LSWR T3 class


The LSWR T3 class was a class of express passenger 4-4-0 steam locomotives designed for the London and South Western Railway by William Adams. Twenty were constructed between 1892–1893.
The class were numbered 557–576, and had been intended as a variant of the X2 class with slightly smaller driving wheels. In reality, the coupled wheelbase was lengthened by and the locomotive was fitted with a firebox deep – the largest firebox of any of Adams' designs.
YearOrderQuantityLSWR NumbersNotes
1892T310557–566
1893S510567–576

All passed to the Southern Railway at the grouping in 1923. Withdrawals started in 1930, and by the end of 1933 only three remained. No. 557 went in 1936, 571 in 1943, and the last, 563 was retired in August 1945 and set aside for preservation. From May to October 2011 it was in Toronto, Ontario, on loan for use in a theatrical production of The Railway Children at Roundhouse Park, a role it reprised in January 2015 when the production was staged at King's Cross, London.
On 30 March 2017, LSWR T3 No.563 was transferred to the Swanage Railway Trust. The locomotive has now moved permanently to the Swanage Railway with a formal handover ceremony held at Corfe Castle on Saturday 27 May. Following an individual donation, the Swanage Railway declared their intention to explore the possibility of restoring the locomotive to working order, with a public appeal for additional funds being launched in October 2017.
YearQuantity in
service at
start of year
Quantity
withdrawn
Locomotive numbersNotes
1930201E561
1931198558, 559, 562, 564, 566, 570, 572, 573
1932114560, 568, 569, 575
193374565, 567, 574, 576
193631557
194321571
194511563