BR Standard Class 5


The British Railways Standard Class 5MT was one of the 12 standard classes of steam locomotive built by British Railways in the 1950s. It was essentially a development of the LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0. A total of 172 were built between 1951 and 1957.

Background

's Black Five had been the most successful mixed-traffic type in Great Britain. Construction of the Black Fives had started in 1934 and continued past nationalisation to 1951. A new set of 'standard' locomotives was to be built by British Railways, based on LMS designs and incorporating modern ideas.
In particular, the Standard design incorporated features designed to make disposal of the engine after a working "turn" easier: a self-cleaning smokebox and a rocking grate removed the necessity for crews to undertake dirty and strenuous duties at the end of a long shift. This was a necessary investment with the ever-increasing costs of labour following the Second World War.
The original design proposal for the class 5 locomotive had a wheel arrangement, similar in concept to the Bulleid Light Pacifics that performed impressively during the 1948 Locomotive Exchanges. However this was deemed unnecessarily large and costly for a class 5 power requirement, so the successful LMS Class 5 design was used as the basis instead. The pacific design went on to be enlarged and used for the BR Standard Class 6.

Design and construction

The design work was done at the ex-LNER Doncaster Works but the bulk of the construction was done at Derby Works. The locomotive featured a BR standard boiler very similar in dimensions to the Stanier Type 3B fitted to the Black Fives, but made from manganese steel instead of nickel steel. The most obvious visible changes were a higher running plate, slightly enlarged driving wheels, increased cylinder bore to 19 in), a standard cab with external pipework and the regulator gland on the driver's side of the boiler below the dome. Many of these changes were to reduce maintenance or to incorporate standard components that could be shared between other standard classes.
The first of the class, 73000, 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.
Thirty engines, numbers 73125 to 73154, were built with Caprotti valve gear and poppet valves.
NumberDateBuilderTenderValve gearNotes
73000–291951DerbyBR1Walschaerts25 for LMR, 5 for ScR
73030–491953DerbyBR1Walschaerts10 for LMR, 10 for ScR
73050–521954DerbyBR1GWalschaertsfor SR
73053–641954DerbyBR1HWalschaerts10 for LMR, 2 for ScR
73065–711954DerbyBR1CWalschaertsfor LMR
73072–791955DerbyBR1CWalschaerts3 for LMR, 5 for ScR
73080–891955DerbyBR1BWalschaertsfor SR
73090–991955DerbyBR1CWalschaertsfor LMR
73100–091955DoncasterBR1BWalschaertsfor ScR
73110–191955DoncasterBR1FWalschaertsfor SR
73120–-241956DoncasterBR1BWalschaertsfor ScR
73125–341956DerbyBR1BCaprottiPoppet valves; for WR
75135–441956DerbyBR1CCaprottiPoppet valves; for LMR
73145–541957DerbyBR1BCaprottiPoppet valves; for ScR
73155–591956DoncasterBR1BWalschaertsfor ER
73159-1711957DoncasterBR1BWalschaertsfor NER

In service

These locomotives had a trouble-free introduction in comparison to several of the other Standard classes and were used interchangeably with the pre-nationalisation class 5 engines they supplemented. They were utilised as the haulage power on duties varying from fast passenger trains to slow unfitted freight trains, displaying their versatility.
Different regional allocations had differing tender designs, with locomotives assigned to the Southern Region having tenders with high water capacity to make up for the lack of water troughs.
The Standard 5 was a much more economical high speed express engine than the Black 5. Like the "Clan" class locomotives, Standard 5s, with their high-stepped running board, were partly conceived to be more economical and serviceable replacements for the Bulleid Pacific, and the Standard Class 5 were fast, they could really fly with good steam, easily to just under 100mph in the view of many engine drivers. Like the Clans, which could only manage one more carriage on an express than a 'Five' the Standard Fives took a long time to shake down, and only started to really pull when different firing techniques, which allowed them to steam using poor quality coal were developed. They pulled much of the traffic on the last express lines for steam in the mid and late 1960s: Edinburgh-Aberdeen, London- Southampton-Bournemouth- Weymouth and local express traffic in the North and Midlands around Sheffield and Leeds. They were also used on the locals between Liverpool, Manchester and Blackpool, some steam hauled to the last day of steam in 1968.

Naming

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

Withdrawal

YearQuantity in
service at
start of year		Quantity
withdrawn		Locomotive numbersNotes
19641721573012/17/24/27/46–47/52/58/61/74/76,
73109/16/61/64.
19651574373001/03/08/15/21/23/30–32/36/38/41–42/44/49/51/54/56/62–63/68/75/77/84/90–91,
73103–04/06/11–12/22–24/47–48/52/62–63/65–68.
19661143873005/07/09/13/16/28/55/57/72/78/80–83/86–89/95/98–99,
73101–02/05/07–08/14/20–21/45/49–51/53–54/69–71.
1967765373002/04/06/11/14/18–20/22/25–26/29/37/39/43/45/48/59–60/64–66/70–71/73/79/85/92–94/96–97,
73100/10/13/15/17–19/27/29–30/37/39–41/44/46/55–56/58–60.
1968232373000/10/33–35/40/50/53/67/69,
73125–26/28/31–36/38/42–43/57.

Accidents and incidents

The main variation across the class was the valve gear, with 142 using Walschaerts valve gear and the remaining 30 using British Caprotti valve gear. There was little difference in performance between the two groups, but the Caprotti fitted engines had a reputation for being good performers at higher speeds. There was potential for more BR standard locomotives to have Caprotti valve gear fitted as it allowed for longer periods between inspections, offsetting the higher initial cost of this valve gear.
Doncaster had designed double chimneys for the class, similar to the ones used on several of the BR Standard Class 4 4-6-0. If applied, this would have improved the draughting and increased the efficiency of the locomotives. With the Modernisation Plan of 1955 and the good performance of the class from the outset, these plans were shelved permanently.
Another proposal was to produce freight locomotives based from this design in response to criticism by the Western Region on the BR Standard Class 9F. The management believed that the 9Fs were too large and powerful for most heavy freight traffic, along with being more far more expensive to build and operate than the older 2-8-0 locomotives they supplemented. In response to this, the British Transport Commission drew a 2-8-0 Class 8F based on the Standard Class 5, in a manner similar to the LMS class 5 and 8Fs. Changes included a higher boiler pressure of 250 psi and driving wheels 5 ft 0 in in diameter to increase tractive effort. Preparations were made for series production to begin, but the work ceased after the Modernisation Plan was published.

Preservation

Five members of the class have survived into preservation and all have been steamed in preservation. 73050 was purchased directly from British Railways service for preservation but the other four engines were all rescued from Woodham Brothers scrapyard at Barry Island. To date 73096 has been the only member of the class to operate on the main line hauling railtours but in 2018 no. 73082 was moved by rail from its home at the Bluebell Railway to the West Somerset Railway.
Number & NameTender AttachedBuilderBuiltWithdrawnService lifeLocationLiveryStatusImage
73050 "City of Peterborough"BR1GDerby WorksApril 1954June 196814 Years, 2 monthsNene Valley RailwayBR Lined Black, Early EmblemBoiler ticket expired in 2015, Under Overhaul
73082 "Camelot"BR1BDerby WorksJuly 1955June 196610 years, 11 monthsBluebell RailwayBR Lined Black, Early EmblemOperational, Boiler ticket expires in 2025.
73096BR1GDerby WorksNov 1955Nov 196712 yearsMid Hants RailwayBR Green, late EmblemPurchased by and transferred to the Watercress Line, at which it was formerly a resident under private ownership, in November 2017.
73129BR1BDerby WorksAug 1956Dec 196711 years, 4 monthsMidland Railway - ButterleyBR Lined Black, Early EmblemStatic Display, Boiler ticket expired in 2016. One of only two engines left in Britain with Caprotti valve gear.
73156BR1BDoncaster WorksDec 1956Nov 196710 Years, 11 monthsGreat Central RailwayBR Lined Black, Early EmblemRecently emerged from scrapyard condition and came into full traffic in May 2018.