LCDR Tiger class

LDCR Tiger class
LCDR G class
LCDR Swallow, rebuilt as a 2-4-0
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
Builder
Serial number
  • SG: 456–451
  • RWH: 1120–1127
Build dateAugust 1861 – August 1862
Total produced25
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte4-4-0 rebuilt as 2-4-0
 • UIC1B n2
Fuel typeCoal
Boiler:
​
 • Diameter4 ft 3 in (1.295 m)
 • Tube plates10 ft 3 in (3.124 m)
Boiler pressure120 lbf/in2 (830 kPa; 8.4 kgf/cm2)
Heating surface1,200 sq ft (110 m2)
CylindersTwo, inside
Cylinder size16 in × 22 in (406 mm × 559 mm)
Valve gearGooch
Career
Operators
WithdrawnJanuary 1892 – March 1907
DispositionAll scrapped

The LCDR Tiger class was a class of twenty-four steam 4-4-0 locomotives. They were designed by Thomas Russell Crampton for the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) as general purpose passenger locomotives.

Between 1859 and 1860, the LCDR board considered the need for new locomotives to operate lines then under construction. After consultation with various engineers, including Charles Patrick Stewart (of Sharp, Stewart and Company), Robert Sinclair (of the Eastern Counties Railway) and Crampton, they decided upon forty new locomotives: eight first class fast locomotives, seventeen general purpose passenger locomotives, and fifteen goods locomotives. After discussion with William Martley, the quantities needed for the two passenger types were revised to 5 and 24 respectively. Tenders were sought, and these were considered in July 1860, when orders were placed with several firms for what were to become the Echo, Tiger and Acis classes.[1]

The Tiger class, comprising 24 general purpose passenger locomotives, were ordered from three firms: Peto, Brassey and Betts were to build ten at £3,280 each; Slaughter, Grüning & Co. were to build six at £3,300 each; and R. & W. Hawthorn & Co. would build eight at £3,415 each.[1] As with the Echo and Acis classes, the locomotives were equipped with the Cudworth coal-burning firebox.[2] They were delivered to the LCDR between August 1861 and August 1862.[3] During 1862–65, the locomotives were rebuilt with the 2-4-0 wheel arrangement.[4]

Like other LCDR locomotives delivered prior to 1874, the locomotives had no numbers at first, being distinguished by name.[5] In November 1875, William Kirtley (who had replaced Martley following the latter's death in 1874) allotted the class letter G.[6] The locomotives were then given the numbers 3–26. Withdrawal began in January 1892, and by the time that the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR) was formed at the start of 1899, nine remained in service. Of these, four were transferred directly to the duplicate list and had their LCDR numbers suffixed with the letter A; four had their numbers increased by 459 to avoid duplication with former South Eastern Railway locomotives; and one was both increased by 459 and suffixed A.[7] The last one was withdrawn in March 1907.[3]

Name Builder Works no. Built Rebuilt LCDR Number SECR Number Withdrawn
Falcon Peto, Brassey & Betts — August 1861 1863 3 — April 1897
Vulture Peto, Brassey & Betts — August 1861 1862 4 4A June 1903
Heron Peto, Brassey & Betts — August 1861 1864 5 — October 1896
Stork Peto, Brassey & Betts — August 1861 1864 6 — April 1898
Swift Peto, Brassey & Betts — September 1861 1862 7 — July 1897
Dottrel Peto, Brassey & Betts — September 1861 1864 8 8A June 1903
Swallow Peto, Brassey & Betts — October 1861 1863 9 9A September 1904
Ostrich Peto, Brassey & Betts — October 1861 1863 10 10A November 1904
Petrel Peto, Brassey & Betts — October 1861 1863 11 470 March 1905
Pelican Peto, Brassey & Betts — November 1861 1865 12 — May 1895
Lynx Slaughter, Grüning 446 November 1861 1863 13 — February 1896
Gorilla Slaughter, Grüning 447 November 1861 1865 14 — January 1892
Tiger Slaughter, Grüning 448 December 1861 1863 16 — November 1893
Leopard Slaughter, Grüning 449 December 1861 1865 18 477 March 1907
Jackall Slaughter, Grüning 450 January 1862 1863 19 — November 1896
Panther Slaughter, Grüning 451 February 1862 1863 21 480 January 1904
Cerberus Hawthorn 1120 December 1861 1864 15 — October 1894
Gorgon Hawthorn 1121 December 1861 1864 17 — November 1893
Harpy Hawthorn 1122 February 1862 1864 20 — January 1894
Pegasus Hawthorn 1123 March 1862 1865 22 481 December 1904
Satyr Hawthorn 1124 April 1862 1865 23 — July 1896
Lethe; later Sphynx Hawthorn 1125 May 1862 1865 24 — August 1897
Siren Hawthorn 1126 July 1862 1865 25; 25A from July 1892 — August 1895
Xanthus Hawthorn 1127 August 1862 1864 26 485A February 1901

Lethe was renamed Sphynx in August 1862, because the railway staff found the name difficult to pronounce.[8]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Bradley 1979, p. 33.
  2. ^ Bradley 1979, pp. 34, 38, 42.
  3. ^ a b Bradley 1979, p. 38.
  4. ^ Bradley 1979, p. 35.
  5. ^ Dendy Marshall & Kidner 1963, p. 349.
  6. ^ Bradley 1979, pp. 8, 14.
  7. ^ Bradley 1979, pp. 37, 38.
  8. ^ Bradley 1979, p. 34.

References

  • Bradley, D.L. (March 1979) [1960]. The Locomotive History of the London, Chatham & Dover Railway (2nd ed.). London: RCTS. ISBN 0-901115-47-9. OCLC 59838998.
  • Dendy Marshall, C.F.; Kidner, R.W. (1963) [1937]. History of the Southern Railway (2nd ed.). Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0059-X.