Southern Maunsell 4-4-0 Classes

A railway historian chronicles the pioneering career of Richard Maunsell with a thorough account of the locomotive classes he built for the SE&CR.

As the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the South Eastern & Chatham Railway from 1913 to 1923, Richard Maunsell brought successful innovations to a number of steam locomotive classes. Notably, the D and E 4-4-0s were rebuilt as D1 and E1 locomotives with higher pressure boilers and long-travel valve events. Maunsell also made significant modifications to the L class—designed by his predecessor, Harry Wainwright—just before their delivery in 1914.

In the 1920s, Maunsell designed the L1 class for the 80-minute express line between London Victoria and Folkestone. He then built his masterpiece: the 3-cylinder V class—also known as the Schools class—for express services on all three constituent parts of the Southern Railway.

In this authoritative history, author and civil engineer David Maidment describes the design, construction, operations and performance of these locomotives. Maidment’s expert text is supported by more than photographs illustrating each class from their construction to their final demise in 1962. This volume also includes an update on the three Schools class locomotives that have been preserved and operate on Britain’s heritage steam railways.