Wainwright SECR L Class 4-4-0

The SECR L class was a class of 4-4-0 steam tender locomotive built for express passenger service on the South Eastern and Chatham Railway. Although designed by Harry Wainwright, they were built during the Maunsell era.
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR) was an amalgamation of two competing companies, the South Eastern Railway (SER) and the London Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) which took place in 1899. One of the first tasks of Harry Wainwright, the new Chief Mechanical Engineer was to introduce a series of standardised locomotives which would operate on both railways, but the LCDR main line was more lightly engineered and subject to more severe weight restrictions than that of the SER. At the same time the Board of Directors was anxious to reap some of the financial benefits of amalgamation by closing the LCDR Longhedge Railway Works.[1]
During the first years of the SECR, express passenger services were well served by Wainwright's 'D' and 'E' 4-4-0 classes but loads continued to increase and by 1912 the designer realised that he would soon need more powerful locomotives. Unfortunately weight restrictions of the LCDR main line prevented the use of any significantly larger or more powerful locomotive and the cost of strengthening the bridges on this line was prohibitively expensive. The Board of Directors therefore ordered Wainwright to prepare a design for only for the SER main line services.[2] Wainwright's original design was criticised by the Directors for the use of saturated steam and slide valves, both of which were considered old fashioned in the 20th century. These criticisms of Wainwright coincided with an acute motive power crisis on the railway during the summer of 1913, (due in part to the Directors' insistence on the premature closure of Longhedge Works and the inability of Ashford railway works to cope with the increased workload). As a result Wainwright was asked to retire on 30 November 1913, before the new locomotives could be ordered
Wainwright's original design of the new 'L class' was for a handsome and robust locomotive which incorporated a Belpaire firebox. The later revisions incorporated piston valves and a Schmidt superheater. After Wainwright's departure his assistant Robert Surtees, made further detailed changes slightly enlarging the boiler, firebox and wheels, and substituting a Robinson design superheater, before placing an order for twelve examples were with Beyer Peacock for delivery by the end of June 1914. After Richard Maunsell took office in January 1914, he agreed to the ordering of a further ten with minor detail differences and Schmidt superheaters from Borsig of Berlin. The Borsig locomotives were completed just in time before the outbreak of World War I. They were supplied in kit form and assembled at Ashford railway works by Borsig employees. The Beyer Peacock series were delayed delivered later between August and November 1914
The locomotives were used on express trains on the South Eastern main lines from London to Dover, Ramsgate, and Hastings. They remained on these duties until the mid-1920s when they were gradually replaced on the heavier trains by the newer SR L1 class, and in the 1930s by the ”King Arthur” and ”Schools” classes. By this time improvements had been made to the LCDR main line to Dover and Ramsgate and so they continued to be used on these services until after the Second World War and the Nationalisation of British Railways in 1948. However, the transfer of Bulleid “Light Pacifics” to these services in the early 1950s made the class largely redundant. Some were transferred to Eastleigh and Brighton to replace worn out locomotives on cross-country services, but withdrawal began in 1956. The final locomotive was withdrawn in December 1961. None have been preserved.

772


https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/SRSteam/18991913-SECR-Harry-Wainwright/Wainwright-Tender-Engines/Wainwright-L-Class/

Wainwright L Class - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years

31760 Nine Elms

https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/SRSteam/18991913-SECR-Harry-Wainwright/Wainwright-Tender-Engines/Wainwright-L-Class/i-wLP75Ln

Wainwright L Class - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years

31766 Tonbridge May 1959



https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/SRSteam/18991913-SECR-Harry-Wainwright/Wainwright-Tender-Engines/Wainwright-L-Class/i-j6HgR3P

Wainwright L Class - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years


31766 passes 31310

https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/SRSteam/18991913-SECR-Harry-Wainwright/Wainwright-Tender-Engines/Wainwright-L-Class/i-bg3RNgC

Wainwright L Class - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years

31770 Tonbridge May 1959


https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/SRSteam/18991913-SECR-Harry-Wainwright/Wainwright-Tender-Engines/Wainwright-L-Class/i-7qNDnxz

Wainwright L Class - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years


31771 Ashford August 1956


https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/SRSteam/18991913-SECR-Harry-Wainwright/Wainwright-Tender-Engines/Wainwright-L-Class/i-KHc9VJN

Wainwright L Class - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years


31776 Brighton 19th October 1955


https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/SRSteam/18991913-SECR-Harry-Wainwright/Wainwright-Tender-Engines/Wainwright-L-Class/i-NwLZm6K

Wainwright L Class - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years
31779 Redhill 5th April 1957


https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/SRSteam/18991913-SECR-Harry-Wainwright/Wainwright-Tender-Engines/Wainwright-L-Class/i-pWCVFrs

Wainwright L Class - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years

31780 Redhill August 1956
https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/SRSteam/18991913-SECR-Harry-Wainwright/Wainwright-Tender-Engines/Wainwright-L-Class/i-wJpnKNL

Wainwright L Class - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years

31781 unknown location May 1956
https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/SRSteam/18991913-SECR-Harry-Wainwright/Wainwright-Tender-Engines/Wainwright-L-Class/i-jvbzbLt

Wainwright L Class - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years



Neil