700s remained intact as a class through SR ownership from 1923 to 1947. The locomotives passed to British Railways (BR) in 1948 and BR increased the former LSWR/SR numbers by 30000.

Accidents and incidents

*On 9 August 1957, locomotive No 30688 was in a head-on collision with a train formed of two electric multiple units at ,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbourin ...

after the latter departed against a danger signal.

Withdrawal

The first to be withdrawn was No. 30688 in September 1957, with the second, No. 30352, following in June 1959 and then the 3rd, No. 30687, in September 1960. The final seven were all withdrawn by British Railways in December 1962. No examples of the class have been preserved.

Models

Hornby produce models of the 700 class in both Southern Railway livery and British Railway livery including an example of the engine in the Return from Dunkirk train pack. A model of the class was originally produced by OO Works.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

Southern e-group
{{LSWR Locomotives

700 The denomination 700 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Pannonian Avars, Avar and Sl ...

0-6-0 locomotives Dübs locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1897 Scrapped locomotives Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain