Background
Work on the new design of locomotive was undertaken in 1928 following the construction of the first of Maunsell’s U class locomotives. Maunsell wished to create a more powerful version with greater route availability than its predecessors. The Southern Railway had inherited routes with restricted loading gauge where the large, overhanging cylinders of a 2-cylinder locomotive could foul the walls of bridges and tunnels. The new locomotive was intended to complement the U class by providing another locomotive capable of undertaking passenger duties on the Eastern section of the Southern Railway network between London and Ramsgate. The new locomotive, like the U and N classes before it, was intended to replace obsolete 0-6-0 classes in an attempt to standardise and ease maintenance by sharing parts with other Maunsell designs. Several K class 2-cylinder 2-6-4 locomotives had been successfully rebuilt as U class moguls, leaving the solitary 3-cylinder K1 class 2-6-4 number A890 River Frome for similar treatment.
Maunsell enlisted the help of the former GWR engineer Harold Holcroft, who had been recruited by the SECR as one of Maunsell's assistants. At Holcroft’s suggestion, the rebuilt locomotive was to feature a 2-6-0 wheel arrangement, enabling it to operate over the lightly laid track-work on the Eastern section of the Southern Railway, whilst allowing an increased size of boiler to those featured on the 0-6-0s. As the rebuild used similar parts to the N and K classes to aid mass production, the new locomotive also had many features previously found on the successful GWR 4300 class, following and improving upon Churchward’s design principles for this locomotive type. The redesigned locomotive was re-designated U1, and retained Holcroft’s variant of the Gresley conjugated valve gear used on the K1 2-6-4. To facilitate the rebuild, Maunsell used his past experience with the N1 class 3-cylinder locomotives as a template for the new design. The style of the new locomotive also demonstrated the Midland Railway influences of Maunsell’s other assistant, the ex-Midland Railway engineer James Clayton.
Read more about this topic: SR U1 Class
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