What was the operator of LSWR 46 class from 1923 to 1925?
LSWR 46 class The LSWR 46 Class was a class of 4-4-0 passenger tank locomotive designed by William Adams for the London and South Western Railway . None have survived for preservation . Background . The first design by William Adams , the 12 members of the 46 Class represent an interim design to supplement the Beattie Well Tanks that were already in service . All were built from 1879 , and were intended for light suburban passenger traffic around London and the South Coast on the LSWR railway network . They were later rostered on local passenger services under the ownership of the Southern Railway , though none of the class survived into British Railways control . In consequence , none have survived into preservation . Construction history . The 46 Class was designed as a response to the requirements of the LSWR to have a range of newer , more reliable locomotives for use on their network . As a result , Adams intended the 46 Class to be an immediate stop-gap measure that could be utilised on passenger services while he devised a better solution to the railways motive power problem . This solution would eventually prove to be the 415 Class of 4-4-2 locomotive . The construction of the 46 Class was contracted out by the LSWR in order to speed construction and delivery . The contractor selected was Beyer , Peacock and Company , which manufactured 12 4-4-0 tank locomotives in 1879 . After only four years in service , the entire class was eventually converted to the 4-4-2 radial tank design between 1883 and 1886 , following the successful introduction of the 415 Class in 1882 on Londons suburban network . The reasoning behind the conversion was one of standardization , as various parts could be exchanged between both classes , and in consequence , the only glaringly obvious difference between the two classes , apart from the large side tanks on the 46 class , was the positioning of the safety valves on the boiler . However , the conversion resulted in a heavier locomotive , as an increase in water capacity was incorporated , as was an extended coal bunker to enable longer journeys to be achieved . This entailed the extension of the locomotives frames , resulting in a longer locomotive than the original 4-4-0 design . Livery and numbering . LSWR . After a period in the LSWRs early Yellow Ochre/Brown passenger livery , the 46 Class was outshopped in LSWR Passenger Sage Green livery , with black edging and black and white lining . Numbering was in gilt , as was the LSWR lettering on the water tank side . Under the LSWR numbering policy , the number of the first locomotive of a new design became the number of the class . As in this case the first locomotive was numbered 46 , the class became known as the 46 Class . The rest of the class were numbered 123 , 124 , 130 , 132 , 133 and 374–379 . LSWR numbering policy was , and continues to be , a highly confusing topic because the LSWR did not allocate a numerical series to a new class of locomotive . This resulted in many different classes of locomotives being numbered and mixed within series . From 1903 to 1905 , the locomotives were re-numbered according to the LSWRs duplicate numbering system . This meant that a 0 prefix was added to the LSWR numbers , and that the doyen of the class , number 46 became 046 . Operational details . The class , despite its long period of service , was regarded as a stop-gap measure to assist the smooth operation of LSWR passenger services . This belief continued despite the attempt at standardization in 1883 by converting the locomotives to 4-4-2 wheel arrangement . The class was eventually demoted to rural local passenger services by the LSWR , along with their 415 class cousins . One locomotive , number 0376 ( 376 ) , was withdrawn early in February 1914 , though was sold to the Brecon and Merthyr Railway in South Wales . This locomotive was re-numbered 44 when in service on this railway , passing to the Great Western Railway on 1 July 1922 who allocated it number 1391 . However it was withdraw later that year before it was renumbered . The class withdrawal programme ended temporarily with the onset of the First World War , where motive power shortages effectively extended their working lives until they became surplus to requirements during the years following the war . As a result , four of the class were withdrawn in November 1921 , with the remaining seven examples in service just making it to grouping and Southern Railway ownership in 1923 . The withdrawals continued , with the final serviceable example being withdrawn in October 1925 . Because of the early withdrawal of the class during the 1920s , no examples survived to be earmarked for preservation .