No 78 Knowle emerged
from Brighton Works in July 1880 as part of the last batch
of A1 class locomotives. From new the whole batch were fitted
with Westinghouse air brakes and iron instead of wooden brake
blocks. At first, Knowle worked on the London suburban lines
but by the mid-1890’s had migrated to Portsmouth, working
the Hayling Island and East Southsea branches.
In 1907 it was renumbered 678 in the LB&SCR’s duplicate
list. In the same year, it was converted to push-pull motor
train working whereby the locomotive could be controlled from
a drivers position in a trailer carriage. This avoided the
problem of conventional trains where the locomotive had to
run round its coaches at the end of each trip. This adaptation
included reducing the cylinders from 13 in. to 12 in. diameter:
as a consequence Knowle has rather less power
than No. 3. November 1911 saw a Marsh boiler fitted and consequent
conversion to class A1X. The total mileage run at this time
was 763,993. No. 678 was allocated to Horsham in 1912, moving
to Littlehampton four years later. It subsequently returned
to the London area where duties included the Crystal Palace
motor trains. By the end of 1922 it was back in the country
at Horsham.
In the ownership of the Southern Railway it is believed to
have been stored out of use at Preston park from 1926 until
1929 when it was shipped across the Solent in May of that
year to become Isle of Wight W4 (W14 from 1932) Bembridge.
Prior to departure for the Island it was overhauled, fitted
with an extended bunker and its push-pull gear removed. Its
Island duties came to an end in May 1936 when it returned
to the mainland, only to be condemned at Eastleigh seven months
later. Howver a reprieve was granted and, after overhaul,
it returned to traffic in May 1937 as No. 2678, going to Fratton
for duty on the Hayling Island services. A year later it was
tried as shed pilot at Guildford but found to be unsuitable.
1940 saw No. 2678 hired to the K&ESR to alleviate a chronic
motive power shortage. Some sources suggest it was loaned
by the SR in 1941 but the K&ESR mileage register indicates
it arrived at Rolvenden the previous year. No. 2678 remained
on loan to the K&ESR until nationalisation in 1948 and
was retained for service on the line for another ten years,
thus becoming the longest serving non-K&ESR locomotive
to work the line.
Drama occurred on 29 March 1949 when, as a result of track
subsidence, No. 2678 was derailed near Wittersham and became
well buried in the wet soil, thereby creating a considerable
recovery problem which was nevertheless overcome. By the end
of 1949 the locomotive was turned out in lined BR black and
renumbered 32678 .
No. 32678 worked the final K&ESR passenger train on 2
January 1954, with sister locomotive No. 32655 (better known
as Stepney of the Bluebell Railway) at the
opposite end of the rake of coaches. No. 32678 then moved
to St. Leonards for the daily Tenterden freight duty and the
seasonal hop-pickers trains.
Displaced by diesels in 1958, No. 32678 returned to Fratton
for the Hayling Island branch duties and received its final
BR overhaul and repaint at Eastleigh in
September 1959. By 1963 the Terrier’s days in BR service were drawing to
a close and No. 32678 was employed on the West Quay line at Newhaven. The West
Quay line closed on 10 August and No. 32678 left Newhaven for Brighton ten days
later. There it saw out its last BR duties as a coal stage pilot before its final
trip to Eastleigh and withdrawal from service on 5 October 1963. Total mileage
was recorded as 1,411,436, of which 949,056 miles had been run under LB&SCR
ownership and 462,380 miles in SR/BR days. |
Reprieve came again in 1964 when Knowle was sold to Butlins
and put on display at their Minehead holiday camp. Subsequently
it moved to the nearby West Somerset Railway from where it
was acquired by Resco (Railways) Ltd. who moved it to their
premises in North Kent. After a further change of private
owner, Knowle returned to the K&ESR as
a kit of parts in 1988. Rebuilding proceeded through the 1990’s
and the boiler was sent to Chatham Steam Engineering for a
very thorough overhaul. Final assembly took place during 1998/99
and the locomotive re-entered service as No. 2678 in late
May 1999.
TECHNICAL DATA
Class AIX
Weight 28 tons 5 cwt
Tractive effort 7,650 lbs
Cylinders (2) 12 in. dia x 20 in. stroke
Boiler Pressure 150 lbs.
Tank capacity 500 gallons
Wheels 4 feet 0 ins. diameter.
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