BR standard class 5

From TrainSpottingWorld, for Rail fans everywhere
73086 The Green Knight on the ashpits at Nine Elms 1965. Note the hand-painted smokebox number.
73002 passing through Water Orton, 1964.

The British Railways Standard Class 5MT 4-6-0 was one of the standard classes of steam locomotives built by British Railways in the 1950s. 172 were built, essentially being a development of the LMS black five.

Background

William Stanier's black five had been the most successful mixed-traffic types in Great Britain. Construction of the black fives had started in 1934 and continued past nationalisation to 1951. A new set of standard locomotives was to be built by British Railways, based on LMS designs and incorporating modern ideas.

Design and construction

The design work was done at ex-LNER works at Doncaster but the bulk of the construction was done at Derby. The locomotive featured a Type 3B boiler almost identical to the black fives'. A higher running plate and slightly enlarged driving wheels from 6' to 6' 2" and a standard cab were the most obvious visible changes.

The first of the class, 73100 was outshopped from Derby in April 1951 and 30 were in service by January 1952. There was then a gap in construction before Derby resumed building its remaining 100 engines. 42 were built at Doncaster, starting in August 1955 and finishing in May 1957 with Derby's last engine following a month later.

30 engines, numbers 73125 to 73154 were built with Caprotti valve gear.

In service

In 1959, 20 of the Southern Region locomotives were named after SR King Arthur class locos that were then being withdrawn. These were:

Preservation

73096 is one of five preserved standard fives and has a mainline certificate.
73129 was one of thirty standard fives built with Caprotti valve gear.

Five have survived. These are:

Number Name Home Notes Link to database
73050 - Nene Valley Railway Named City of Peterborough database
73082 Camelot Bluebell Railway database
73096 - Mid Hants Railway Mainline operational database
73129 - Midland Railway Butterley Caprotti Valve Geared locomotive database
73156 - Great Central Railway database

References

  • A Detailed History of BR Standard Steam Locomotives, - Vol 2 - The 4-6-0 and 2-6-0 Classes. RCTS ISBN 0-901115-93-2

External links


British Railways standard classes:

Britannia Class 7 | Duke of Gloucester | Clan Class 6 | 5MT 4-6-0 | 4MT 4-6-0
4MT 2-6-0 | 3MT 2-6-0 | 2MT 2-6-0 | 4MT 2-6-4T | 3MT 2-6-2T | 2MT 2-6-2T | 9F

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