SECR D Class

Description

HISTORY OF SECR D

When the South Eastern & Chatham Railway was created at the end of the nineteenth century, one of the first problems to be addressed was that of locomotives. Upon the appointment of Harry Wainwright as Locomotive and Carriage Superintendent steps were taken to replace the small and ageing locos of the LC&DR and the SER with more powerful ones. From the team of draughtsman drawn primarily from the LC&DR works at Longhedge came plans for 3 designs of locomotives: the D class
4-4-0s for express passenger work, the R1 rebuilds of the R class 0-4-4Ts for local passenger, and the C Class 0-6-0s for goods work. In all some fifty-one of these locomotives were built and a large number, because of their robust construction, survived well into the 1950s.
The first locomotive was delivered from the builder, Sharp, Stewart & Co., in 1901 and in appearance and detail was a radical departure from anything seen previously on either the SER or the LCDR. Finished in brilliant green, with a copper chimney cap and brass boiler mountings, splasher beads and cab side numbers they were real eye-turners! One of the class, N°735, was exhibited at the Glasgow exhibition of 1901.
In 1907 an experimental extended smokebox was fitted to N°247 which, having proved to be a success, was subsequently fitted to the rest of the class. When Maunsell took over from Wainwright he proceeded to rebuild some of the class into class D1 and, at the same time, painted over the brass work thus stripping
the engines of some of their aesthetic glory!
Their reputation was mainly associated with the boat trains to Dover and Folkestone where the combination of the engines and new carriages led to these services being acknowledged as some of the most elegantly finished trains in the country.
Colloquially known as “Coppertops” these engines were at the forefront of the Managing Committee’s efforts to raise the public profile of the two railways, which had sunk to an all-time low. Their striking livery, above all, made them stand out from the crowd!