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Description
The Southern Railway inherited and constructed a variety of different locomotive classes for the purpose of express services on its principal main lines.

The LSWR T9 is one of the most famous designs of Dugald Drummond. 35 Were built by Dübs and company and 31 by Nine Elms works, with the class totaling 66 engines between 1899 and 1901. They were put to use on express passenger services in South West England, where they found great success. They are most commonly known by the nickname "Greyhounds" due to their impressive speed. Though they were successful from the onset, improvements were made throughout their working lives. In 1912, Drummond's successor Robert Urie fitted superheaters to the class as well as larger smokeboxes, stovepipe chimneys, and larger 19 inch cylinders, with the entire class being rebuilt to this standard by 1929. The Southern Railway replaced them on principal expresses with larger 4-6-0s and later Bulleid Pacifics, but due to their light axle loading they proved useful in the western portions of the system around Salisbury. In 1947, 13 locomotives were converted to burn oil, though the trials were unsuccessful and in 1948 the equipment was removed and these engines withdrawn. Aside from these the T9s stayed in regular use by British Railways until withdrawals began in 1959, with the last of them lasting longer than many pre-grouping Southern engines by about one year. The last member of the class to be withdrawn, number 30120, is now preserved as a part of the National Collection and is currently on loan to the Swanage Railway, where it is under overhaul with the hope of being mainline certified upon its return to steam.

The Southern Railway took after the LSWR's practice of naming its express passenger engines such as the N15s after characters from Arthurian legends, which was an unmitigated success. This practice continued when Richard Maunsell designed the 4-6-0 Lord Nelson Class in 1926. The sixteen members of the class, built from 1926 to 1929, represented the most powerful Southern Railway 4-6-0, with four cylinders. There were two unusual features of the design. One of them was the setting of the crank axles at 135 degrees, rather than the standard 90 of other locomotive types. This design necessitated four sets of valve gear, and gave rise to eight beats per revolution, rather than the usual four, designed to give a more even draw on the fire and less chance of wheelslip when starting. With regards to their naming they were named after famous admirals in the Royal Navy, beginning with Admiral Horatio Nelson, for whom the rest of the class was named. The Lord Nelsons were used on continental boat trains from London to Dover and Southampton after the Second World War. Interestingly, the Lord Nelsons formed the basis for which Sir Henry Fowler used to design the Royal Scots for the LMS, and Richard Maunsell himself used it as the basis for the Schools Class 4-4-0. The LN class was withdrawn from 1961-1962, though number 850 Lord Nelson himself has been preserved as a member of the National Collection and resides at the Mid Hants Railway in Hampshire, where the engine has been since the expiration of its boiler ticket in 2015.

Description
The Southern Railway inherited and constructed a variety of different locomotive classes for the purpose of express services on its principal main lines.

The LSWR T9 is one of the most famous designs of Dugald Drummond. 35 Were built by Dübs and company and 31 by Nine Elms works, with the class totaling 66 engines between 1899 and 1901. They were put to use on express passenger services in South West England, where they found great success. They are most commonly known by the nickname "Greyhounds" due to their impressive speed. Though they were successful from the onset, improvements were made throughout their working lives. In 1912, Drummond's successor Robert Urie fitted superheaters to the class as well as larger smokeboxes, stovepipe chimneys, and larger 19 inch cylinders, with the entire class being rebuilt to this standard by 1929. The Southern Railway replaced them on principal expresses with larger 4-6-0s and later Bulleid Pacifics, but due to their light axle loading they proved useful in the western portions of the system around Salisbury. In 1947, 13 locomotives were converted to burn oil, though the trials were unsuccessful and in 1948 the equipment was removed and these engines withdrawn. Aside from these the T9s stayed in regular use by British Railways until withdrawals began in 1959, with the last of them lasting longer than many pre-grouping Southern engines by about one year. The last member of the class to be withdrawn, number 30120, is now preserved as a part of the National Collection and is currently on loan to the Swanage Railway, where it is under overhaul with the hope of being mainline certified upon its return to steam.

The Southern Railway took after the LSWR's practice of naming its express passenger engines such as the N15s after characters from Arthurian legends, which was an unmitigated success. This practice continued when Richard Maunsell designed the 4-6-0 Lord Nelson Class in 1926. The sixteen members of the class, built from 1926 to 1929, represented the most powerful Southern Railway 4-6-0, with four cylinders. There were two unusual features of the design. One of them was the setting of the crank axles at 135 degrees, rather than the standard 90 of other locomotive types. This design necessitated four sets of valve gear, and gave rise to eight beats per revolution, rather than the usual four, designed to give a more even draw on the fire and less chance of wheelslip when starting. With regards to their naming they were named after famous admirals in the Royal Navy, beginning with Admiral Horatio Nelson, for whom the rest of the class was named. The Lord Nelsons were used on continental boat trains from London to Dover and Southampton after the Second World War. Interestingly, the Lord Nelsons formed the basis for which Sir Henry Fowler used to design the Royal Scots for the LMS, and Richard Maunsell himself used it as the basis for the Schools Class 4-4-0. The LN class was withdrawn from 1961-1962, though number 850 Lord Nelson himself has been preserved as a member of the National Collection and resides at the Mid Hants Railway in Hampshire, where the engine has been since the expiration of its boiler ticket in 2015.