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In 1888 William Adams, the LSWR CME, decided that it was
time to replace all the small Beattie tanks, mostly the well-known well-tanks, on the London suburban services. During the
following four years Adams produced 60 small but powerful tank locomotives, to
a new 0-4-4T design. As was common practice on the LSWR at the time, the class
designation was taken from the initial order for 10 locomotives, Nine Elms
Works order no. O2. The last ten, ordered in 1893, differed slightly from the
first 50 by having modified stove pipe chimneys and 6 inch higher cab roofs. A
further ten had been ordered by Adams but this order was cancelled when
Drummond took over at Nine Elms in 1895.
Although the design can be traced back to an Adams design on the GER, the O2 was a compact, up-to-date and business-like design, very powerful for its size. Within a couple of years of the completion of the 60 locomotives, they had become so useful to the operating authorities that almost all sheds on the South Western had a few on their rosters. As more and more of Drummond's M7 tanks were introduced at the end of the 19th century, for many of the London suburban duties, the O2s were moved to rural areas, except for a few still being used on Clapham Jc. to Waterloo empty stock workings. Some O2s were used on the Lyme Regis branch after it was found that the ex-LBSCR Terrier locomotives purchased by Drummond for that branch were unsuitable. Fortunately for posterity, the O2s were also found to be unsuitable for the tight curves on the branch, which enabled three of the Adams 415 Radial tanks to last until the end of steam in the 1960s. After Grouping in 1923, the Southern were forced to resolve the desperate locomotive power situation on the Isle of Wight. As electrification spread over the suburban lines of the LSWR, with a subsequent cascading down of M7s and T1s, several O2s became surplus to mainland requirements. Initially nine O2s were sent over to the Island, but they were so successful that a further 14 were sent over, the final two being sent over in 1949. None of those sent over were from the final series of 10 with the higher cab roofs. They were ideal for Island duties except for the lack of adequate coal bunker space, so in 1932 a much larger extended bunker was fitted to W19 (formerly 206), and this design subsequently became the standard for all the Island locomotives. All the Island O2s had been named, using IOW place names, but only one mainland O2 had ever carried a name before, N°185 'Alexandria' for a short period in 1890. Although 8 of the mainland locomotives were withdrawn in the 1930s, and 4 more in the 1940s, the rest lasted well into BR days. As closure of various branch lines began to take place in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the mainland O2s became redundant and the last to go was no.225 in 1962. A gradual withdrawal of some of the Island locos had begun just before that, but some of the class lasted until the end of steam on the Island in 1966. Fortunately one of the remaining ones, W24 Calbourne, was rescued by the Wight Locomotive Society and remains as an active locomotive today on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. |
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Introduced: Driving Wheel: Trailing Wheel: Length: Weight: IoW Locos: Water Capacity: Cylinders (2): Boiler Pressure: Tractive Effort: Coal Capacity: IoW Locos SR Power Classification (IoW locos only): BR Power Classification: |
1889 4 ft 10 ins 3 ft 0 in 30 ft 8½ ins 46 tons 18 cwt 48 tons 8 cwt 800 gals 17½ in x 24 in 160 lb sq in 17,245 lb 1 ton 10 cwt 3 tons 5 cwt B (from mid 1930s) 0-P |
As well as extended coal bunkers, the IoW locos were fitted with Westinghouse
brake sumps on the left of the smokebox and were all named after various places
served on the Island. W35 & W36 were fitted for pull and push working. |
LSWR No | SR No # | BR No | Name | Built | To IoW | Withdrawn |
177 | 177 | 30177 | Dec 1889 | Sep 1959 | ||
178 | W14 | W14 | Fishbourne | Dec 1889 | 1936 | 1 Jan 1967 |
179 | 179 | 30179 | Mar 1890 | Dec 1959 | ||
180 | 180 | W31 | Chale | Apr 1890 | 1927 | 14 Mar 1967 |
181 | 181 | 30181/W35 | Freshwater | May 1890 | 2 Oct 1966 | |
182 | 182 | 30182 | May 1890 | Jan 1960 | ||
183 | 183 | 30183 | May 1890 | Sep 1961 | ||
184 | W27 | W27 | Merstone | Jun 1890 | 1926 | 1 Jan 1967 |
185 | 185 | - | Alexandra * | Jun 1890 | May 1940 | |
186 | W28 | W28 | Ashey | Jul 1890 | 1926 | 1 Jan 1967 |
187 | 187 | - | Oct 1890 | Auh 1945 | ||
188 | W23 | W23 | Totland | Oct 1890 | 1925 | 19 Sep 1955 |
189 | 189 | - | Oct 1890 | Jul 1933 | ||
190 | W25 | W25 | Godshill | Nov 1890 | 1925 | 30 Dec 1962 |
191 | 191 | - | Nov 1890 | Mar 1933 | ||
192 | 192 | 30192 | Nov 1890 | Aug 1961 | ||
193 | 193 | 30193 | Nov 1890 | Apr 1962 | ||
194 | 194 | - | Dec 1890 | Sep 1933 | ||
195 | 195/W15 | W15 | Cowes | Dec 1890 | 13 May 1956 | |
196 | 196 | - | Mar 1891 | Nov 1937 | ||
197 | 197 | 30197 | Jun 1891 | Feb 1953 | ||
198 | 198 | 30198/W36 | Carisbrooke | Jun 1891 | 14 Jun 1964 | |
199 | 199 | 30199 | Jun 1891 | Dec 1962 | ||
200 | 200 | 30200 | Jul 1891 | Aug 1962 | ||
201 | W34 | W34 | Newport | Jul 1891 | 1947 | 19 Sep 1955 |
202 | W29 | W29 | Alverstone | Aug 1891 | 1926 | 1 May 1966 |
203 | 203 | 30203 | Aug 1891 | Dec 1955 | ||
204 | 204 | 30204 | Sep 1891 | Jan 1953 | ||
205 | W21 | W21 | Sandown | Sep 1891 | 1924 | 1 May 1966 |
206 | W19 | W19 | Osborne | Sep 1891 | 1923 | 5 Nov 1955 |
207 | 207 | 30207 | Dec 1891 | Jun 1957 | ||
208 | W17 | W17 | Seaview | Dec 1891 | 1930 | 1 Jan 1967 |
209 | W24 | W24 | Calbourne | Dec 1891 | 1925 | Mar 1967 ¶ |
210 | W26 | W26 | Whitwell | Dec 1891 | 1925 | 1 May 1966 |
211 | W20 | W20 | Shanklin | Mar 1892 | 1923 | 1 Jan 1967 |
212 | 212 | 30212 | May 1892 | Nov 1959 | ||
213 | 213 | 30213 | May 1892 | Mar 1953 | ||
214 | 214 | - | Jun 1892 | Jul 1940 | ||
215 | W22 | W22 | Brading | Jun 1892 | 1924 | 1 Jan 1967 |
216 | 216 | 30216 | Jun 1892 | Nov 1957 | ||
217 | W16 | W16 | Ventnor | Jun 1892 | 1936 | 1 Jan 1967 |
218 | W33 | W33 | Bembridge | Aug 1892 | 1936 | 1 Jan 1967 |
219 | W30 | W30 | Shorwell | Sep 1892 | 1926 | 12 Sep 1965 |
220 | W18 | W18 | Ningwood | Sep 1892 | 1930 | 5 Dec 1965 |
221 | 221 | 30221 | Sep 1892 | Aug 1953 | ||
222 | 222 | - | Sep 1892 | Feb 1933 | ||
223 | 223 | 30223 | Oct 1892 | Oct 1961 | ||
224 | 224 | 30224 | Oct 1892 | Feb 1958 | ||
225 | 225 | 30225 | Nov 1892 | Dec 1962 | ||
226 | W32 | W32 | Bonchurch | Nov 1892 | 1928 | 25 Oct 1964 |
227 | 227 | - | Nov 1894 | May 1933 | ||
228 | 228 | - | Dec 1894 | Oct 1943 | ||
229 | 229 | 30229 | Dec 1894 | Mar 1961 | ||
230 | 230 | 30230 | Dec 1894 | Aug 1956 | ||
231 | 231 | 30231 | Dec 1894 | Mar 1953 § | ||
232 | 232 | 30232 | Jan 1895 | Sep 1959 | ||
233 | 233 | 30233 | Jan 1895 | Feb 1958 | ||
234 | 234 | - | Feb 1895 | Mar 1937 | ||
235 | 235 | - | Mar 1895 | Feb 1933 | ||
236 | 236 | 30236 | Mar 1895 | Jan 1960 | ||
# | Between 1923 and 1928 SR numbers were the LSWR numbers with the added prefix 'E', although the new number may not have been applied until some time later. | |||||
* | Carried the name between July 1890 and November 1896. Named for opening by the Princess of Wales (future Queen Alexandra) of the Bisley Camp branch, the only Adams engine ever to be named by Adams. | |||||
¶ | Preserved (with small bunker) at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. | |||||
§ | First withdrwan in May 1939 but re-instated during 1940 due to wartime shortage of locomotives. |
This page was last updated 12 September 2010