The London Midland and Scottish Railway Class 5 4-6-0 was Sir William Stanier’s mixed-traffic workhorse. First member 5000 emerged from Crewe Works on 12 August 1934; the last, 44997, came out of Horwich on 17 May 1951 under BR ownership. Total build: 842. Under British Railways they carried the number series 44658 to 45499.
Numbering and works
Construction was shared between Crewe, Horwich, Armstrong Whitworth, and Vulcan Foundry. The Caprotti-fitted variants (44738 to 44757 and 44686 to 44687) are covered separately in the class-note section.
Allocation snapshot, 1960
By January 1960 the class was spread across every LMR shed of consequence and was working across the Scottish Region on the West Highland, the Waverley, and the Perth and Aberdeen roads. Allocation cited to Ian Allan ABC of British Railways Locomotives, Combined Volume, Summer 1960 edition.
Withdrawal
Withdrawals began at scale in 1961. The last, 44871 Sovereign and 45110 RAF Biggin Hill, worked the 15 Guinea Special from Liverpool Lime Street to Carlisle on 11 August 1968, the end of BR main-line steam. 18 members of the class survive in preservation.
References
- RCTS Locomotives of the LMS, Part 5 (1975), pp.124 to 187.
- Ian Allan ABC of British Railways Locomotives, Combined Volume, Summer 1960 edition, pp.42 to 51.
- Yeadon’s Register does not cover LMS classes.