LMS Princess Royal Class
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 One of the two preserved Princess Royals, 6201 Princess Elizabeth at Chester on a railtour. |
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| Power type | Steam |
|---|---|
| Designer | William Stanier |
| Builder | LMS Crewe Works |
| Build date | 1933 (2), 1935 (10), 1952 (1 rebuilt from Turbomotive) |
| Total production | 13 |
| Gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1,435 mm) |
| Leading wheel size | 36 in (0.914 m) |
| Driver size | 78 in (1.981 m) |
| Trailing wheel size | 45 in (1.143 m) |
| Length | 74 ft 4¼ in |
| Locomotive weight | 104t 10cwt, 110t 11cwt (Turbo.) tender: 54t 13cwt |
| Fuel type | Coal |
| Fuel capacity | 9 long tons (9.1 t), later 10 long tons (10.2 t) |
| Water capacity | 4,000 imp gal (18,000 l) |
| Boiler | LMS type 1 |
| Boiler pressure | 250 psi (1.72 MPa) superheated |
| Fire grate area | 45 sq ft (4.2 m²) |
| Heating surface: Firebox | 190 sq ft (18 m²) or 217 sq ft (20.2 m²) |
| Cylinders | 4 |
| Cylinder size | 16¼ in bore × 28 in stroke (413×711 mm) |
| Valve gear | Walschaerts (piston valves) 6205 had outside Walschaerts with rocking shafts operating inside valves. |
| Tractive effort | 40,285 lbf (179.20 kN) |
| Career | London, Midland & Scottish |
| Class | 7P reclassified 8P in 1951 |
| First run | 1933 |
| Retired | 1952 (1), 1961 (6), 1962 (6) |
| 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.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
When originally built, they were used to haul the famous Royal Scot train. Two batches were built; a first batch of two, and a second batch of eleven, including a single example of a version using steam turbines instead of cylinders (No.6202). They were withdrawn in the early 1960s in line with British Railways' modernisation plan.
Each locomotive was named after a princess, the official name for the class was chosen as Mary, Princess Royal was the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Scots. However, they 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 express passenger locomotive built by the LMS were of the related but larger, Princess Coronation Class.
[edit] Preservation
Two examples, 6201 Princess Elizabeth and 46203 Princess Margaret Rose are preserved.
[edit] 6201/46201 Princess Elizabeth
6201 was built in 1933 at Crewe Works, the second of its class, and was named after the 7-year-old elder daughter of Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI), Princess Elizabeth (today HM Queen Elizabeth II). Despite the class officially being named after 6200 Princess Royal, the class received the nickname "Lizzies" after 6201.
After nationalisation in 1948, British Railways renumbered her 46201. 46201 was withdrawn in 1962, and was bought by the then Princess Elizabeth Locomotive Society straight from BR service when withdrawn.
46201 was initially kept at the Dowty Railway Preservation Society's premises at Ashchurch, Glos, and then subsequently at the Bulmers Railway Centre in Hereford. When the Bulmers Centre closed in the 1990s the loco moved to the East Lancashire Railway where she now resides when not out on main line tours.
[edit] 6203/46203 Princess Margaret Rose
6203 was built in 1935 at Crewe Works, the third member of the class and first of the second batch. It was named Princess Margaret Rose after the then 5-year-old daughter of Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI) and younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret Rose. After nationalisation in 1948, British Railways renumbered the locomotive 46203, and it was withdrawn in 1962.
After withdrawal, 46203 was bought by Billy Butlin of Butlin's holiday camps. After cosmetic restoration at Crewe, it was moved to Pwllheli in Gwynedd, arriving there in May 1963. It remained there until 1975 when it departed for the Midland Railway Centre in Derbyshire.
Butlins sold the engine for £60,000 in 1985 when restoration to working order started; this was being completed in 1990. The locomotive is now based at the Midland Railway Centre in Derbyshire and is owned by the Princess Royal Locomotive Trust, which also owns another Stanier pacific, 6233 Duchess of Sutherland.
[edit] Gallery
 46201 Princess Elizabeth at Carlisle awaiting scrapping. The locomotive was later preserved. |
 6201 Princess Elizabeth at Chester on a railtour. |
 Nameplate of 6201 Princess Elizabeth. |
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 Princess Margaret Rose's nameplate. |
[edit] 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. |
| 6202 | 46202 | Princess Anne | June 1935 | August 1952 | Scrapped after the Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash. |
| 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, 1947.Converted back to normal 1955 |
| 6206 | 46206 | Princess Marie Louise | August 1935 | October 1962 | . |
| 6207 | 46207 | Princess Arthur of Connaught | August 1935 | November 1961 | . |
| 6208 | 46208 | Princess Helana 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 | . |
[edit] Media
- 6201 at Langho on Whalley Bank - sound recording.
[edit] External links
- Princess Royal Locomotive Trust
- 46201 in the Railuk database
- 46201 in the Preserved Locomotive database
- 46203 in the Railuk database
- 46203 in the Preserved Locomotive database
- Butlins steam locomotives
[edit] References
- Ian Sixsmith The Book of the Princess Royal Pacifics ISBN 1-903266-02-5
- Hugh Longworth British Railway Steam Locomotives 1948-1968 ISBN 0-86093-593-0
- Rowledge, J.W.P. (1975). Engines o0f the LMS, built 1923–51. Oxford: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0 902888 59 5.
