Spa Valley Railway

Spa Valley Railway, West Station, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN2 5QY
Telephone: 01892 537715
Email enquiries@spavalleyrailway.co.uk

(Photo ©M. Dives)

LB&SCR A1X Terrier No. 32650 Sutton

Dimensions as rebuilt to A1X Class.
LB&SCR A1X 'Terrier' 0-6-0T Built 1876,
Brighton Works, England
Wheel Diameter - 4ft 0in
Length - 26ft 0½in (12ft wheelbase)
Cylinders - 12in x 20in
Inside Stephenson valve gear
Tractive Effort - 7,650lbs at 85% boiler pressure
Weight in working order - 28 tons 5cwts
Boiler Pressure - 150 PSI

'Sutton' emerged from Brighton Works in December 1876 as No. 50 'Whitechapel', and was part of the London Brighton & South Coast Railway's production of A1 Class, that became known as Terriers. Designed by LB&SCR Locomotive Superintendent, William Stroudley, the engines were built to work the London suburban services, hauling heavy trains that involved regular stops and starts. The light weight of the engines was due to the poor track conditions around London.

The locomotive was delivered to New Cross shed and worked passenger trains until the class began to be superseded by more powerful locomotives. At this point most of the class moved to the countryside to haul lighter loads but Whitechapel remained at New Cross to perform shunting and works train turns.

Whitechapel later received larger cylinders when the first of the class were withdrawn from service, although these were sleeved in May 1907 when the engine was fitted for operating the push-pull motor trains in London, and later the countryside. Following further changes in 1912, Whitechapel went on to work branch lines to Bognor and Hayling Island. In May 1920, the engine underwent the conversion to the A1X class that most Terriers received and was shedded at Portsmouth.

In May 1930, it was sent to work trains on the Isle of Wight, having received an extended bunker which it still retains to this day, and a new name - Fishbourne. Its' stay on the island was short lived and Whitechapel returned to be placed in store at Eastleigh in 1936. It was overhauled again and put to work at Lancing carriage works as No. 515S. It worked here until 1946, when it was one of two engines selected as part of the Southern region's oil burning trials. These proved unsuccessful and it was returned to coal burning. 515S remained at Lancing until late 1953 when it was renumbered 32650 as part of the BR nationalisation, and returned to work on the Hayling Island branch for the remainder of its' working life. All the Terriers were withdrawn from BR in 1963.

In 1964, the Borough of Sutton decided to purchase a Terrier for display at their new Civic Centre, and had intended to buy LB&SCR No. 61 'Sutton'. Unfortunately this locomotive had already been cut up, and so 'Whitechapel' was offered as an alternative. The Kent and East Sussex Railway offered the engine a home until the centre was ready, and it was delivered to Robertsbridge in September 1964. The engine was overhauled and officially named 'Sutton', and hauled the inaugural services on this preserved steam railway. The engine remained here hauling trains in-between periodic overhauls until withdrawal from service in January 1994. Since then it has been on static display at Tenterden Town.

The engine arrived on the Spa Valley Railway on the 4th April 2004, and will be overhauled and returned to service on the railway. For more information about the Terrier's move to the Spa, click here

For the latest news on Sutton's overhaul please click here

Livery - Unlined Black

Current Status - Undergoing Overhaul.

Above Left:- 32650 in steam at Havant on 7th September 1963 - Photo R.M. Hill
Above Right:- 32650 sits at Hayling on the Hayling Island branch on 7th September 1963 - Photo R.M. Hill

Above:- Sutton in operation at Tenterden on the Kent and East Sussex Railway - June 1976 - Photo R. Dives

Further Details About 'Sutton'

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