A standard five in preservation

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 succesful mixed-traffic types in Great Britain. Construction of the black fives had started in 1935 and continued past nationalisation to 1951. A new set of standard locomotives was to be built by British Railways, based on LMS designs and incoporating more 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.

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In 1959, 20 of the Southern Region locomotives were named after SR King Arthur class locos that were then being withdrawn.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

• 73080 Merlin
• 73081 Excalibur
• 73082 Camelot
• 73083 Pendragon
• 73084 Tintagel
• 73085 Melisande
• 73086 The Green Knight
• 73087 Linette
• 73088 Joyous Guard
• 73089 Maid of Astolat
• 73110 The Red Knight
• 73111 King Uther
• 73112 Morgan Le Fay
• 73113 Lyonnesse
• 73114 Etarre
• 73115 King Pellinore
• 73116 Iseuit
• 73117 Vivien
• 73118 King Leodegrance
• 73119 Elaine

Preservation

Five have survived. These are

Referencs

• A Detailed History of BR Standard Steam Locomotives, - Vol 2 - The 4-6-0 and 2-6-0 Classes. RCTS ISBN 0901115932

External links

• Southern E-group photo gallery