London & South Western class C8

The ten locomotives of the class C8 built in 1898 were a less successful predecessor of the T9. They were designed by Dugald Drummond and were numbered 290 to 299. Their boiler was similar to the M7 0-4-4T and the class 700 0-6-0. But since the firebox was large enough for these two, it was not large enough for an express locomotive that had to sustain higher speeds. This explains why no others were ordered and the T9 received a larger firebox. These ten locomotives remained in service without being superheated and were only withdrawn between 1933 and 1938.