The Claud Hamilton, particularly in its original GER blue livery, is widely considered one of the most elegant locomotive designs of the pre-grouping era.


In his 1955 history of the Great Eastern Railway, Cecil J. Allen devotes a whole chapter to the class and noted that 

Of all the locomotive designs that emerged from Stratford Works during the reign of James Holden, the one destined to achieve the greatest fame, beyond question, was his Claud Hamilton type 4-4-0, of which the pioneer example, No.
1900 Claud Hamilton, took the rails in 1900.

Although credited to James Holden, the Locomotive Superintendent of the Great Eastern, Frederick Vernon Russell (Holden's Chief Designer) is thought to have contributed substantially to the design of the Claud Hamiltons; while researching his Some Classic Locomotives of 1949, C.H. Ellis was informed by Russell that during the process of designing the locomotive "Mr Holden, by then a valetudinarian was making a long recuperative stay in Egypt."

The 4-4-0 inside cylinder locomotive included a number of features that were to appear on later Great Eastern locomotive classes, including a circular polished steel smokebox door surround (instead of the usual horizontal straps) and decorative splashers.
Class pioneer No 1900 Claud Hamilton featuring red lining and connecting rods, copper chimney cap and GER coat of arms was much admired when it was exhibited at the 1900 Paris Exposition.

The original S46 boiler had 1,630 sq ft (151 m²) of heating surface, with a 21.3 sq ft (1.98 m²) grate.
The cylinders were 19 x 26 in.
with flat valves placed below, operated by Stephenson's motion.
The coupled wheels were 7 ft (2.1 m) in diameter.

Allen reports that Claud Hamiltons in their original state were capable of taking around 350 tons from Liverpool Street to North Walsham in under the booked time.
No.
1882 with round-top boiler ran the 130.2 miles (209.5 km) in 156 min 60 sec.
Even heavier trains were managed in the up direction: No.
1809 (Belpaire boiler) took 400 tons up in 157 minutes 24 seconds.

The S46 design was substantially modified in later incarnations, particularly with the introduction of a larger superheated boiler on the H88 designed by Alfred John Hill.
Most earlier members of the class were substantially modified by Hill or during the tenure of Sir Nigel Gresley as CME of the LNER from 1923.

Two separate classes were also developed from the design of the Claud Hamilton; Holden's Class F48 (constructed between 1900 and 1903) was essentially an 0-6-0 goods version of the S46 and the Class S69 (built between 1911 and 1921) was a larger 4-6-0 version using many of the same design cues as the H88, built to replace the Clauds on the heaviest express trains.
The Claud Hamilton, particularly in its original GER blue livery, is widely considered one of the most elegant locomotive designs of the pre-grouping era.

In his 1955 history of the Great Eastern Railway, Cecil J. Allen devotes a whole chapter to the class and noted that 

Of all the locomotive designs that emerged from Stratford Works during the reign of James Holden, the one destined to achieve the greatest fame, beyond question, was his Claud Hamilton type 4-4-0, of which the pioneer example, No. 1900 Claud Hamilton, took the rails in 1900.
Although credited to James Holden, the Locomotive Superintendent of the Great Eastern, Frederick Vernon Russell (Holden's Chief Designer) is thought to have contributed substantially to the design of the Claud Hamiltons; while researching his Some Classic Locomotives of 1949, C.H. Ellis was informed by Russell that during the process of designing the locomotive "Mr Holden, by then a valetudinarian was making a long recuperative stay in Egypt."
The 4-4-0 inside cylinder locomotive included a number of features that were to appear on later Great Eastern locomotive classes, including a circular polished steel smokebox door surround (instead of the usual horizontal straps) and decorative splashers. Class pioneer No 1900 Claud Hamilton featuring red lining and connecting rods, copper chimney cap and GER coat of arms was much admired when it was exhibited at the 1900 Paris Exposition.
The original S46 boiler had 1,630 sq ft (151 m²) of heating surface, with a 21.3 sq ft (1.98 m²) grate. The cylinders were 19 x 26 in. with flat valves placed below, operated by Stephenson's motion. The coupled wheels were 7 ft (2.1 m) in diameter.
Allen reports that Claud Hamiltons in their original state were capable of taking around 350 tons from Liverpool Street to North Walsham in under the booked time. No. 1882 with round-top boiler ran the 130.2 miles (209.5 km) in 156 min 60 sec. Even heavier trains were managed in the up direction: No. 1809 (Belpaire boiler) took 400 tons up in 157 minutes 24 seconds.
The S46 design was substantially modified in later incarnations, particularly with the introduction of a larger superheated boiler on the H88 designed by Alfred John Hill. Most earlier members of the class were substantially modified by Hill or during the tenure of Sir Nigel Gresley as CME of the LNER from 1923.
Two separate classes were also developed from the design of the Claud Hamilton; Holden's Class F48 (constructed between 1900 and 1903) was essentially an 0-6-0 goods version of the S46 and the Class S69 (built between 1911 and 1921) was a larger 4-6-0 version using many of the same design cues as the H88, built to replace the Clauds on the heaviest express trains.
GER Classes S46, D56 and H88