On the final day, 28 October 1961, Class H 0-4-4T No.31518 with Maunsell push-and-pull set waits at Westerham on Duty 239. Photographic evidence suggests the smokebox 'Flyer' inscription had been present from commencement of that day's service but the Union Flag* appeared only for the final run of the push-and-pull train prior to main line stock taking over. Quite why somebody felt the Union Flag was relevant to a railway closure is hard to imagine. Class H was a Wainwright design for the SE&CR dating from 1904. Attractive locomotives, they displayed distinctive Wainwright features and Ashford Works ultimately produced 66 examples. One survives in preservation, SE&CR No.263 latterly BR No.31263. Withdrawn from Three Bridges on 4 January 1964, together with No.31518, it was the final member of the class in service. As the Westinghouse pump (left of smokebox) suggests, control gear of these Maunsell push-and-pull sets was air operated. Class H was able to operate in push-and-pull mode with either bunker end or smokebox end coupled to the train, as indeed could most so-fitted locomotives. Of the various pipes visible on the front of No.31518 above, the pair of thinner pipes hanging downwards were the air pipes. The other pipes were vacuum and train heating.
Photo by Bob Morley