London & Croydon No.5 'London'
The London & Croydon Railway ran it's first trains in 1839, and typically for Railways of that period with no facilities to build it's own locomotives, the L & C turned to established engineering companies. Some of them, G & J Rennie for example had reputations forged in other industries but we're nevertheless keen to exploit the rapidly growing demand for engines to run on the newly created iron road.
Aside from a later locomotive Coryndon designed by John Chanter and built by Peter Borrie & Co. to research coal burning, the L & C's stable of eight locomotives came from only two manufacturers; the aforementioned G & J Rennie, and the Manchester firm of Sharp & Co. even at this early stage, Sharp's had settled on what could be termed a standard design. A compact and reliable 2-2-2 with a large distinctive brass dome to the front of the boiler and gracefully curved outside frames. A sturdy four wheel tender completed the ensemble, and these diminutive but effective engines provided the first motive power for a good number of railways both at home and abroad.
No.5 was constructed by Sharp & Co. In 1839. Sporting 13" x 18" cylinders and 5' 6" driving wheels it weighed in at 13tons 13cwt, the makers number was 25. Initially working on the L & C it was included like all it's stablemates in the 1842 Joint Committee amalgamation to emerge later as South Eastern Railway No.5 after the dissolution in 1845. Two years later it was overhauled at Deptford (possibly receiving steel cladding to the boiler and improved tender brakes) and sent to work the Greenwich line. Further postings were made to the Tunbridge Wells branch and finally the Maidstone branch before being condemned and dismantled around 1859.
Further details of the building of the model can be found in the latest Modellers Digest http://www.lbscr.org/Models/Journal/LBSCR-Modellers-Digest-5.pdf which I highly recommend. You will find many more excellent articles on some fascinating modelling projects. Read on.....!
- 7
11 Comments
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now