LMS Princess Coronation Class
Encyclopedia
The London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Coronation Class is a class of express passenger steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

s designed by William Stanier
William Stanier
Sir William Arthur Stanier, FRS was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.- Biography :...

. They were an enlarged version of the LMS Princess Royal Class
LMS Princess Royal Class
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway Princess Royal Class is a class of an express passenger steam locomotive designed by William Stanier. They were Pacifics...

. Several examples were originally built as streamlined
Streamliner
A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "bullet trains". Less commonly, the term is applied to fully faired recumbent bicycles...

, though this was later removed. The non-streamlined locomotives were often referred to as Duchesses, though to enginemen they were often known as Big Lizzies.

They were the most powerful passenger steam locomotives ever to be built for the British railway network, estimated at 3300 horsepower
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...

 and making them far more powerful than the diesel engines that replaced them.

Initial construction

The first five locomotives, Nos. 6220–6224, were built in 1937 at Crewe. They were streamlined and painted Caledonian Railway
Caledonian Railway
The Caledonian Railway was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century and it was absorbed almost a century later into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, in the 1923 railway grouping, by means of the Railways Act 1921...

 blue with silver horizontal lines to match the Coronation Scot
Coronation Scot
The Coronation Scot was a named express passenger train of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway inaugurated in 1937 for the Coronation of King George VI which ran until the start of the war in 1939...

train they were built to haul. The streamlining is probably best described as reminiscent of an upside down bathtub
Bathtub
A bath , bathtub , or tub is a large container for holding water in which a person may bathe . Most modern bathtubs are made of acrylic or fiberglass, but alternatives are available in enamel over steel or cast iron, and occasionally waterproof finished wood...

 and was fitted largely for publicity reasons. Stanier, the designer of the locomotives, felt that the added weight and difficulty in maintenance due to the streamlining was too high a price to pay for the actual benefits gained at high speed.

Prior to the introduction of the Coronation service, No. 6220 underwent speed trials with a special train in 1937. Just south of Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...

, the train achieved a speed of 114 miles per hour (183.5 km/h), beating the previous record for a steam train (held by the LNER
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...

) by a slim margin. Insufficient braking distance had been left before entering a series of crossover points at Crewe, and although the train held the rails, much crockery in the dining car was smashed. After this incident, the LMS and LNER agreed to stop dangerous record-breaking runs which were in effect publicity stunts.
The second five locomotives of the class, Nos. 6225–6229, were also streamlined, but were painted in the more traditional crimson lake, with gilt horizontal lining. This was to match the standard LMS stock and a planned brand new Coronation train made up of articulated coaches. Although a prototype for this was built and exhibited in America it was never put into service due to the outbreak of the Second World War.

The next batch was built without streamlining. They were considered to be very handsome locomotives.

World War Two initially interrupted the building of further locomotives, but given the dire shortage of express motive power, several more were then completed during the war and were turned out in unlined black. Nos. 6253–6256 were turned out in 1946 in LMS lined black. The last two locomotives were constructed to a modified design, with roller bearings, by George Ivatt
George Ivatt
Henry George Ivatt known as George Ivatt, was the post-war Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London Midland and Scottish Railway. He was the son of the Great Northern Railway locomotive engineer Henry Ivatt....

 and were built in 1947 (No. 6256) and 1948 (No. 46257). In 1948, British Railways
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...

 were nationalised, and the class's numbers were changed; in common with other LMS locomotives, 40000 was added to the original numbers. No. 46257 was completed after nationalisation and was turned out in BR black.

Early modifications

Single chimneys were initially fitted to Nos. 6220–6234 when built. These were replaced with double chimneys between 1939 and 1944. From No. 6235 onwards, the locomotives were built with double chimneys.

Smoke deflectors were added from 1945 due to drifting smoke obscuring the crew's forward vision. The last five locomotives were completed with smoke deflectors fitted.

An unusual feature of Coronation Class tenders was that they were fitted with a steam-operated coal pusher to bring the coal down to the firing plate. When this was in operation a plume of steam could be seen rising from the rear face of the coal bunker backwall. This equipment greatly helped the loco's fireman to meet the high demands for power during the non-stop run of 299 miles (481.2 km) between London Euston and Carlisle Citadel
Carlisle railway station
Carlisle railway station, also known as Carlisle Citadel station, is a railway station whichserves the Cumbrian City of Carlisle, England, and is a major station on the West Coast Main Line, lying south of Glasgow Central, and north of London Euston...

, when operating the Royal Scot train to and from Glasgow Central.

De-Streamlined Locomotives

The streamlining was removed from the fitted locomotives from 1946 onwards. It had been found to be a little value at speeds below 90 mi/h, and was unpopular with running shed employees as it caused difficulty of access to maintenance staff. Only three locos were still streamlined at the end of the LMS period and they had been stripped by the end of 1949. Only 46243 City of Lancaster carried its British Railways number while streamlined.

Initially de-streamlined locomotives could readily be recognised by the sloping top to the front of the smokebox. All were eventually re-equipped with fully round smokeboxes. The sloping top led to the train-spotters' nickname of Semis (i.e. semi-streamlined).

Liveries

The livery history for these locomotives involves no fewer than 12 variations.
LMS Streamliner – Blue, Red, Shop Grey, Wartime Black (Code C22)
LMS Non-streamliner – Red (Code A11), Wartime Black (Code C22), Experimental Grey, 1946 Black (Code B12; a few early repaints Code B13)
BR Experimental – (Dark) Blue, Black
BR Standard – (Light) Blue, Green, Red


LMS Shop Grey was carried briefly in service on 6229 Duchess of Hamilton, between 7th September 1939 until returning to Crewe Works later that year, to be painted Red, in preparation for the 1939 visit to the New York World's Fair, USA.

LMS Experimental Grey (similar in colour to Royal Air Force blue) was only carried on 6234 Duchess of Abercorn, from March 1946 until May 1948 when she was painted BR Experimental (Dark) Blue.

BR Blue was carried by 27 of the 38 locomotives; the first two being so painted in May 1949; one locomotive is known to have carried the blue livery until June 1954.

BR Green was introduced in April 1951 with 46226 Duchess of Norfolk. Between August 1955 to December 1957, all 38 locos carried it concurrently. Locomotives allocated to the Scottish Region
Scottish Region of British Railways
The Scottish Region was one of the six regions created on British Railways and consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway and ex-London and North Eastern Railway lines in Scotland...

 remained green until withdrawal.

BR Red was carried on 16 locomotives from December 1957: Nos. 46225-6, 46228-9, 46236, 46238, 46240, 46243-48, 46251, 46254, 46256 allocated to the London Midland Region
London Midland Region of British Railways
The London Midland Region was one of the six regions created on the formation of the nationalised British Railways and consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway lines in England and Wales. The region was managed first from buildings adjacent to Euston Station and later from Stanier...

.

From September 1964, a yellow diagonal stripe under the cab panel denoted a restriction not to work under the 25kV overhead wires south of Crewe.

After the formation of British Railways in 1948, some locos ran with tenders carrying BRITISH RAILWAYS lettering. This was applied to three different liveries: the LMS-style lined black livery (nos. 46224, 46225, 46236, 46257); the BR experimental dark blue livery (nos. 46224, 46227, 46230–2, 46241); and the BR experimental lined black livery (nos. 46226, 46234, 46238, 46246, 46248, 46251, 46252, 46256). The early BR crest was applied from 1949, this in turn was replaced by the later crest from 1956.

Stock list


Preservation

Three Duchesses have been preserved. (4)6229 Duchess of Hamilton, (4)6233 Duchess of Sutherland have both been in service on main line railtours. The third locomotive completed, (4)6235 City of Birmingham, was the centrepiece in the now defunct Birmingham science museum
Science Museum, Birmingham
The now defunct Birmingham Science Museum, or Museum of Science and Industry, previously the Elkington Silver Electroplating Works, is a building on Newhall Street in Birmingham, England....

. The locomotive was put in place and the museum built around her. (4)6235 is now located at ThinkTank
Thinktank, Birmingham
Thinktank is a science museum in Birmingham, England. Opened in 2001, it succeeded and has several exhibits from the City's Museum of Science and Industry. It is part of the Millennium Point complex.-Building:...

 in Birmingham.

Following a successful appeal run by Steam Railway Magazine, 46229 has been re-streamlined. The locomotive was moved to Tyseley Locomotive Works, where the work was carried out. The project was completed in 2009, and the locomotive returned to York on 18 May, now wearing her pre-war number 6229 and taking her place at the heart of a new National Railway Museum temporary exhibition. She could well be restored to operational condition at some future date.

Sound

  • 6233 Departing Kirkby Stephen
  • 6233 Passing Selside

External links

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