The London and South Western Railway K10 Class was a class of 40 4-4-0 steam locomotives designed for mixed traffic work. They were introduced on the London and South Western Railway in 1901 and 1902 to the design of Dugald Drummond, where they earned the nickname "Small Hoppers".
| LSWR/SR K10 [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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 K10 number 386 at Eastleigh, 1950 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Background
The failure of the C8 Class spawned the T9 Class of 1899 for use on passenger dutuies. However, the requirement for a mixed-traffic version that could undertake any work left over provided a problem of uniting both power and traction in a compact locomotive design.[2] A response was required that needed to be fleet of foot, therefore having smaller wheels to handle these duties.[2]
Dugald Drummond attempted to create a mixed-traffic version of the T9 using similar features, in order for the new design to be standardised with other classes operating at the time.[1] The result was the K10 Class, which was inended to be capable of moving light to medium loads over long distances.
Construction history
The Drummond K10 was designed between 1901/2, and shared the same boiler as his first 4-4-0 for the LSWR, the relatively unsuccessful C8 Class of 1897. They were originally intended as a mixed traffic version of the C8 Class, and were therefore fitted with smaller wheels for this purpose. These were powered by two Stephenson link inside cylinders, a proven combination on his previous T9 Class design. A Drummond North British-style lipped chimney and dome capped off the boiler.
40 of the class were subsequently outshopped from the LSWR's Nine Elms locomotive works. Several were equipped with a six-wheeled tender because of their intended short journey lengths, which included local stopping trains and medium-level freight haulage, whilst others had the Drummond eight-wheeled 'watercart' tender for longer trips.
Operational details
The class shared the same inability to sustain their power over long distances as the C8s, leading to the K10s being employed only on occasional main line trips over short distances. The class therefore gained the nickname of "Small Hoppers" from their crews. The aforementioned defect was not a hindrance, with the class leading an admirable career on secondary routes. Due to the LSWR being primarilly a passenger railway, there were few heavy goods services that would have proved too much for the design despite its flaws.
Twenty-three passed into British Railways ownership in 1948 and they were numbered randomly (with other classes) in the ranges 30135-30153 and 30329-30394
None has survived to be preserved.
References/Footnotes
- Ian Allan ABC of British Railways Locomotives, 1949 edition, part 2