File:Ashford Locomotive Works, South Eastern Railway (SER) 171 Ans 05373-0752.jpg

English: Freight locomotive designed by James Cudworth for the South Eastern Railway (SER). Cudworth was chief locomotive engineer at SER from 1845 to 1876 and built the Ashford Locomotive Works, one of the first locomotive factories designed for series production. It built a series of 53 of the standard freight locomotives from 1855 to 1876. No. 171 was initially equipped with a firebox for burning coke, which was the common fuel at the time. The locomotive was fitted with a firebox for coal between 1864 and 1866 and received a new boiler designed by James Stirling in 1881. It was discarded in 1884 and thereafter continued in use by the Channel Tunnel Company to power a stationary pump. The company attempted to build a tunnel under the English Channel as early as the 1880s, but did not get beyond a few trial bores. The locomotive remained on site after work ceased and was not towed to the Ashford Locomotive Works until it was demolished in July 1915. The picture shows the locomotive as it was with the new boiler, which is very similar to that of the SER's O class. Because the picture must have been taken before it was discarded, it can be dated between 1881 and 1884. The background, which is also found in other pictures, shows that the picture was taken at the Ashford Locomotive Works.