The steam engines were Kerr Stuart & Co. Ltd 0-4-2ST (saddle tank) locomotives built around 1915. There were three engines called, Sunbury (pictured here), Hampton and Kempton and painted a dark green colour, with brass brightwork such as the dome unpainted.
The locomotives were all 2 foot narrow gauge because these engines could negotiate tighter bends around industrial settings such as water works & gas works. There was in total, 3 miles of track including sidings. Generally two locomotives were in use daily with one in the shed being spare or having maintenance carried out.
From my knowledge, around 80 tons of coal was transported a day by these engines which was the consumption of the steam plant at Hampton and Kempton.
The end came around in 1947 when the engines were replaced when Stilgoe House was built at Hampton and the eight steam turbines driving the high pressure centifugal pumps to supply water to London had a mechanical coal stoking equipment to the boilers and could use a coal conveyor in a tunnel from Coal Wharf to the automatic stoking.
Some people believe that the locos were sold, but from talking to various people the three engines required new steam boilers (usually changed every 10 years for safety reasons) by 1947 and they were all scrapped as they were not worth repairing and there probably not a big second hand market for steam engines nearing the 1950s except for spare parts.
- David Woolford, Thames Water
There is no information available.
