LMS Princess Royal Class

Princess Royal Class

One of the two preserved Princess Royals, 6201 Princess Elizabeth at Castleton South Junction.
Type and origin
Power type Steam
Designer William Stanier
Builder LMS Crewe Works
Build date 1933 (2), 1935 (10)
Total produced 12
Rebuild date 1952 (from Turbomotive)
Number rebuilt 1
Specifications
Configuration 4-6-2
UIC class 2′C1′ h4
Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Leading dia. 3 ft 0 in (1 m)
Driver dia. 6 ft 6 in (2 m)
Trailing dia. 3 ft 9 in (1 m)
Minimum curve
  • 6 chains (121 m) normal
  • 4 1⁄2 chains (91 m) dead slow
Wheelbase 63 ft 10 in (19.456 m)
 • Engine 37 ft 9 in (11.506 m)
 • Drivers 15 ft 3 in (4.648 m)
 • Tender 15 ft 0 in (4.572 m)
Length 74 ft 4 1⁄4 in (22.663 m)
Width 9 ft 0 in (2.743 m)
Height 13 ft 3 in (4.039 m)
Axle load 22.50 long tons (22.86 t)
 • Leading 21.00 long tons (21.34 t)
 • Coupled 22.50 long tons (22.86 t)
 • Trailing 16.00 long tons (16.26 t)
 • Tender axle
  • Front: 18.60 long tons (18.90 t)
  • Middle: 17.80 long tons (18.09 t)
  • Rear: 18.25 long tons (18.54 t)
Adhesive weight 67.50 long tons (68.58 t)
Loco weight
  • 104.50 long tons (117.04 short tons; 106.18 t)
  • 46202: 110.55 long tons (123.82 short tons; 112.32 t)
Tender weight 54.65 long tons (61.21 short tons; 55.53 t)
Fuel type Coal
Fuel capacity
  • 9.00 long tons (10.08 short tons; 9.14 t)
  • later 10.00 long tons (11.20 short tons; 10.16 t)
Water cap 4,000 imp gal (18,000 l; 4,800 US gal)
Firebox type  
 • Firegrate area 45 sq ft (4.2 m2)
Boiler:
 ​
 • Model LMS type 1
 • Tube plates 19 ft 3 in (5.867 m)
 • Small tubes 2 3⁄8 in (60 mm), 32 off
 • Large tubes 5 1⁄8 in (130 mm), 123 off
Boiler pressure 250 psi (1.7 MPa)
Heating surface  
 • Tubes and flues 2,299 sq ft (213.6 m2)
 • Firebox 190 or 217 sq ft (17.7 or 20.2 m2)
Superheater:
 ​
 • Heating area 584 sq ft (54.3 m2)
Cylinders 4
Cylinder size 16 1⁄4 in × 28 in (413 mm × 711 mm)
Valve gear Walschaerts
6205 had outside Walschaerts with rocking shafts operating inside valves.
Valve type Piston valves
Performance figures
Tractive effort 40,285 lbf (179.20 kN)
Career
Operators
Power class 7P reclassified 8P in 1951
Numbers 6200–6201, 6203–6212, 46200–46212
Withdrawn 1952 (1), 1961 (6), 1962 (6)
Preserved 6201, 6203
Disposition Two preserved, remainder scrapped

The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Princess Royal Class is a class of an express passenger steam locomotive designed by William Stanier. They were Pacifics (i.e. had a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement). Thirteen examples were built at Crewe Works, between 1933 and 1935 and two are preserved.

Overview

When originally built, they were used to haul the famous Royal Scot train between London Euston and Glasgow Central.

Construction

A prototype batch of three locomotives was to be constructed in 1933. Two were constructed as drawn but the third set of frames was retained as the basis for an experimental turbine locomotive.[1][2] [3]

Turbomotive

The third prototype was constructed with the aid of the Swedish Ljungstrom turbine company and known as the Turbomotive, although not named. It was numbered 6202, in sequence with the Princess Royals. Although 'generally similar' to the rest of the Princess Royals,[1] and 'not all that much different',[4] it used a larger 40 element superheater to give a higher steam temperature, more suitable for turbine use.[2][5][note 1] This boiler was also domeless as would later be used for the second batch of the Princess Royals. The continuous exhaust of the turbine, rather than the sharper intermittent blast of the piston engine, also required changes to the draughting and the use of a double chimney.[6][7] It entered service in June 1935 on the London–Liverpool service.[8]

This Turbomotive was rebuilt in 1952 with conventional 'Coronation' cylinders and named Princess Anne, but was soon destroyed in the Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash.[7]

Later production

A second batch of eleven locomotives was constructed later.[9]

Accidents and incidents

Main article: Weedon rail crashes

Naming

Each locomotive was named after a princess, the official name for the class was chosen because Mary, Princess Royal was the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Scots. However, the locos were known to railwaymen as "Lizzies", after the second example of the class named for Princess Elizabeth who later became Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Later examples of 4-6-2 express passenger locomotive built by the LMS were of the related but larger, Coronation Class.

Withdrawal

The class was withdrawn in the early 1960s in line with British Railways' modernisation plan.

Details

LMS
No.		 BR
No.		 Name(s) Date
Built		 Date
Withdrawn		 Notes
6200 46200 The Princess Royal July 1933 November 1962 .
6201 46201 Princess Elizabeth November 1933 October 1962 Preserved.
6203 46203 Princess Margaret Rose July 1935 October 1962 Preserved. Owned by the Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust.
6204 46204 Princess Louise July 1935 October 1961 .
6205 46205 Princess Victoria July 1935 November 1961 Fitted with modified valve gear in 1947. Converted back to normal in 1955
6206 46206 Princess Marie Louise August 1935 October 1962 .
6207 46207 Princess Arthur of Connaught August 1935 November 1961 Appeared in the 1930s classic documentary film No. 6207 A Study In Steel which showed the production of the locomotive from molten steel to the finished product.
6208 46208 Princess Helena Victoria August 1935 October 1962 .
6209 46209 Princess Beatrice August 1935 September 1962 .
6210 46210 Lady Patricia September 1935 October 1961 .
6211 46211 Queen Maud September 1935 October 1961 .
6212 46212 Duchess of Kent October 1935 October 1961 .

Preservation

Two examples, 6201 Princess Elizabeth and 6203 Princess Margaret Rose are preserved and both have operated on the mainline in preservation. They were named after the two children of Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI), and his wife, Elizabeth, Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth, and after the king's death, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother). Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary (later Queen Elizabeth II) was seven years old in 1933 when her namesake was built, and Princess Margaret Rose was nearly five in July 1935 when her namesake was completed. At the time, they were third and fourth in line to the throne. 'Princess Margaret Rose' is owned by The Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust and is on static display at the West Shed Museum, Midland Railway-Butterley, Ripley, Derbyshire.

Media

References

  1. ↑ This trifurcated superheater design was later used on the Duchess class.[2]
  1. 1 2 Nock, p. 114
  2. 1 2 3 Cook, A.F. (1999). Raising Steam on the LMS. RCTS. pp. 126–127. ISBN 0-901115-85-1.
  3. ↑ Rowledge, J.W.P. (1987). "3: The Princess Royal Class – The First Two". The LMS Pacifics. David & Charles. pp. 24–35. ISBN 0-7153-8776-6.
  4. ↑ Fryer 1990, p. 165
  5. ↑ Rowledge, J.W.P. (1987). "4: The 'Turbomotive'". The LMS Pacifics. David & Charles. p. 47. ISBN 0-7153-8776-6.
  6. ↑ "9: Unconventional Locomotives 1929-1935". The British Steam Railway Locomotive. II: from 1925 to 1965. Ian Allan. 1966. pp. 112–117. ISBN 0-7110-0125-1.
  7. 1 2 "18: Stanier's 'Turbomotive'". Experiments With Steam. Patrick Stephens Limited. 1990. pp. 163–171. ISBN 1-85260-269-4.
  8. ↑ Fryer 1990, p. 167
  9. ↑ Rowledge, J.W.P. (1987). "5: The Princess Royal Class – Modifications, and the 1935 Batch". The LMS Pacifics. David & Charles. pp. 44–51. ISBN 0-7153-8776-6.
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