LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0

The London Midland and Scottish Railway 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. Members of the class survived to the last day of steam on British Railways in 1968, and eighteen are preserved. This class of locomotive was often a favourite amongst drivers and railway fans.

Origins

The Black Fives were a mixed traffic locomotive, a "do-anything go-anywhere" type, designed by Stanier, who had previously been with the GWR. In his early LMS days, he designed his Stanier Mogul 2-6-0 in which he experimented with the GWR school of thought on locomotive design. A number of details in this design he would never use again realising the superiority of details not used on the GWR. Stanier realised that there was a need for larger locomotives. These were to be the LMS version of the GWR Halls but not a copy, as the Hall was too wide to run most places in Britain. They shared similar cylinder arrangement (two outside), internal boiler design and size and 6 foot driving wheel diameters.

In their early days the locomotives were known as the "Black Staniers" from their black livery, in contrast to Stanier's other class of 4-6-0, the LMS Stanier Jubilee Class, which were painted crimson (and known until April 1935 as the "Red Staniers"). Later on, the nickname of the former became "Black Five", the number referring to the power classification. This was originally 5P5F, but from 1940 was shown on cabsides as the simple figure 5.^[1]

Construction

There were a number of detail variations in the locomotives and they did not all remain in the same condition as built. Some locomotives built under British Railways administration were used as test beds for various design modifications with a view to incorporating the successful modifications in the Standard Classes of locomotives built from 1951 onwards. These modifications included outside Caprotti valve gear, roller bearings (both Timken and Skefco types) on the coupled and tender axles in varying combinations, and an experimental steel firebox. Other locomotives had modified draughting to "self clean" the smokebox (thereby reducing turn-around and disposal times and eliminating or mitigating one of the most unpopular jobs).

The domeless engines

45073 at Rose Grove shed, spring 1968. Although a domeless boiler, the casing over the top feed is often mistaken for a dome

Numbering started from 5000, with the first twenty being ordered from Crewe Works in April 1934, and a further fifty (5020–5069) ordered from the Vulcan Foundry in 1933.^[2] The first of the Vulcan Foundry engines entered service in 1934, and the entire order of 50 was delivered before the first Crewe-built engine, no. 5000, was completed in February 1935.^[3] The first 57 locomotives were built with domeless boilers with straight throatplates and a low degree of superheat (14 elements in two rows), the boilers of the remaining 13 (5007–5019) were provided with a three-row version (21 elements)^[4] having greater total surface area and giving less obstruction to gas flow.^[3] The original 57 boilers were converted later to higher superheat (24 elements) and fitted with a dome. Further orders were placed with Crewe (5070–5074), Vulcan Foundry (5075–5124) and Armstrong Whitworth (5125–5224) for a total of 155 locomotives which were also built with domeless boilers with straight throatplates and 21 element superheaters. All these boilers, including the early converted ones with a dome, were fitted indiscriminately to any of the first 225 engines, which could appear at various times with domed or domeless boilers.

However, many of the early frames were converted to accept sloping throatplate boilers, as listed below. This modification was carried out to provide a stock of spare boilers for the early engines, which would minimise the time spent in works by engines awaiting a fresh boiler. All locomotives from no. 5225 were fitted when new with the sloping throatplate boiler. All extra boilers made had the sloping throatplate arrangement, and only one example of a later engine having been fitted with a straight throatplate boiler is known - no. 45433. Several different patterns of boiler were used on the locomotives, running into double figures. The throatplate design was the most significant, but there were also different numbers of superheater flues, firegrate arrangement, stay material, dome and water feed arrangements, washout plug placement, etc. in various combinations.

The following locomotives were built with straight throatplate boilers, but were later fitted with a sloping throatplate boiler (date in brackets). Conversion was done by relocating the frame stretcher immediately in front of the firebox. Some of them reverted to straight throatplate at a later date, and these are also shown where known. Those marked with an asterisk were fitted with a boiler which had the top feed on the front ring on the date shown. In the case of no. 45087 it had previously been converted. The first conversion was carried out on no. 5022, and the last known was on no. 45163, which has been preserved.

5002 (12/37), 45007 (1/60), 45008 (1/60*), 45011 (1/49*+), 5020 (2/37), 5022 (10/36) reverted (10/58), 5023 (2/38) reverted (3/53), 5026 (2/37) reverted (1/59), 5027 (12/36), 5040 (11/36), 5045 (11/54), 5047 (1/37), 45049 (7/54) reverted (8/59), 5054 (1/37), 5057 (11/37), 5058 (11/37), 5059 (7/45), 45066 (4/60), 45082 (12/56*), 45087 (9/55) (12/60*), 5097 (1/37), 5108 (6/45), 45109 (5/48), 5142 (12/37), 45151 (3/51), 45163 (5/61), 45169 (7/55), 45197 (5/60)

+ The subsequent history of 45011 is not clear. Official records have gone missing and have not been relocated. There is a photograph in existence dated April 1963, showing 45011 ex-works with a straight throatplate boiler and simple top feed, i.e. without the dome-like shape.

NB: The official records were not always updated after around 1960/61, although some were. For example in the case of no. 45082, it was fitted with a brand new boiler at the end of 1956, one of the last batch of four boilers that were manufactured for this class. Since it survived in service for a further nine and a half years, there is no doubt that 45082 will have had at least one further boiler lift and indeed a photograph exists of it at Hellifield with a given date of May 1962 showing it with an older boiler with the dome and feed both on the tapered ring. Unfortunately it is not clear from the photo whether it is a straight or sloping throatplate boiler.

The pre-war domed engines

A further 227 were ordered from Armstrong-Whitworth in 1936, the largest single locomotive order ever given by a British railway to an outside contractor. Crewe built a further 20, which had higher degree superheat boilers, with 28 elements, unlike the AW boilers, which had 24 elements.

5471, built at Crewe in 1938, would be the last built for five years. During the early stages of the Second World War, the priority was for heavy freight engines, and the closely related 8Fs were produced in large numbers.

Wartime and postwar domed engines

In 1943 construction was restarted, with Derby Works building its first. Construction continued up to no. 5499. As the numbering block from 5500 was allocated to the Patriot Class, a further batch of 200 locomotives were numbered from 4800 to 4999, followed by a batch from 4658 to 4799. By this time the LMS had been nationalised, and British Railways added 40000 to all numbers. Eventually the 842 examples would number 44658–45499.

Ivatt engines and experimental modifications

From early 1947, engines were built with the top feed on the front ring of the boiler (from no. 4998), and Nos 44658-767 had a longer wheelbase (27 ft 6in rather than 27 ft 2in, with the change in the coupled wheelbase from 7 ft + 8 ft to 7 ft + 8 ft 3in). In 1948, George Ivatt introduced more modifications to bearings and valve gear; other experimental Ivatt features included the use of steel rather than copper fireboxes on certain engines, and the fitting of double blastpipes & chimneys in some instances. 44738-57 were built with Caprotti valve gear. The last two, nos. 44686 and 44687 built at Horwich in 1951, were fitted with a new arrangement of Caprotti valve gear, which was later used on some of the BR standard Class fives, and the BR class 8 4-6-2.

No. 4767, built at Crewe and delivered in December 1947, had outside Stephenson valve gear: instead of eccentrics, double return cranks were used to drive the eccentric rods, and a launch-type expansion link was used. This one cost £13,278, which was about £600 more than those built at the same time with Walschaerts' valve gear. The aim of the experiment was to find out if a valve gear having variable lead (as opposed to the constant lead of the Walschaerts' motion) would affect performance. On trial, it proved to have no advantage, although in normal service it did gain a reputation as a good performer on banks.^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

Accidents and incidents

• On 13 October 1939, locomotive No. 5025 of the class was hauling an express passenger train from Euston to Stranraer (pilot to engine 6130) when it was in collision with locomotive 9169 which was attaching a van to the rear of an Inverness train at Bletchley, Buckinghamshire. Five people were killed and more than 30 were injured.
• In 1941, locomotive No. 5425 was severely damaged in a Luftwaffe air raid. It was subsequently repaired at Crewe Works.^[10]
• On 1 January 1946, the Lichfield rail crash, in which locomotive No. 5495 was hauling a freight train that was derailed at Lichfield Trent Valley station, Staffordshire due to faulty points. The train collided with a passenger train, killing twenty people and injuring 21.^[11]
• On 23 January 1955, locomotive No. 45274 was hauling an express passenger train that was derailed due to excessive speed on a curve, in the Sutton Coldfield rail crash. Nineteen people were killed and 64 were injured.^[12]

Construction details

Names

Only five Black Fives received names during their mainline working lives, a small percentage of the total produced,^[13] although seven more have been named in preservation (see below). All of those named in mainline service were named after Scottish regiments. Locomotive 5155 carried the name The Queen's Edinburgh for only two years during the Second World War. Some sources have noted that no photographic confirmation of this naming is extant,^[14] although this is neither unique to the class, nor unexpected given restrictions on photography during wartime. The evidence for the naming of the locomotive is set out in full in various sources.^[15]

Withdrawal

45401 was the first Black Five to be withdrawn from stock in 1961 following a collision at Warrington, although the boiler was re-used and actually lasted to the end of steam on BR. The remainder of the class were withdrawn between 1962 and 1968. Some members of the class survived to the last day of steam on BR in August 1968.

Preservation

Eighteen black 5's have been preserved with twelve of them being purchased directly from BR for preservation, the remaining six being rescued from Barry Scrapyard. Of the eighteen to be preserved all but 44901, 45163, 45293 & 45491 have run in preservation, eleven black fives have also been operated on the mainline in preservation: 44767, 44871, 44932, 45000, 45025, 45110, 45231, 45305, 45337, 45407 & 45428.

Of these 44871, 45231 & 45407 have mainline certificate's. 45212 will soon be going out on the mainline after emerging from a recent overhaul at Bury.

Preserved locos

Number		Name†	Builder	Built	Withdrawn	Location	Status	Image
LMS	BR
4767	44767	George Stephenson	Crewe Works	Dec 1947	Dec 1967	Midland Railway Centre	Undergoing a major overhaul. This locomotive was the sole member of the class equipped with Stephenson valve gear.
4806	44806	Kenneth Aldcroft prev. Magpie	Derby Works	Jul 1944	Aug 1968	North Yorkshire Moors Railway	Operational, returned to steam in 2007. Sold to North Yorkshire Moors Railway 2013.
4871	44871	Sovereign (former name)	Crewe Works	Mar 1945	Aug 1968	East Lancashire Railway	Operational and mainline certified; owned by Ian Riley, returned to steam in 2009.
4901	44901		Crewe Works	Oct 1945	Aug 1968	Private site	Awaiting restoration from Barry Scrapyard condition. Boiler sold to Ian Riley.
4932	44932		Horwich Works	Sept 1945	Aug 1968	West Coast Railway Company	Undergoing Overhaul.
5000	45000		Crewe Works	Mar 1935	Oct 1967	Shildon Locomotion Museum	On static display, wears LMS livery. Part of the National Collection.
5025	45025		Vulcan Foundry	Aug 1934	Aug 1968	Strathspey Railway	Undergoing overhaul. Wears LMS livery.
5110	45110	RAF Biggin Hill (former name)	Vulcan Foundry	Jul 1935	Aug 1968	Severn Valley Railway	On static display in The Engine House.
5163	45163		Armstrong Whitworth	Aug 1935	May 1965	Colne Valley Railway	Under restoration.
5212	45212	Roy 'Korky' Green Railwayman 1926-2001 (former name)	Armstrong Whitworth	Nov 1935	Aug 1968	Keighley and Worth Valley Railway	On long term loan to Ian Riley, returned from overhaul at Bury in July 2016 and undergoing running in at the KWVR.
5231	45231	The Sherwood Forester	Armstrong Whitworth	Aug 1936	Aug 1968	West Coast Railway Company	Mainline operational. Originally owned by Bert Hitchen, sold by his family in November 2015 to Jeremy Hosking
5293	45293		Armstrong Whitworth	Dec 1937	Aug 1965	Colne Valley Railway	Under restoration.
5305	45305	Alderman A. E. Draper	Armstrong Whitworth	Jan 1937	Aug 1968	Great Central Railway	Operational, mainline certified and based at Great Central Railway Loughborough. Boiler certificate expires 2020. Owned by The Draper Family, Hull.
5337	45337		Armstrong Whitworth	Apr 1937	Feb 1965	Llangollen Railway	Operational, returned to steam September 2010. Now based at the Llangollen Railway.
5379	45379		Armstrong Whitworth	Jul 1937	Jul 1965	Mid-Hants Railway	Operational; returned to steam 10 September 2010.
5407	45407	The Lancashire Fusilier	Armstrong Whitworth	Sept 1937	Aug 1968	East Lancashire Railway	Operational and mainline certified; owned by Ian Riley.
5428	45428	Eric Treacy	Armstrong Whitworth	Oct 1937	Oct 1967	North Yorkshire Moors Railway	Under Overhaul, withdrawn in October 2016 after mainline certificate to run into Whitby expired.
5491	45491		Derby Works	Dec 1943	Jul 1965	Great Central Railway	Under restoration. Only surviving example having a boiler with top feed on the front ring in conjunction with Walschaerts valve gear.

† In all cases names are historically inaccurate, i.e. they have all been applied since preservation.

• 44767 carries a plaque on the splasher beneath the nameplate that reads 'This locomotive was named by the Rt. Hon. William Whitelaw, C.H., M.C., M.P. at Shildon on 25th August 1975, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.'
• 44806 was named after the TV series "Magpie" in 1973, She continued to wear this name during the time she was based at the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway and when she relocated to the Llangollen Railway until she was withdrawn for overhaul in 2003. After emerging from her last overhaul in 2007 she ran without the nameplates but was later named after her former owner "Kenneth Aldcroft". She is now based at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and has since had her nameplates removed.

Details of the boilers currently fitted to preserved examples

Sound

• 45212 passing Green End

In fiction

In The Railway Series children's books by the Rev. W. Awdry, the character Henry the Green Engine, was rebuilt into a Black Five after his accident with the Flying Kipper.^[17]

See also

• BR Standard Class 5

Further reading

• David Hunt, Bob Essery and Fred James with David Jennison and David Clarke LMS Locomotive Profiles (three volumes, three pictorial supplements):
  • No. 5 The mixed traffic class 5s. Part 1. Nos. 5000–5224. (+ pictorial supplement)
  • No. 6 The mixed traffic class 5s. Part 2. Walschaerts and Stephenson valve gear engines from the 5225–5499 and 4658–4999 series. (+ pictorial supplement)
  • No. 7 Mixed traffic class 5s: Caprotti valve gear engines and class summary (+ pictorial supplement)
• J.S. Whiteley, Gavin Morrison The Power of the Black Fives

References

Bibliography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0.

• Awdry, Wilbert; Awdry, G. (1987). The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways. Kaye & Ward. ISBN 0-434-92762-7. 
• Cook, A.F. (1999). Raising Steam on the LMS. Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. ISBN 0-901115-85-1. 
• Earnshaw, Alan (1993). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 8. Penryn: Atlantic Books. ISBN 0-906899-52-4. 
• Gerard, Malcolm; Hamilton, J. A. B. (1981) [1967]. Trains to Nowhere. London: George Allen & Unwin. ISBN 0-04-385084-7. 
• Hunt, David; James, Fred; Essery, R.J.; Jennison, John; Clarke, David (2004). LMS Locomotive Profiles, no. 6 - The Mixed Traffic Class 5s - Nos. 5225-5499 and 4658-4999. Didcot: Wild Swan. ISBN 1-874103-93-3. 
• Jennison, John (2015). A detailed history of The Stanier Class Five 4-6-0s Volume 2 - on 45472-45499, 44658-44999. Locomotives of the LMS. Maidenhead: RCTS. ISBN 978-0-901115-99-7. 
• Jennison, John; Clarke, David; Hunt, David; James, Fred; Essery, R.J. (2004). Pictorial Supplement to LMS Locomotive Profile no. 6 - The Mixed Traffic Class 5s - part 2, nos. 5225-5499 and 4658-4999. Didcot: Wild Swan. ISBN 1-874103-98-4. 
• Nock, O.S. (1989). Great Locomotives of the LMS. Wellingborough: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-020-9. 
• Rowledge, J.W.P. (1975). Engines of the LMS built 1923–51. Oxford: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-902888-59-5. 
• Rowledge, John Westbury Peter; Reed, Brian (1984) [1977]. The Stanier 4-6-0s of the LMS. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-7385-4. 
• Trevena, Arthur (1980). Trains in Trouble. Vol. 1. Redruth: Atlantic Books. ISBN 0-906899-01-X. 
• Trevena, Arthur (1981). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 2. Redruth: Atlantic Books. ISBN 0-906899-03-6.