Lot Essay
SOUTHERN RAILWAY 'SCHOOLS' CLASS 4-4-0 NO. 931 KINGS WIMBLEDON
The Southern Railway 'Schools' Class, introduced in 1930, was undoubtedly Britain's best ever 4-4-0 design and could lay sound claim on a strictly 'power to weight' basis to be the most outstanding 4-4-0 type in the world.
At the time the 'Schools' Class was introduced, the 4-4-0 type was generally considered to be (at the very least) an obsolescent if not obsolete concept both in Britain and elsewhere, having given way in most places to larger 4-4-2, 4-6-0 and 4-6-2 designs. However, the extremely restricted structure clearances of some routes on the English Southern Railway meant that a 4-6-0 design could not be accepted at the time, in spite of the need for '4-6-0 equivalent' power on the new and heavier trains.
Accordingly, Richard Maunsell (the Southern locomotive chief) conceived the idea of 'marrying' a shortened version of the successful boiler fitted to his excellent two-cylinder 'King Arthur' 4-6-0 type of 1925 to a chassis containing three cylinders identical to those used on his even more powerful four-cylinder 'Lord Nelson' 4-6-0 design of 1926 and putting the whole lot on to a 4-4-0 wheel arrangement with the same 6ft. 7in. driving wheels as both 4-6-0 types. This, plus some careful planning of the overall superstructure of the engine (e.g. the inward slope of the upper cab side) gave the compromises required and resulted in an engine with equivalent power and cabability to many of the 4-6-0s of the day - fully equal to an 'Arthur'.
The engines were an instant success and eventually 40 were built between 1930 and 1935, all of which carried names of famous public schools. When built, the first ten engines were not fitted with smoke deflectors but this was soon found to be a mistake and shields were fitted from 1931 - and to the other 30 engines from new. From 1939 , Maunsell's successor, Bulleid fitted about half of them with multiple jet blast pipes (including No. 931) but with no significant improvement to an already fine design.
This exquisite model (numbered and named for the school of the original owner) represents the prototype locomotive as running between 1934 (its date of building) until modified by Bullied (exact date not known but not before 1939) and in standard Maunsell olive green livery. The prototype engine was withdrawn in 1961 as BR Number 30931, and the model is generally believed to be the only example of the class ever built by the late Stanley Beeson.
The Southern Railway 'Schools' Class, introduced in 1930, was undoubtedly Britain's best ever 4-4-0 design and could lay sound claim on a strictly 'power to weight' basis to be the most outstanding 4-4-0 type in the world.
At the time the 'Schools' Class was introduced, the 4-4-0 type was generally considered to be (at the very least) an obsolescent if not obsolete concept both in Britain and elsewhere, having given way in most places to larger 4-4-2, 4-6-0 and 4-6-2 designs. However, the extremely restricted structure clearances of some routes on the English Southern Railway meant that a 4-6-0 design could not be accepted at the time, in spite of the need for '4-6-0 equivalent' power on the new and heavier trains.
Accordingly, Richard Maunsell (the Southern locomotive chief) conceived the idea of 'marrying' a shortened version of the successful boiler fitted to his excellent two-cylinder 'King Arthur' 4-6-0 type of 1925 to a chassis containing three cylinders identical to those used on his even more powerful four-cylinder 'Lord Nelson' 4-6-0 design of 1926 and putting the whole lot on to a 4-4-0 wheel arrangement with the same 6ft. 7in. driving wheels as both 4-6-0 types. This, plus some careful planning of the overall superstructure of the engine (e.g. the inward slope of the upper cab side) gave the compromises required and resulted in an engine with equivalent power and cabability to many of the 4-6-0s of the day - fully equal to an 'Arthur'.
The engines were an instant success and eventually 40 were built between 1930 and 1935, all of which carried names of famous public schools. When built, the first ten engines were not fitted with smoke deflectors but this was soon found to be a mistake and shields were fitted from 1931 - and to the other 30 engines from new. From 1939 , Maunsell's successor, Bulleid fitted about half of them with multiple jet blast pipes (including No. 931) but with no significant improvement to an already fine design.
This exquisite model (numbered and named for the school of the original owner) represents the prototype locomotive as running between 1934 (its date of building) until modified by Bullied (exact date not known but not before 1939) and in standard Maunsell olive green livery. The prototype engine was withdrawn in 1961 as BR Number 30931, and the model is generally believed to be the only example of the class ever built by the late Stanley Beeson.