A Class
Design and development
Stroudley's 1872 design for the LBSCR's South London suburban services was a remarkably small 0-6-0T — barely 24 tons in working order — designed for the lightly-laid suburban lines and the LBSCR's Hayling Island branch. With 4 ft coupled wheels, inside cylinders, and Stroudley's polished brass safety valve and dome, the Terriers were both functional and elegant. 50 were built between 1872 and 1880.
Service and withdrawals
The Terriers worked LBSCR South London suburban services until displaced by larger tanks from the 1890s. Many were sold to other railways (the Isle of Wight Railway, the Kent & East Sussex, the Edge Hill Light Railway) and worked branch lines around the country. Several survived in mainline service to BR days, latterly on the Hayling Island branch (which had a weight restriction that excluded all larger engines), where they worked until the line closed in 1963.
Eight of the original 50 survive in preservation — Boxhill, Stepney, Knowle, Fenchurch, Wapping, Newport, Freshwater, and Brighton — making the Terriers the most heavily-represented Victorian class in British preservation. Examples can be found at the Bluebell Railway, Kent & East Sussex Railway, Spa Valley Railway, Bressingham, and others.
Identification features
Tiny 0-6-0 tank engine — only 26 ft long over buffers — with 4 ft coupled wheels, polished brass dome, polished brass safety-valve casing, and Stroudley's elaborate yellow livery with extensive lining. Visually unmistakable.
Notable locomotives
- 50 Sutton (1875, Bluebell Railway, named Stepney)
- 72 Newhaven, 78 Knowle, 79 Fenchurch, 82 Boxhill (preserved at various railways)
- Multiple others