BR standard class 4 4-6-0
Encyclopedia
The British Railways Standard Class 4 4-6-0
4-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. This wheel arrangement became the second-most popular...

is a class of steam locomotives, 80 of which were built during the 1950s. Six have been preserved.

Background

The class was introduced in 1951. They were designed for mixed traffic use on secondary routes where the otherwise ubiquitous BR standard class 5
BR standard class 5
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 Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 .- Background :...

 and their predecessors, the Black Fives
LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0
The London Midland and Scottish Railway's Class 5 4-6-0, almost universally known as the Black Five, is a class of steam locomotive. It was introduced by William Stanier in 1934 and 842 were built between then and 1951...

, would be too heavy. They were essentially a tender version of the standard 4 2-6-4T
BR standard class 4 tank
The British Railways Standard Class 4 tank was a class of steam locomotive, one of the BR standard classes built during the 1950s. They were used primarily on commuter and outer suburban services.- Background :...

, with similar characteristics to the GWR Manor Class, though unlike the Manors they were built to the universal loading gauge
Loading gauge
A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...

. They used the same running gear as the tank engine (with the leading bogie from the Standard Class 5), and substantially the same firebox, smokebox and boiler, although the boiler barrel was increased in length by 9 inches (22.9 cm).

Design work was done at Brighton
Brighton railway works
Brighton railway works was one of the earliest railway-owned locomotive repair works, founded in 1840 by the London and Brighton Railway in Brighton, England, and thus pre-dating the more famous railway works at Crewe, Doncaster and Swindon...

 by R. A. Riddles
Robert Riddles
Robert Arthur "Robin" Riddles, CBE, MIMechE, MinstLE was a British locomotive engineer.-LNWR and LMS:Riddles was born in 1892 and entered the Crewe Works of the London and North Western Railway as a premium apprentice in 1909, completing his apprenticeship in 1913...

, with help from Swindon, Derby and Doncaster. Construction was at the BR Swindon Works
Swindon Works
Swindon railway works were built by the Great Western Railway in 1841 in Swindon in the English county of Wiltshire.-History:In 1835 Parliament approved the construction of a railway between London and Bristol. Its Chief Engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel.From 1836, Brunel had been buying...

.

The engine weighed 67.9 LT, was 60 in 0 in (18.29 m) long, with 5 in 8 in (1.73 m) diameter driving wheels. It had two cylinders of 18 inches (457 mm) diameter and 28 inches (711 mm) stroke operated at maximum boiler pressure of 225 lbf/in2, to produce 25515 lbf (113.5 kN) tractive effort. Its British Railways power classification was 4MT.

It normally used the standard BR2 or BR2A tender, which weighed 42.15 LT and carried 3500 imp gal (15,911.3 l) of water and 6 LT of coal. In this configuration its route availability was 4, almost universal over the British Railways network.

In service

The class was initially allocated to the London Midland Region (45) and the Western Region
Western Region of British Railways
The Western Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s and was wound up at the end of 1992...

 (20). The last 15 were allocated to the Southern Region
Southern Region of British Railways
The Southern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right in the 1980s and was wound up at the end of 1992. The region covered south London, southern England and the south coast, including the busy commuter belt areas of Kent, Sussex...

. The Southern batch were built with BR1B tenders, which weighed 49.15 LT, and carried 4250 imp gal (19,320.9 l) of water and 7 LT of coal. This reduced their route availability to 7, the same as the Standard Class 5.

Preservation

Six members of the class have been saved from the cutter's torch. These are:-
  • No.75014 at the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway
    Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway
    The Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway is a heritage railway on the former Kingswear branch line between Paignton and Kingswear in Torbay, Devon, England....

    , currently under overhaul.
  • No.75027 at the Bluebell Railway
    Bluebell Railway
    The Bluebell Railway is a heritage line running for nine miles along the border between East and West Sussex, England. Steam trains are operated between and , with an intermediate station at .The railway is managed and run largely by volunteers...

    , currently stored awaiting overhaul.
  • No.75029 at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway
    North Yorkshire Moors Railway
    The North Yorkshire Moors Railway is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England. First opened in 1836 as the Whitby and Pickering Railway, the railway was planned in 1831 by George Stephenson as a means of opening up trade routes inland from the then important seaport of Whitby. The line...

    , is currently undergoing overhaul. when it was operational it had TWPS fitted to operate to Whitby. Initially named "The Green Knight" when first purchased (direct from BR) by artist and rail enthusiast David Shepherd
    David Shepherd (artist)
    Richard David Shepherd CBE FRSA FGRA is a British artist and one of the world's most outspoken conservationists. He is most famous for his paintings of wildlife, although he also often paints steam railways, aircraft and landscapes...

    .
  • No.75069 at the Severn Valley Railway
    Severn Valley Railway
    The Severn Valley Railway is a heritage railway in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England. The line runs along the Severn Valley from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster, following the course of the River Severn for much of its route...

    , current overhaul paused.
  • No.75078 at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway
    Keighley and Worth Valley Railway
    The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway is a long branch line that served mills and villages in the Worth Valley and is now a heritage railway line in West Yorkshire, England. It runs from Keighley to Oxenhope. It connects to the national rail network line at Keighley railway station...

    , currently under overhaul.
  • No.75079 at the Mid-Hants Railway, currently under restoration.


All but 75079 have worked in preservation at some point. Three of them (75014, 75029 and 75069) have worked on the main line. No. 75029 is passed to work on the main line between Grosmont
Grosmont railway station
Grosmont railway station serves the village of Grosmont in North Yorkshire, England. It is located on the Esk Valley Line which serves one platform and is operated by Northern Rail who provide the station's passenger services...

 and Whitby
Whitby railway station
Whitby railway station serves the town of Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. It is the terminus of the Esk Valley Line, connecting with the North Yorkshire Moors Railway at Grosmont, and provides mainline running for NYMR trains during the summer months...

.

Modelling

Bachmann
Bachmann
Bachmann is a surname of Switzerland and Germany. It originates as a description of the bearer as dwelling near a brook , such as a farm "Hofstatt am Bach" also called "Bachmanns Hofstatt" near Hinwil or Dürnten , or the "Hof zum Bach" near Richterswil .Low German variants of the name include...

 and Hornby
Hornby
- Australia :* Hornby Lighthouse, third oldest lighthouse in Australia on south head of Sydney Harbour,- Canada :* Hornby, Ontario, community in Halton Hills* Hornby Island, Canadian island in the Strait of Georgia near Vancouver Island- England :...

have both recently released models of the these engines in 00 gauge.

External links

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