London & South Western Clyde class

To haul the most important express trains, the LSWR had three four-coupled locomotives built at Nine Elms in 1859, which were the first four-coupled standard-gauge locomotives in Great Britain with a driver diameter of seven feet. They bore the numbers 157 to 159 and were designated the Clyde class after the number 157 “Clyde”. Sometimes the class is called Lacy class after number 158. In the same year number 169 was built, which only had a dome on the firebox and none on the boiler barrel. The numbers 73 to 75 followed in 1864 and the numbers 95 to 100 in 1868. The last delivery is also known as the Centaur class, since it differed slightly from the older machines.

According to Locomotive Magazine, they were Beattie's “favorite locomotives” and were therefore always kept in pristine condition. By the late 1870s, they hauled the heaviest express trains with ease. While the older ones disappeared from the scene as early as 1883, four of the six from the last delivery received new boilers between 1887 and 1890. They were also subject to multiple rebuilds, so that ultimately each locomotive was a one-off. These last ones were only withdrawn in 1899 and most of these had achieved a mileage of one million.