The SE&CR Class D is a class of 4-4-0 "Eight-Wheeler" type steam locomotives that were designed by Harry Wainwright for the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR).
History[]
Construction[]
The SE&CR Class D were constructed by five different builders, with the first twenty-one examples constructed by Ashford Works, ten examples built by Dübs & Co., ten more examples built by Sharp, Stewart & Co., five more examples were built by Robert Stephenson & Co. and the final five examples were built by Vulcan Foundry, and they were all delivered to the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR) after they were constructed.
Class D1[]
D1 No. 31470 at Tonbridge in 1958.
See also: SE&CR Class D1
In 1913, Richard Maunsell had rebuilt 21 examples of the class with Belpaire fireboxes to produce the more powerful Class D1. These bigger engines were needed to cope with increasing loads on the Kent Coast Line through Chatham.
Service[]
Initially the class was put into operation on the Kent Coast and Hastings services out of London. By the 1930s the largest allocation of the class was at the Gillingham depot in Kent, but they had by now been reduced to secondary train duties and were now carrying the livery of the Southern Railway. At the outbreak of World War II in 1939 some examples of the class were placed into storage.
Then in 1941 other examples were transferred to the Nine Elms depot. A handful of the locomotives were based at Redhill on the Reading-Tonbridge cross-country line.
In 1948, British Rail had inherited 28 examples of the Wainwright 4-4-0s. Their final years saw them concentrated at Guildford in Surrey and the last member of the class, No. 31075, was withdrawn from service in 1956, and all but one example were scrapped.
Preservation[]
One example, No. 31737, had survived into preservation and is currently in its original livery, specifically the SE&CR Green livery, and is currently on display at the National Railway Museum in York where it still sits there to this day.
Stock list[]
***W.I.P***
| Photograph | SE&CR No. | SR No. | BR No. | Build date | Manufacturer | Retirement date | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
145 | 1145 | 31145 | - | - | - | Scrapped | Rebuilt into Class D1 |
| 470 | 1470 | 31470 | - | - | - | Scrapped | ||
| Frameless | 502 | 1502 | 31502 | - | - | - | Scrapped | |
| Frameless | 736 | 1736 | 31736 | - | - | - | Scrapped | |
|
737 | 1737 | 31737 | - | - | 1951 | On static display at the National Railway Museum in York | Sole surviving member of the class |
|
739 | 1739 | 31739 | - | - | - | Scrapped | Rebuilt into Class D1 |
| Frameless | 741 | 1741 | 31741 | - | - | - | Scrapped | |
|
744 | 1744 | 31744 | - | - | - | Scrapped | - |
| Frameless | 745 | 1745 | 31745 | - | - | - | Scrapped |