Dugald Drummond designed the successful T9 Class 4-4-0 locomotives, using the experience he gained from the less than perfect C8 Class, and by incorporating large fireboxes and Stephenson link valve gear.

The first fifty were confidently ordered straight from the drawing board and constructed between 1899 and 1900. Twenty were built at the London & South Western Railway’s own workshop at Nine Elms in London and thirty were built by Dübs & Company in Glasgow, all supplied with six-wheel tenders.

In all a total of 66 T9s were built, of which 15 were further outshopped from the Nine Elms workshop between 1900 and 1901. These locos incorporated some modifications which included a wider cab, revised wheel splashers and the fitting of cross-water tubes inside the firebox, along with the connection of the Drummond ‘watercart’ eight - wheel tender for longer running. The previous batches were later retrofitted with the modifications.

The 66th and final T9 was built by Dübs & Co, in 1901 for the Glasgow Exhibition of that year.

Built specifically for the highly competitive express train services from Plymouth to London, they quickly came into their own, with their high turn of speed soon earning them the nickname of the ‘Greyhounds’. Their comparatively short frames and light axle weight suited the tighter curves of lines on the West Country routes.

Robert Urie, successor to Dugald Drummond, continued to make further modifications and improvements until 1929.

After initial service with the London & South Western Railway, they passed to the Southern Railway when the railways were regrouped in 1923 and in 1948 they passed to the newly formed British Railways.

In 1949, 13 of the T9s were converted to ‘oil burning’ the experiment was not a success and all 13 were withdrawn from service.

The remaining T9s were finally withdrawn from service in 1961. All but one were scrapped.

With the new range of Hornby T9 Class 4-4-0, modellers can experience for themselves the charm of this much loved locomotive. In fact, the first variants released earlier this year sold out almost immediately. Using new tooling, the detailing on these new locomotives is nothing short of exceptional. I swear that you can even read the sight gauges in the cab! Check out the 360 degree images of the Hornby R2712X T9 Class and the Hornby R2713X T9 Class at www.trainsnrailways.co.uk and hopefully you will see for yourself how wonderful this little locomotive is.