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If there’s a locomotive that you think needs to be offered ready-to-run, here’s the place to voice your opinion…
Locomotive: Southern Railway Class W 2-6-4T Gauge: OO Proposed by: David Jukes, Portsmouth What is it?
The Southern Railway’s 15 ‘W’ 2-6-4Ts were essentially tank versions of its three-cylinder ‘N1’ 2-6-0s. They were built for cross-london freight workings not only between the SR’S own marshalling yards at Hither Green, Norwood and Feltham but also to those of the other ‘Big Four’ companies – duties that required good acceleration and adhesion to avoid delaying the Southern’s frequent suburban services. The ‘Ws’ re-used several parts, such as side tanks and rear bogies, rendered surplus when the SR rebuilt its earlier ‘River’ 2-6-4Ts into 2-6-0 tender locomotives – the use of these and boilers common to the ‘N’, ‘N1’ and ‘U1’ classes assisted standardisation within the SR’S locomotive fleet.
Five ‘Ws’ were built at Eastleigh
(Nos. 1911-1915) with right-hand driving positions, gravity sanding and lined-black livery, with the remainder at Ashford
(Nos. 1916-1925) in plain black with left-hand drive and steam sanding – the last was fitted to the Eastleigh-built examples in 1959/60.
The class was later displaced from London’s heavy freight exchange duties by diesels and redeployed on Fawley oil trains and banking duties between Exeter St David’s and Exeter Central stations before withdrawal.
What would make it viable?
This is a perfect model for Bachmann as the ‘W’ could use its ‘N’ 2-6-0 chassis with the addition of new cylinders and a rear bogie. Purists will note the length between the centre and rear coupled axles differs slightly on each type; 7ft 9in for the ‘W’ and 8ft 3in for the ‘N’, equating to a negligible 2mm difference at 1:76 scale. It could also provide an opportunity for Bachmann to release an ‘N1’ 2-6-0 using the ‘W’s’ cylinder patterns and a re-tooled ‘N’ body.
A ‘W’ could be utilised on almost any London-based layout incorporating freight traffic, regardless of region, given their original usage. And, as a tank locomotive, there is space for added weight to enable prototypically heavy freight haulage in miniature.
Can I see a real one?
Sadly not, as all were withdrawn in 1963/64 and subsequently scrapped.