Everyone loves William Stroudley’s cheeky little A1s – forever known as ‘Terriers’ – so we thought we’d offer its big sister, the E1.
Following the success of the ‘Terrier’, Stroudley provided the London Brighton & South Coast Railway with a dedicated passenger version – the Class D 0-4-2T – in 1873, followed by a goods version in 1874. This was the E, later called the E1.
The 78 locomotives might have looked like a stretched version of the ‘Terrier’ but they carved out a niche as a strong and capable performer. They were less well received when used on passenger trains.
Stroudley’s successors, Robert Billinton and Douglas Marsh left their respective marks on the E1s, changing boiler designs and making detail changes.
The Southern Railway inherited 62 E1s. It sold five to private industries, modified four for use on the Isle of Wight and turned ten more into Class E1/R 0-6-2Ts to work lines in the West Country.
The E1s lasted well into BR days. The last Isle of Wight example, No. 4 Wroxall, was withdrawn in October 1960 while the last E1 used on the mainland, No. 32694, was not condemned until July 1961. Happily, No. 110, one of the quintet sold into industry, survived into preservation, and is now at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway where it will return to service as No. 2 Yarmouth in full Southern Railway lined green.
Each model features a die-cast metal construction, a high-quality motor and mechanism, a Next18 decoder socket, NEM coupler pockets, sprung buffers, firebox flicker for DCC users, and glow for those on DC.
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