Adams 02 Class -Mainland Britain

The LSWR O2 Class is a class of 0-4-4T steam locomotive designed for the London and South Western Railway by William Adams. Sixty were constructed during the late nineteenth century
Adams was presented with the problem of a greatly increasing volume of commuter traffic experienced with the suburbanisation of London during the 1880s. This was exacerbated by the fact that there were few locomotive classes in the LSWR stable that could undertake commuter traffic at the desired level of efficiency.[2] The LSWR therefore required a locomotive with attributes of power and compactness, with a small wheel size to gain acceleration on intensive timetables. Adams settled upon the 0-4-4T wheel arrangement to provide the basis of what was to become the O2 Class
The second of William Adam's 0-4-4 designs, the O2 Class was a development of his previous T1 class of 1888. The brief behind the design was to create a locomotive capable of mixed-traffic operations, a characteristic dictated by the relatively small wheel diameter and smaller cylinders, effectively to replace the obsolete Beattie Well Tank. As a result, a compact locomotive with high route availability was produced, a factor that would be essential during the later career of the class.
Production began in 1889, with the first 20 being constructed at the LSWR's Nine Elms works. The success of the locomotive ensured that a second batch of 30 locomotives was ordered the next year. A final batch of ten was constructed by 1895.

1889–1922: LSWR

The class was initially used intensively on London suburban services, but began to be replaced on these as early as 1897 by the introduction of the more powerful Drummond M7 and T1 classes.[1] As a result, the O2s were cascaded to lighter services, and became distributed throughout the LSWR system, being of particular use on restricted branch lines due to their relatively low weight and short wheelbase.

1923–1948: Southern Railway

All of the O2s survived to be taken into Southern Railway ownership after the Grouping in 1923. They continued to be used across the former LSWR network, however, electrification and the introduction of more modern types started to make them redundant. This allowed the Southern Railway to send the first 2 spare examples across to the Isle of Wight (see below). Other redundant mainland locomotives were withdrawn, with eight going in the 1930s, and four more in the 1940s.

1948–1967: British Railways

Despite the early withdrawals, a number of O2s lasted well into BR days, working various branch lines until closure began to take place in the late 1950s and early 1960s. As a result, the mainland O2s became redundant and the last to go was number 30225 in 1962

199 Exmouth 28th July 1949

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Adams 02 Class Mainland UK Pre 1968 - Railway-Photography
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212 Clapham Jct

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Adams 02 Class Mainland UK Pre 1968 - Railway-Photography
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221 Easton Portland Isle 1939

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Adams 02 Class Mainland UK Pre 1968 - Railway-Photography
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30182 RCTS Brunel Centenarian & Plymouth District Rail Tours 2-5-59
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Adams 02 Class Mainland UK Pre 1968 - Railway-Photography
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Adams 02 Class Mainland UK Pre 1968 - Railway-Photography
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Adams 02 Class Mainland UK Pre 1968 - Railway-Photography
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30225 Adams O-2 class 0-4-4T Fitted with Drummond type boiler
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Adams 02 Class Mainland UK Pre 1968 - Railway-Photography
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30236


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Adams 02 Class Mainland UK Pre 1968 - Railway-Photography
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railway photographs from the last 100 years


Neil