Oliver Bulleid - Southern Railway and British Railways

Southern Railway and British Railways

In 1937, Bulleid accepted the post of CME of the Southern Railway (SR) at a salary of £3,000, after Richard Edward Lloyd Maunsell retired. His first contribution to the Southern Railway was to oversee the construction of three 350 hp six-wheeled diesel-electric shunters ordered by Maunsell in 1936; three of these were built and proved effective, with a subsequent order being placed for eight more, though this was subsequently cancelled due to the onset of the Second World War. Between 1949 and 1952, a further 26 of Bulleid's amended version of these locomotives were delivered and later became British Rail Class 12.

In 1938, Bulleid gained approval to build the Merchant Navy class of modern 4-6-2 "Pacifics", undoubtedly inspired by Gresley but also drawing on his experiences from across Europe and with all the most modern equipment; the design featured a partially welded boiler and firebox rather than traditional riveted designs, thermic syphons and a high-pressure boiler. It also included chain-driven valve gear immersed in an oil bath, a feature that was controversial and later caused problems if not maintained properly, which was difficult due to conditions after WW2.

Bulleid, like other engineers, had long felt that it was not ideal to have working parts exposed to the elements where they were subject to all the dirt thrown up from the track. He also thought that steam engines should get nearer to the internal combustion engine, which enclosed the working parts and used pump lubrication to keep it all running smoothly. Another advantage of enclosing the valve gear would be reduced day-to-day maintenance. Unfortunately there were design errors in the casing used for the oil bath, which led to leaks.

The first Merchant Navy locomotive, 21C1 Channel Packet, was built in 1941 and 29 followed, the last being 35030 Elder Dempster Lines. The West Country and Battle of Britain classes of slightly smaller light Pacifics followed in 1945. 110 were built, of which 21C101 Exeter was the first. His other major steam locomotive design, the Q1 "Austerity" 0-6-0 freight engine, appeared in 1942. All the steam locomotives designed by Bulleid for the SR had Bulleid-Firth-Brown wheels which gave even tyre support, but they did not eliminate the need for balance weights. The set up of the Bulleid valve gear enabled a locomotive to be built with no hammer blow. When the locomotives were rebuilt with Walschaerts valve gear, balance weights were installed in the wheels to reduce hammer blow.

Bulleid also played a major role in the electrification of the SR, including infrastructure, electric multiple units and electric locomotives. He designed the bodies for the two SR electric locomotives CC1 and CC2 in 1941 and 1945. A third example was built by British Railways in 1948 and numbered 20003. Towards the end of his tenure at SR he was responsible for the design and construction of Britain's only double-deck passenger trains, the two members of the 4DD class.

His final steam locomotive design for the SR was the unconventional Leader, appearing in 1949, after nationalisation. This had the boiler, coal and water supplies and everything else encased in a smooth double-ended body reminiscent of a diesel locomotive. The drive was through two six-wheel bogies, each with three cylinders. The axles on each bogie were connected by chains. The Leader was innovative, but unsuccessful, and after Bulleid had left British Railways the project was cancelled.

As CME Bulleid also had responsibility for coaching stock, an area in which he had an active interest. The existing coaches on the Southern Railway, the newest of which were designed by Richard Maunsell, were solid but were considered old-fashioned. Bulleid designs built on the best of the existing designs while making improvements and when new coaches were built they were known for their comfort and spaciousness. Bulleid coaches were popular with the travelling public, and many of the design features such as the size and layout were used by the nationalised British Railways for their standard Mark1 passenger coaches.

Bulleid worked briefly as CME of British Railways Southern Region. During this period his two prototype diesel electric locomotives appeared.