The SECR K class was a type of tank locomotive designed in 1914 by Richard Maunsell for express passenger duties on the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SECR). The Southern Railway (SR) K1 class was a three- cylinder variant of the K class, designed in 1925 to suit a narrower loading gauge. They were among the first non-Great Western Railway (GWR) types to use and improve upon the basic design principles of power and standardisation established by George Jackson Churchward, the GWR's chief mechanical engineer. The locomotives were based on the GWR 4300 class, improved by the Midland Railway's ideals of simplicity and ease of maintenance. The K class was designed to be mechanically similar to the SECR N class mixed-traffic locomotives. The class was the earliest large-scale use of the 2-6-4 wheel arrangement in Britain. Production began towards the end of the First World War, and the prototype rolled out of Ashford Works three years after design work was completed due to wartime production constraints. They continued in service with British Railways until 1966. One K class rebuild (No. 31806) is preserved on the Swanage Railway in Dorset.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SECR_K_and_SR_K1_classes

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1388:

During the Battle of Buyur Lake, General Lan Yu led a Chinese army forward to crush the Mongol hordes of Toghus Temur, the Khan of Northern Yuan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Buyur_Lake

1863:

American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant led his Army of the Tennessee across the Big Black River in preparation for the Siege of Vicksburg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Vicksburg

1936:

In a crime that shocked Japan, Sada Abe strangled her lover Kichizo Ishida, cut off his genitals, and carried them around with her for several days until her arrest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sada_Abe

1991:

The Somali National Movement declared the independence of Somaliland, a de facto state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia, following the collapse of central government during the Somali Civil War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somaliland

2006:

The Parliament of Nepal unanimously voted to strip King Gyanendra of many of his powers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_democracy_movement_in_Nepal

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

ogry: (nonce word) Resembling, or pertaining to, an ogre. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ogry

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The point of philosophy is to start with something so simple as not to seem worth stating, and to end with something so paradoxical that no one will believe it.   --Bertrand Russell https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bertrand_Russell