A close-up view of the front of the Bulleid Q1 at Westerham on 28 October 1961. As the type has been given an overview elsewhere, this view is useful for describing other details. Of note is the spelling of 'flier', it having been spelled 'flyer' on the Class H, No.31518. Which spelling is correct is a matter for some debate but 'flyer' is the usual spelling. Either side of 'Westerham Flier' can be seen the two extra brackets required for the Southern Region 6-disc/lamp headcode system. Also visible is the rather pesky bolt-and-clamp system for securing the smokebox door. This system was more familiar on Midland Railway locomotives but a number of Southern Railway classes also used it. On the Q1 class there were three more such fittings around the top of the smokebox door, resulting in an unbalanced appearance. The code 74D indicated Tonbridge shed. BR introduced this system in 1950 and it was based on the existing LMS system and the first number denoted the region, thus all Southern Region shedcodes began with '7'. The system was complex and included other sheds in the district of the main shed which had their own codes as well as 'sub sheds' which used the code of their parent shed. Prior to the introduction of the BR, LMS based, shedcode system a three-letter numeric code was used, with Tonbridge being 'TON' although the shed name was often painted in full on bufferbeams. There was thus a degree of irony when, in 1973, BR abandoned the alpha-numeric system and replaced it with a two-letter system which remains in use today. Shedplates, such as that seen on No.33029, were of cast iron and fixed to the locomotive by means of two bolts. They also appeared on diesel locomotives during the early years of that form of traction and could also appear on diesel multiple units, in this case fixed to the solebar where it usually went unnoticed by the public.
Photo by Ian Nolan from his Flickr photostream