William Adams was the Locomotive Superintendent of the London South Western Railway between 1878 and his retirement due to ill health in 1895. He arrived having held similar positions on the North London Railway and the Great Eastern Railway at Stratford. On the LSWR he was responsible for the introduction of 524 locomotives across 16 classes ranging from diminutive 0-4-0 B4 tanks to 4-4-0 express tender engines such as the T6 and X6 classes and the of course the 0415 class Radial tanks that achieved longevity and fame on the Lyme Regis Branch. Adams also supervised the expansion of the Nine Elms locomotive works and the transfer of the carriage and wagon works to Eastleigh (which would also later become the locomotive works as well).

Whilst many of the classes introduced were withdrawn by the 1930?s a large number survived well into British Railways ownership. My post on my external blog at www.grahammuz.com highlights some of the examples that I have models of, including classes 0395, A12, T1, O2 and G6 that can sometimes be seen running on Fisherton Sarum.

This is an extract of my blog at www.grahammuz.com, click here to read the full post with additonal information and images.