SER O class

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SER O and O1 Classes
Preserved No. 65 on the Bluebell Railway in Sussex.
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer James Stirling Builder Ashford Works (57) Sharp, Stewart & Co. (65) Build date 1878–1899 Total produced 122 Rebuild date 1900–1932 Number rebuilt 87
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 0-6-0  • UIC C n2 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Driver dia. 5 ft 2 in (1.575 m) Loco weight 41 long tons 1 cwt (92,000 lb or 41.7 t) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 2 long tons 15 cwt (6,200 lb or 2.8 t) Water cap. 2,000 imp gal (9,100 L; 2,400 US gal) Boiler pressure 150 lbf/in2 (1.03 MPa) Cylinders Two, inside Cylinder size 18 in × 26 in (457 mm × 660 mm) Valve gear Stephenson
Performance figures Tractive effort 17,300 lbf (76.95 kN)
Career Operators South Eastern Railway → South Eastern and Chatham Railway → Southern Railway → British Railways Class O and O1 Locale Southern Region Retired O: 1923–1932 O1: 1923–1961 Disposition 58 rebuilt to O1 class (one preserved), remainder scrapped.

The South Eastern Railway (SER) O Class (some of which were later rebuilt, becoming the O1 Class) was a class of 0-6-0 steam locomotive designed for goods work, and were the main goods engines of the SER, and later the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR) for a number of years. However, they were displaced by the more powerful C class locomotives following the amalgamation of the South Eastern Railway and London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR) in 1899. This relegated the class to working on the numerous branch lines in Kent, on both passenger and goods work. They worked most notably on the Kent & East Sussex Railway and East Kent Railway, operating coal trains from the Kent coal fields to London, as well as shunting work at such locations as Shepherds Well, Hoo Junction and Ashford. The majority were withdrawn before the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, and those that remained were slowly withdrawn from nationalisation onwards.

The death knell for the final few members of the class came with the Modernisation Plan of 1955, which closed down many of the branch lines they continued to serve in Kent, which included the branch lines to locations such as Hawkhurst, New Romney, Tenterden and the Kent coal fields. Those lines which remained open generally either lost their goods services or were dieselised. All members of the class had been withdrawn by 1962, and only one member of the class has survived scrapping.