Adams A12 class 0-4-2 ‘Jubilees’.
These where mixed traffic locomotives with the first engine completed in May 1887, the 50th year Jubilee of the Queen Victoria’s reign.
With a total on ninety being built between 1887 and 1895 at Nine Elms and forty by Nielson & Co Glasgow, making them the largest Adams class of all the British 0-4-2s.
These where based at Nine Elms, Guildford, Basingstoke, Yeovil, Exmouth Junction, Strawberry Hill, Salisbury, Wadebridge and Plymouth, they proved successful and popular.
The most noticeable change was when Drummond chimney where fitted from 1900 onwards to most of the class, although a few still has their original stove pipe chimney into the 1920s.
K10 and L11 4-4-0s took over many of the Jubilees duties but many crews still preferred the Jubilees which were more economical locomotives burning less coal per mile then their successors, they also had a higher yearly mileage.
By the 1920s the Jubilees where seen mainly on branch line work, pick-up goods and shunting duties.
At the 1923 grouping, all ninety Jubilees where still in service and remained until 1928 when the first six being withdrawn and broken up which continued through the following years and became the last serving 0-4-2s on Britain’s railways.
618, 627, 629 & 636 entered into British Railways stock in 1948 but where not renumbered and kept their Southern lettering with 629 being the last one in general service, ending its days shunting at Eastleigh and was withdrawn in November 1948.
There was one other to exist longer in departmental use supplying steam to Eastleigh boiler yard as DS3191 (Ex612) until November 1951.
Unfortunately, none of these good-looking Jubilees made it into preservation.