King Arthur Class (Steam locomotives)

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• Work cat.: Derry, R. The book of the King Arthur 4-6-0s, 2008:introd. (Bradley likes to refer to the Urie engines as the N15 class and the Maunsell-built ones as the 'King Arthurs' or 'Maunsell N15s')
• RailUK website, 12 Nov. 2009:steam loco search (Southern Railway Class N15, King Arthur, designer Urie/Maunsell)
• Wikipedia, 12 Nov. 2009:under LSWR N15 class (The LSWR N15 class was a British 2-cylinder 4-6-0 express passenger steam locomotive designed by Robert W. Urie; the first batch of the class was constructed for the London and South Western Railway (LSWR); following the grouping of railway companies in 1923, the LSWR became part of the Southern Railway (SR) and its publicity department gave the N15 locomotives names associated with Arthurian legend; the class hence becoming known as King Arthurs)

The LSWR N15 class is a British 2–cylinder 4-6-0 express passenger steam locomotive designed by Robert Urie. The class has a complex build history spanning three sub-classes and ten years of construction from 1918 to 1927. The first batch of the class was constructed for the London and South Western Railway (LSWR), where they hauled heavy express passenger trains to the south coast ports and further west to Exeter. After the Lord Nelsons, they were the second biggest 4-6-0 passenger locomotives on the Southern Railway. They could reach speeds of up to 90 mph (145 km/h). Following the grouping of railway companies in 1923, the LSWR became part of the Southern Railway (SR) and its publicity department gave the N15 locomotives names associated with Arthurian legend; the class hence becoming known as King Arthurs. The chief mechanical engineer (CME) of the newly formed company, Richard Maunsell, modified the Urie locomotives in the light of operational experience and increased the class strength to 74 locomotives. Maunsell and his Chief Draughtsman James Clayton incorporated several improvements, notably to the steam circuit and valve gear. The new locomotives were built over several batches at Eastleigh Works and Glasgow, leading to the nicknames of "Eastleigh Arthurs", "Scotch Arthurs" and Scotchmen in service. The class was subjected to smoke deflection experiments in 1926, becoming the first British class of steam locomotive to be fitted with smoke deflectors. Maunsell's successor, Oliver Bulleid, attempted to improve performance by altering exhaust arrangements. The locomotives continued operating with British Railways (BR) until the end of 1962. One example, SR N15 class 777 Sir Lamiel, is preserved as part of the National Collection and can be seen on mainline railtours.