Southern Railway 0-6-0 Q1 class steam locomotive, No 33001, 1942
- Made:
- 1942 in Brighton railway works
- railway company:
- Southern Railway
- maker:
- Oliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid
Steam locomotive, No 33001, Q1 Class, 0-6-0, Southern Railway, designed by O V Bulleid, built at Brighton in 1942, withdrawn in 1964. Weight: 51.25 tons; length 54 feet, 10 ½ inches; driving wheel diameter: 5 feet, 1 inch (according to H C Casserley).
This distinctive austerity locomotive was built during the Second World War to pull freight services on the Southern Railway network. C1 is the prototype of the Q1 class, a total of forty Q1 locomotives were built – the most powerful 0-6-0 British tender locomotives ever built.
Oliver Bulleid incorporated a number of innovative designs in order to produce a highly functional locomotive. Wartime austerity demanded functionality over style and appearance. Weight was saved wherever possible, which is why C1 does not have running boards over the wheels. The weight saved enabled a larger boiler to be incorporated into the design.
On seeing a photograph of a Q1 class locomotive William Stanier (Chief Mechanical Engineer of London Midland and Scottish Railway) is reputed to have asked, “where’s the key?”
During the Second World War the Q1s proved to be an invaluable addition to Southern Railway’s fleet. So much so, that they all remained in service until the 1960s, long after they were intended to cease operation.
C1 was preserved for the National Collection in 1964. It was then based at Bluebell Railway in Sussex between 1977 and 2004. In 1980 the engine received an intermediate overhaul and C1 was returned to traffic, running regularly until September 1983.
On display
National Railway Museum: Great Hall
If you are visiting to see this object, please contact us in advance to make sure that it will be on display.
Related people
Details
- Category:
- Locomotives and Rolling Stock
- Object Number:
- 1978-7041
- Measurements:
-
length: 16900 mm,
driving wheel diameter: 1549 mm,
width: 2430 mm
weight: 52072kg
- type:
- steam locomotive
- taxonomy:
-
- vehicles and vehicle components
- vehicle
- locomotive
- credit:
- British Rail, Historical Relics
Cite this page
Rights
We encourage the use and reuse of our collection data.
Data in the title, made, maker and details fields are released under Creative Commons Zero
Descriptions and all other text content are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence
Download
Download catalogue entry as json
View manifest in IIIF viewer
Add to Animal Crossing Art Generator
Download manifest IIIF
Our records are constantly being enhanced and improved, but please note that we cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information shown on this website.