BR standard class 6
Encyclopedia
The Standard class 6, otherwise known as the Clan Class, was a class of 4-6-2 Pacific
tender steam locomotive
designed by Robert Riddles
for use by British Railways. Ten locomotives were constructed between 1951 and 1952, with a further 15 planned for construction. However, due to acute steel shortages in Britain, the order was continually postponed until it was finally cancelled on the publication of the 1955 Modernisation Plan for the re-equipment of British Railways.
The Clan Class was based upon the Britannia Class
design, incorporating a smaller boiler
and various weight-saving measures to increase the route availability
of a Pacific-type locomotive for its intended area of operations, the west of Scotland
. The Clan Class received a mixed reception from crews, with those regularly operating the locomotives giving favourable reports as regards performance. However, trials in other areas of the British Railways network returned negative feedback, a common complaint being that difficulty in steaming the locomotive made it hard to adhere to timetables. Reports exist that suggest a degree of the disappointment with these locomotives was attributable to their being allocated to Class 7 work where they were only a Class 6 in reality; a problem put down to their very similar appearance to the BR Standard Class 7.
The Clan Class locomotives took their names from a previous class that was being withdrawn from service at the time, indicating further their intended area of operations. The class was ultimately deemed a failure by British Railways, and the last was withdrawn in 1966. None survived into preservation, although a project to build the next locomotive in line, number 72010 Hengist, is progressing. The frame plates are presently at Riley & Son Ltd. at Bury awaiting further parts to commence assembly of the frame structure.
constituent company. Power groups 7, 6 & 5 were to be for mixed traffic (MT) service. The whole standardisation programme was launched with the building of the 7MT Britannia
design in 1951; in the event, the 5MT proposal was dropped in favour of an updated version of the highly successful Stanier mixed traffic 4-6-0
. It was further appreciated that a Pacific of 6MT power could be built with a high enough route availability to fulfil all remaining requirements; this had been amply demonstrated by Oliver Bulleid
, Chief Mechanical Engineer
of the Southern Railway
, who had developed a lighter version of his large 3-cylinder Merchant Navy Class
in 1945. H.A.V. Bulleid, Oliver Bulleid's son, advocated that the resultant Light Pacifics had "almost 90%" route availability on the Southern railway network. The advantages of such a locomotive for use on some of the heavily restricted main lines in Scotland, such as the Dumfries
to Stranraer
line, had been further demonstrated by the remarkable performance of Light Pacific number 34004 Yeovil on the ex Highland Railway
line to Inverness
during the British Railways 1948 Locomotive Exchange Trials
. During these trials the locomotive showed that a Light Pacific had the potential to revolutionise the timetable over this difficult trunk route. As the general policy of the Railway Executive was to eliminate as far as possible the perceived complication of multi-cylinder locomotives, an equivalent 2-cylinder Pacific was produced by mounting a smaller and lighter boiler on the standard 7MT chassis.
completed the boiler, which at 225 lbf/in² was rated at a lower working pressure than that of the Britannias. A single chimney was incorporated into the design, although this was to create problems later on, due to its small diameter, which reduced the choke area that allowed the fierce exhaust blast to escape, reducing the overall efficiency of the locomotive. Similarities with the Britannias rested with the frames, tenders and running gear, allowing easy standardisation of parts common with other classes. The design was fitted with a standard set of two Walschaerts valve gear systems, and all members of the class were equipped with 4,200 gallon BR 1 tenders.
Following experience of occasional cracks appearing in the frame plates near the spring brackets, had the second batch of Class 6 Standard Pacifics been built, the chassis' would have been rearranged to be similar to that used on the solitary Class 8 Pacific. This would have resulted in the locomotive riding on three cast steel Combined Frame Stretcher & Spring Brackets carrying the 10 front-most spring brackets and lengthened spring brackets behind the rear driven axle. These Combined Frame Stretcher & Spring Brackets are often referred to as "sub-frames". (Perhaps remarkably, the rearmost spring brackets were not to be integrated into a single cast combined sub-frame/pony truck pivot stretcher. The pony truck pivot stretcher being a separate fabrication).
Unlike the smaller BR Standards the exhaust steam manifold within the smokebox saddle (along with the BR Standard Class 7 engines) was a steel casting that was welded into the saddle. Other original drawings confirm the exhaust steam manifold was a steel fabrication in the smaller BR standards.
, the new class was constructed at British Railways' Crewe Works
between 1951 and 1952. The initial order was for 25 locomotives, but such was the immediacy of demand regarding a smaller version of the Britannias that a batch of 10 was rushed through construction before teething problems had been ironed out at the British Railways testing station at Rugby
. No more were constructed due to the steel shortages of the 1950s, and onset of the British Railways Modernisation Plan from 1954.
, resulting in better steaming and increased power. Initially, the return cranks on the main driving wheels were of LNER block-type as seen on Arthur Peppercorn
's A1s
and A2s
, but this was changed to the simpler LMS
four-stud fitting. With time, enough information was gathered from operational feedback from crews to allow modifications to be applied to the further 15 locomotives on order in the second batch, had they been built.
4-6-0 Clan Class, therefore representing Scotland in the new organisation. The first of the class, No. 72000 Clan Buchanan, was treated to a special ceremony at Glasgow Central station
on 15 January 1952 at which the Lord Provost
unveiled its nameplates. Five of these names had previously been used on Highland Railway locomotives.
The first five of the planned second batch of 15 locomotives were intended for use on BR's Southern Region
; these were allocated names Hengist, Horsa, Canute, Wildfire and Firebrand, which had all been previously used on locomotives in southern England. The following ten were to be allocated to Scotland and were allocated further "Clan" names, all of which were new.
Polmadie
and Carlisle Kingmoor, compounding their restricted circulation. However, factors such as these meant that they spent most of their short careers out of the limelight that the Britannias had, resulting in a relatively camera shy class of locomotive. Crews that used them on regular duties displayed their liking for the locomotives, and as such, could produce good work. However, the predominant number of crews who were unfamiliar with the Clans found them difficult to handle, leading to an undeservedly bad reputation.
The poor steaming characteristics of the class had been the result of rushed production, which was another factor that led to the bad reputation of the Clan Class. Furthermore, they suffered from complaints regarding a lack of pulling power, although this can be attributed to indifferent handling and firing techniques, which certainly did not help the situation. However, had the Modernisation Plan been delayed, and the correct amount of investment made for undertaking the relevant modifications, such as streamlining of the steam passages and increased diameter blastpipe
in a double-chimney layout, the Clans would have been free-steaming workhorses worthy of complementing the 'Britannias'. Without modification, they were still capable machines when handled properly, as various feats testifying this included regular ascents of Shap
and Beattock
with 14 carriages without the assistance of a banking locomotive. Other arduous duties that the class frequently undertook were the regular turns on the Settle to Carlisle
route, which has some of the steepest gradients and harshest working conditions of any British mainline. The Midland region was always short of top-link motive power and the Clan Class proved to be a very welcome addition to the fleet.
The engines also performed on Glasgow–Crewe
, Manchester
and Liverpool
services, Edinburgh
–Leeds
services, Carlisle–Bradford
services, and finally the Stranraer
Boat Train workings. As more crews got used to them, the class could be found far from home territory at destinations as diverse as Aberdeen
, Inverness
, Port Talbot
, Newcastle upon Tyne
, Bristol
, and even London
. Clan number 72001 to this day remains the only Pacific locomotive to have worked over the West Highland Line
, the result of a successful trial held in early 1956 to ascertain whether a Pacific type could traverse this steeply graded line. Having passed that test, a tribute to the versatility of the class, Clan Cameron was allowed to work special trains for the Clan Cameron
gathering that took place in June of that year.
In August 1958, number 72009 was tested on the Eastern Region
, being based at Stratford
MPD, though a preference for the Britannias meant that this sojourn was short-lived, lasting only a month. The locomotive was utilised on services from London Liverpool Street
to Norwich
, Clacton, and Harwich
. At first they were mistakenly allocated Class 7 duties, in which the Clans, although capable, were not able to keep to their allotted timings. This was part of the trials for the West Highland Line services mentioned earlier, but the locomotive was rejected for such duties on the grounds that they were "no better than a good B1
". The result of these trials was that as both Standard Class 7 and 8 locomotives were moved north in 1961 after dieselisation
started in earnest, the Clans were downgraded to secondary work. Maintenance was initially undertaken at Crewe Works, but responsibility was transferred to Cowlairs
Works in the spring of 1958. More varied work was allocated to them as their reliability improved, including working portions of the Thames-Clyde Express and the Queen of Scots Pullman. They also deputised for the many failed diesel locomotives that plagued the network at the time, and were extensively used on freight workings.
Most Scottish and Midland region crews that used them regularly took to the class, and found that if used properly, running times were kept with ease. These crews rated them the most surefooted of any Pacifics available on the Midland Region, though other crews who tested them claimed that the Clans were prone to slipping
, though this was the case with most Pacific designs. Despite the various successes of the Clans, the class was generally regarded as a failure, even with overall performance being just short of Riddles' aims. However, the premise of all British Railways Standard designs was for a hard working, easily maintained, economical, highly available, and all-purpose locomotive. In these respects, the Clans were highly successful.
coast trains, hauling the Golden Arrow and other expresses, so that some of this batch would have been allocated to the Southern Region.
The first locomotives to be withdrawn from service were the Polmadie locos 72000-72004 en masse in December 1962, where after being moved first to Glasgow Parkhead and stored, they were eventually moved to Darlington
for scrapping in 1964. Of the Kingmoor allocation, the first, number 72005, was withdrawn in April 1965, whilst the final loco was 72008 on 21 May 1966 from Carlisle Kingmoor shed. When No 72008 Clan MacLeod was finally scrapped in August 1966, it rendered the class extinct. Though this locomotive served British Railways for only fourteen years and three months, it was the longest serving Clan.
4-6-2
4-6-2, in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle .These locomotives are also known as Pacifics...
tender 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...
designed by Robert 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...
for use by British Railways. Ten locomotives were constructed between 1951 and 1952, with a further 15 planned for construction. However, due to acute steel shortages in Britain, the order was continually postponed until it was finally cancelled on the publication of the 1955 Modernisation Plan for the re-equipment of British Railways.
The Clan Class was based upon the Britannia Class
BR standard class 7
The BR Standard Class 7, otherwise known as the Britannia Class, is a class of 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive designed by Robert Riddles for use by British Railways for mixed traffic duties. Fifty-five were constructed between 1951 and 1954. The design was a result of the 1948 locomotive exchanges...
design, incorporating a smaller boiler
Boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...
and various weight-saving measures to increase the route availability
Route availability
Route Availability is the system by which the permanent way and supporting works of the National Rail network of Great Britain are graded. All routes are allocated an RA number between 1 and 10....
of a Pacific-type locomotive for its intended area of operations, the west of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The Clan Class received a mixed reception from crews, with those regularly operating the locomotives giving favourable reports as regards performance. However, trials in other areas of the British Railways network returned negative feedback, a common complaint being that difficulty in steaming the locomotive made it hard to adhere to timetables. Reports exist that suggest a degree of the disappointment with these locomotives was attributable to their being allocated to Class 7 work where they were only a Class 6 in reality; a problem put down to their very similar appearance to the BR Standard Class 7.
The Clan Class locomotives took their names from a previous class that was being withdrawn from service at the time, indicating further their intended area of operations. The class was ultimately deemed a failure by British Railways, and the last was withdrawn in 1966. None survived into preservation, although a project to build the next locomotive in line, number 72010 Hengist, is progressing. The frame plates are presently at Riley & Son Ltd. at Bury awaiting further parts to commence assembly of the frame structure.
Background
Under the initial scheme for the creation of a series of British Railways standard locomotives, larger passenger and mixed traffic types were intended to be of the 4-6-2 Pacific wheel arrangement, the main advantage of which was that it could be fitted with a wide firebox capable of burning a range of coal types (and qualities). The Pacifics were originally intended to be produced in four power groups: 8, 7, 6, and 5, according to the system of power ratings inherited from the L.M.S.London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
constituent company. Power groups 7, 6 & 5 were to be for mixed traffic (MT) service. The whole standardisation programme was launched with the building of the 7MT Britannia
BR standard class 7
The BR Standard Class 7, otherwise known as the Britannia Class, is a class of 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive designed by Robert Riddles for use by British Railways for mixed traffic duties. Fifty-five were constructed between 1951 and 1954. The design was a result of the 1948 locomotive exchanges...
design in 1951; in the event, the 5MT proposal was dropped in favour of an updated version of the highly successful Stanier mixed traffic 4-6-0
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...
. It was further appreciated that a Pacific of 6MT power could be built with a high enough route availability to fulfil all remaining requirements; this had been amply demonstrated by Oliver Bulleid
Oliver Bulleid
Oliver Vaughan Snell Bulleid was a British railway and mechanical engineer best known as the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Southern Railway between 1937 and the 1948 nationalisation, developing many well-known locomotives.- Early life and Great Northern Railway :He was born in Invercargill,...
, Chief Mechanical Engineer
Chief Mechanical Engineer
Chief Mechanical Engineer and Locomotive Superintendent are titles applied by British, Australian, and New Zealand railway companies to the person ultimately responsible to the board of the company for the building and maintaining of the locomotives and rolling stock...
of the Southern Railway
Southern Railway (Great Britain)
The Southern Railway was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent...
, who had developed a lighter version of his large 3-cylinder Merchant Navy Class
SR Merchant Navy class
The SR Merchant Navy class , was a class of air-smoothed 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotives designed for the Southern Railway of the United Kingdom by Oliver Bulleid...
in 1945. H.A.V. Bulleid, Oliver Bulleid's son, advocated that the resultant Light Pacifics had "almost 90%" route availability on the Southern railway network. The advantages of such a locomotive for use on some of the heavily restricted main lines in Scotland, such as the Dumfries
Dumfries
Dumfries is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth. Dumfries was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire. Dumfries is nicknamed Queen of the South...
to Stranraer
Stranraer
Stranraer is a town in the southwest of Scotland. It lies in the west of Dumfries and Galloway and in the county of Wigtownshire.Stranraer lies on the shores of Loch Ryan on the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland...
line, had been further demonstrated by the remarkable performance of Light Pacific number 34004 Yeovil on the ex Highland Railway
Highland Railway
The Highland Railway was one of the smaller British railways before the Railways Act 1921; it operated north of Perth railway station in Scotland and served the farthest north of Britain...
line to Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
during the British Railways 1948 Locomotive Exchange Trials
1948 Locomotive Exchange Trials
The 1948 Locomotive Exchange Trials were organised by the newly nationalised British Railways . Locomotives from the former "Big Four" constituent companies were transferred to and worked on other regions...
. During these trials the locomotive showed that a Light Pacific had the potential to revolutionise the timetable over this difficult trunk route. As the general policy of the Railway Executive was to eliminate as far as possible the perceived complication of multi-cylinder locomotives, an equivalent 2-cylinder Pacific was produced by mounting a smaller and lighter boiler on the standard 7MT chassis.
Design details
The arrangement consisted of a modified Standard Class 7 boiler, with smaller steel cylinders and other modifications to save weight and hence increase route availability. The wider firebox, designed for use with cheaper imported coal, was also utilised to spread its weight evenly over the axles, whilst the standard smokeboxSmokebox
A smokebox is one of the major basic parts of a Steam locomotive exhaust system. Smoke and hot gases pass from the firebox through tubes where they pass heat to the surrounding water in the boiler. The smoke then enters the smokebox, and is exhausted to the atmosphere through the chimney .To assist...
completed the boiler, which at 225 lbf/in² was rated at a lower working pressure than that of the Britannias. A single chimney was incorporated into the design, although this was to create problems later on, due to its small diameter, which reduced the choke area that allowed the fierce exhaust blast to escape, reducing the overall efficiency of the locomotive. Similarities with the Britannias rested with the frames, tenders and running gear, allowing easy standardisation of parts common with other classes. The design was fitted with a standard set of two Walschaerts valve gear systems, and all members of the class were equipped with 4,200 gallon BR 1 tenders.
Following experience of occasional cracks appearing in the frame plates near the spring brackets, had the second batch of Class 6 Standard Pacifics been built, the chassis' would have been rearranged to be similar to that used on the solitary Class 8 Pacific. This would have resulted in the locomotive riding on three cast steel Combined Frame Stretcher & Spring Brackets carrying the 10 front-most spring brackets and lengthened spring brackets behind the rear driven axle. These Combined Frame Stretcher & Spring Brackets are often referred to as "sub-frames". (Perhaps remarkably, the rearmost spring brackets were not to be integrated into a single cast combined sub-frame/pony truck pivot stretcher. The pony truck pivot stretcher being a separate fabrication).
Unlike the smaller BR Standards the exhaust steam manifold within the smokebox saddle (along with the BR Standard Class 7 engines) was a steel casting that was welded into the saddle. Other original drawings confirm the exhaust steam manifold was a steel fabrication in the smaller BR standards.
Construction history
Designed at the drawing offices of Derby WorksDerby Works
The Midland Railway Locomotive Works, known locally as "the loco" comprised a number of British manufacturing facilities in Derby building locomotives and, initially, rolling stock in Derby, UK.-Early days:...
, the new class was constructed at British Railways' Crewe Works
Crewe Works
Crewe railway works is a British railway engineering facility built in 1840 by the Grand Junction Railway. It is located in the town of Crewe, in the county of Cheshire....
between 1951 and 1952. The initial order was for 25 locomotives, but such was the immediacy of demand regarding a smaller version of the Britannias that a batch of 10 was rushed through construction before teething problems had been ironed out at the British Railways testing station at Rugby
Rugby, Warwickshire
Rugby is a market town in Warwickshire, England, located on the River Avon. The town has a population of 61,988 making it the second largest town in the county...
. No more were constructed due to the steel shortages of the 1950s, and onset of the British Railways Modernisation Plan from 1954.
Initial modifications
After initial running-in, E.S.Cox was quoted as discerning a distinct "woolliness" in their steaming, and although they missed their appointment at the Rugby Testing Station due to late completion, some modifications were carried out, most notably to the diameter of the blastpipeBlastpipe
The blastpipe is part of the exhaust system of a steam locomotive that discharges exhaust steam from the cylinders into the smokebox beneath the chimney in order to increase the draught through the fire.- History :...
, resulting in better steaming and increased power. Initially, the return cranks on the main driving wheels were of LNER block-type as seen on Arthur Peppercorn
Arthur Peppercorn
Arthur Henry Peppercorn, OBE was the last Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and North Eastern Railway.- Career :...
's A1s
LNER Peppercorn Class A1
The London and North Eastern Railway Peppercorn Class A1 is a type of express passenger steam locomotive. Forty-nine original Peppercorn Class A1s were built to the design of Arthur Peppercorn during the early British Railways era, but all were scrapped with the discontinuation of steam,...
and A2s
LNER Peppercorn Class A2
The London and North Eastern Railway Peppercorn Class A2 is a class of steam locomotive designed for express passenger work by Arthur Peppercorn, the chief designer of the LNER after Edward Thompson...
, but this was changed to the simpler LMS
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
four-stud fitting. With time, enough information was gathered from operational feedback from crews to allow modifications to be applied to the further 15 locomotives on order in the second batch, had they been built.
Naming the locomotives
The choice of locomotive names came from engineer and future railway historian Ernest Stewart Cox's desire to replicate the near extinct Ex-Highland RailwayHighland Railway
The Highland Railway was one of the smaller British railways before the Railways Act 1921; it operated north of Perth railway station in Scotland and served the farthest north of Britain...
4-6-0 Clan Class, therefore representing Scotland in the new organisation. The first of the class, No. 72000 Clan Buchanan, was treated to a special ceremony at Glasgow Central station
Glasgow Central station
Glasgow Central is the larger of the two present main-line railway terminals in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. The station was opened by the Caledonian Railway on 31 July 1879 and is currently managed by Network Rail...
on 15 January 1952 at which the Lord Provost
Lord Provost
A Lord Provost is the figurative and ceremonial head of one of the principal cities of Scotland. Four cities, Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, have the right to appoint a Lord Provost instead of a provost...
unveiled its nameplates. Five of these names had previously been used on Highland Railway locomotives.
The first five of the planned second batch of 15 locomotives were intended for use on BR's 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...
; these were allocated names Hengist, Horsa, Canute, Wildfire and Firebrand, which had all been previously used on locomotives in southern England. The following ten were to be allocated to Scotland and were allocated further "Clan" names, all of which were new.
Operational details
The Clan Class had a mixed reception when first introduced to British Railways locomotive crews because there were only 10 locomotives in a class that was mostly confined to the North West of the railway network. This was due to the fact the low number of class members prevented effective training of locomotive crews throughout the nationalised network, and a degree of partisanship amongst crews towards newer locomotives further ensured this. The entire class was also based predominantly at two depots throughout their working lives, these being GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
Polmadie
Polmadie
Polmadie is a district of Glasgow, a city in Scotland. Polmadie is situated south of the River Clyde, and adjacent to the Gorbals....
and Carlisle Kingmoor, compounding their restricted circulation. However, factors such as these meant that they spent most of their short careers out of the limelight that the Britannias had, resulting in a relatively camera shy class of locomotive. Crews that used them on regular duties displayed their liking for the locomotives, and as such, could produce good work. However, the predominant number of crews who were unfamiliar with the Clans found them difficult to handle, leading to an undeservedly bad reputation.
The poor steaming characteristics of the class had been the result of rushed production, which was another factor that led to the bad reputation of the Clan Class. Furthermore, they suffered from complaints regarding a lack of pulling power, although this can be attributed to indifferent handling and firing techniques, which certainly did not help the situation. However, had the Modernisation Plan been delayed, and the correct amount of investment made for undertaking the relevant modifications, such as streamlining of the steam passages and increased diameter blastpipe
Blastpipe
The blastpipe is part of the exhaust system of a steam locomotive that discharges exhaust steam from the cylinders into the smokebox beneath the chimney in order to increase the draught through the fire.- History :...
in a double-chimney layout, the Clans would have been free-steaming workhorses worthy of complementing the 'Britannias'. Without modification, they were still capable machines when handled properly, as various feats testifying this included regular ascents of Shap
Shap
Shap is a linear village and civil parish located amongst fells and isolated dales in Eden district, Cumbria, England. The village lies along the A6 road and the West Coast Main Line, and is near to the M6 motorway...
and Beattock
Beattock
The village of Beattock is located in the southern lowlands of Scotland, and lies within the administrative area of Dumfries and Galloway. It is surrounded by the parish of Kirkpatrick Juxta. It was an important stabling point for horses in the olden days with a coach house at one end of the village...
with 14 carriages without the assistance of a banking locomotive. Other arduous duties that the class frequently undertook were the regular turns on the Settle to Carlisle
Settle-Carlisle Railway
The Settle–Carlisle Line is a long main railway line in northern England. It is also known as the Settle and Carlisle. It is a part of the National Rail network and was constructed in the 1870s...
route, which has some of the steepest gradients and harshest working conditions of any British mainline. The Midland region was always short of top-link motive power and the Clan Class proved to be a very welcome addition to the fleet.
The engines also performed on Glasgow–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...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
services, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
–Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
services, Carlisle–Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
services, and finally the Stranraer
Stranraer
Stranraer is a town in the southwest of Scotland. It lies in the west of Dumfries and Galloway and in the county of Wigtownshire.Stranraer lies on the shores of Loch Ryan on the northern side of the isthmus joining the Rhins of Galloway to the mainland...
Boat Train workings. As more crews got used to them, the class could be found far from home territory at destinations as diverse as Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
, Port Talbot
Port Talbot
Port Talbot is a town in Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It had a population of 35,633 in 2001.-History:Port Talbot grew out of the original small port and market town of Aberafan , which belonged to the medieval Lords of Afan. The area of the parish of Margam lying on the west bank of the lower Afan...
, Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, and even London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Clan number 72001 to this day remains the only Pacific locomotive to have worked over the West Highland Line
West Highland Line
The West Highland Line is considered the most scenic railway line in Britain, linking the ports of Mallaig and Oban on the west coast of Scotland to Glasgow. The line was voted the top rail journey in the world by readers of independent travel magazine Wanderlust in 2009, ahead of the iconic...
, the result of a successful trial held in early 1956 to ascertain whether a Pacific type could traverse this steeply graded line. Having passed that test, a tribute to the versatility of the class, Clan Cameron was allowed to work special trains for the Clan Cameron
Clan Cameron
Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber and within their lands is the mountain Ben Nevis which is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The chief of the clan is customarily referred to as...
gathering that took place in June of that year.
In August 1958, number 72009 was tested on the Eastern Region
Eastern Region of British Railways
The Eastern 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...
, being based at Stratford
Stratford station
Stratford station is a large multilevel railway station in Stratford, east London. The station is served by the National Rail services National Express East Anglia, London Overground and c2c, by London Underground's Central and Jubilee lines, and by the Docklands Light Railway . Stratford is in...
MPD, though a preference for the Britannias meant that this sojourn was short-lived, lasting only a month. The locomotive was utilised on services from London Liverpool Street
Liverpool Street
Liverpool Street can refer to:*Liverpool Street station, a major mainline railway station in Central London, England*Liverpool Street, Hobart, a major street in the Hobart city centre....
to Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, Clacton, and Harwich
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
. At first they were mistakenly allocated Class 7 duties, in which the Clans, although capable, were not able to keep to their allotted timings. This was part of the trials for the West Highland Line services mentioned earlier, but the locomotive was rejected for such duties on the grounds that they were "no better than a good B1
LNER Thompson Class B1
The London and North Eastern Railway Thompson Class B1 is a class of steam locomotive designed for medium mixed traffic work. It was designed by Edward Thompson.- Overview :...
". The result of these trials was that as both Standard Class 7 and 8 locomotives were moved north in 1961 after dieselisation
Dieselisation
Dieselisation or dieselization is a term generally used for the increasingly common use of diesel fuel in vehicles, as opposed to gasoline or steam engines.-Water Transport:...
started in earnest, the Clans were downgraded to secondary work. Maintenance was initially undertaken at Crewe Works, but responsibility was transferred to Cowlairs
Cowlairs
Cowlairs is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow, part of the wider Springburn district of the city. It is situated north of the River Clyde. Cowlairs F.C. represented the area...
Works in the spring of 1958. More varied work was allocated to them as their reliability improved, including working portions of the Thames-Clyde Express and the Queen of Scots Pullman. They also deputised for the many failed diesel locomotives that plagued the network at the time, and were extensively used on freight workings.
Most Scottish and Midland region crews that used them regularly took to the class, and found that if used properly, running times were kept with ease. These crews rated them the most surefooted of any Pacifics available on the Midland Region, though other crews who tested them claimed that the Clans were prone to slipping
Locomotive wheelslip
Locomotive wheelslip is an event that affects railway motive power when starting from stationary.The greatest effort is required from a locomotive when starting...
, though this was the case with most Pacific designs. Despite the various successes of the Clans, the class was generally regarded as a failure, even with overall performance being just short of Riddles' aims. However, the premise of all British Railways Standard designs was for a hard working, easily maintained, economical, highly available, and all-purpose locomotive. In these respects, the Clans were highly successful.
Proposed second batch and withdrawal
Prior to the publishing of the Modernisation Plan advocating the change-over to diesel traction, there was a proposal to construct a second batch of the Clan Class, which was accepted as Crewe Works Order Lot 242. This authorised the construction of a further batch of fifteen Clans that included modifications to the original design. Originally scheduled for 1952 with frames constructed for 72010 Hengist, acute steel shortages meant that the order was continually rescheduled until the publication of the British Railways Modernisation Plan finally halted the project. The initial name allocations for the new batch would seem to suggest several operating the KentKent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
coast trains, hauling the Golden Arrow and other expresses, so that some of this batch would have been allocated to the Southern Region.
The first locomotives to be withdrawn from service were the Polmadie locos 72000-72004 en masse in December 1962, where after being moved first to Glasgow Parkhead and stored, they were eventually moved to Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
for scrapping in 1964. Of the Kingmoor allocation, the first, number 72005, was withdrawn in April 1965, whilst the final loco was 72008 on 21 May 1966 from Carlisle Kingmoor shed. When No 72008 Clan MacLeod was finally scrapped in August 1966, it rendered the class extinct. Though this locomotive served British Railways for only fourteen years and three months, it was the longest serving Clan.
Livery and numbering
The livery of the Clans was a continuation of the standard British Railways Brunswick green applied to express passenger locomotives after nationalisation, lined in orange and black. The class was given the power classification 6P. Following on from the Britannias, the Clans were numbered under the British Railways standard numbering system in the 72xxx series. The locomotives were numbered between 72000 and 72009, and featured brass nameplates with a black background, located on the smoke deflectors, though towards the end of their working lives, some nameplates were painted with a red background.Preservation
None have survived, though progress is being made on constructing a new locomotive that would have been the first of the uncompleted batch of 15, number 72010 Hengist. As 999 BR standard steam locomotives were built in the years up to 1960 the builders consider this is the 1000th locomotive to be built to a British Railways standard design.External links
- 72010 Hengist Official Website
- Railuk database
- http://www.tower-models.com/towermodels/ogauge/djh/k308/
- 1000th BR Standard steam locomotive to be built at Swanage