LMS Jubilee Class
The London Midland and Scottish Railway Jubilee Class is a class of steam locomotive designed for main line passenger work. 191 locomotives were built between 1934 and 1936. They were built concurrently with the LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0.
History
The last five locomotives of Henry Fowler's Patriot class on order, 5552 to 5556, were built with William Stanier's taper boiler and so became the first of the Jubilee class. 113 locomotives were ordered straight from the drawing board. They were initially a disappointment; their moderate degree of superheating often left them short of steam. Changes to the blastpipe and chimney dimensions helped to transform them.On 29 April 1935 no. 5552, the first of the class, permanently swapped identities with no. 5642 which had been named Silver Jubilee on 19 April 1935 in recognition of the Silver Jubilee of King George V on 6 May of that year. This change gave the name to the rest of the class, see LMS Jubilee Class 5552 Silver Jubilee. Earlier on, they had been known as the "Red Staniers", to distinguish them from the "Black Staniers".
They are often associated with the Midland Division, i.e. the lines inherited from the former Midland Railway. This is because until the late 1950s it was rare for any 7P locomotives to work south of Leeds. Until then, Jubilees were the largest express engine normally found on the lines running out of St Pancras or radiating from Derby. They could nevertheless be found on main lines throughout the former LMS system.
The power classification was 5XP, in common with the earlier Patriot class. In January 1951 the classification was revised to 6P and in November 1955 to 6P5F but this change was not applied to the locomotives' cabsides, which continued to show 6P.
Five members of the class were fitted with a double chimney at different times. 5684 Jutland was the first, fitted with a double Kylchap in 1937. The double chimney did improve the power of the locos and also improved the coal consumption. It only carried this fitment for one year. 5742 Connaught was the next, being fitted with a plain double exhaust in 1940 which it carried until 1955. 5553 Canada was also so fitted in 1940 but carried the double chimney for a short time. 5735 Comet and 5736 Phoenix were rebuilt with a 2A taper boiler and double chimney in 1942. They were to have been the prototypes for the rebuilding of the entire class but were, in the end, the only Jubilees so to be treated.. As part of experiments at the Rugby Locomotive Testing Station, no. 45722 Defence was fitted with a double chimney from 1956 to 1957. In 1961 a double exhaust was fitted to no. 45596 Bahamas which carried it through withdrawal and into preservation.
Construction
Although built over only a three-year period the class had many variations due to improvements being made as they were built. The major differences were:- Boilers – 10 variations, mainly affecting the number of tubes. The earlier boilers were domeless but later boilers were domed. There were two sizes of fire grate area depending on whether the firebox throatplate was straight or sloping.
- Bogies – Approximately 50 of the earlier locomotives were built with ex-Claughton bogies which had a 6’3" wheelbase compared to the later locomotives built with new bogies that had a wheelbase of 6’ 6".
- Smokebox Saddle – The first 113 locomotives were built with a two piece saddle; the rest had a conventional one piece saddle.
- Tenders – Four basic patterns were fitted; Fowler 3,500 gall. Fowler high-sided, Stanier 4,000 gall and Stanier 3,500 gall. These last tenders were difficult to identify, combining the high curved sides of the Stanier tender with the chassis from the earlier type Fowler tender. The easiest way to spot them is by the top row of horizontal rivets, slightly lower than on the 4,000 gall version. However, taking into account rivets, wheelbase, and welds this can be subdivided into a total of eight patterns.
Withdrawal
| Year | Quantity in service at start of year | Number withdrawn | Quantity withdrawn | Locomotive numbers |
| 1952 | 189 | 1 | 1 | 45637 |
| 1960 | 188 | 2 | 1 | 45609 |
| 1961 | 187 | 5 | 3 | 45616/19/30 |
| 1962 | 184 | 46 | 41 | 45559/66/70/76/82/87/94, 45603/07/15/21/28/36/51/56/62/65/73/77–79/83/86–88/91–93, 45707/11/13/15/18/20/22/24–25/27–29/31 |
| 1963 | 143 | 77 | 31 | 45555/60/75/91, 45624–25/34/39/44–46/48–50/59/68–69/71/80, 45701–02/06/09/12/14/17/19/30/34/38/40 |
| 1964 | 112 | 141 | 64 | 45552–54/56–58/61/64/68–69/71–72/77–80/83–85/92/98–99, 45601/05–06/10–14/17–18/20/22–23/31/35/38/40–41/57/63/70/72/74/76/81–82/85/89–90/95–96/99, 45700/03/08/10/16/23/32–33/37/41 |
| 1965 | 48 | 174 | 33 | 45563/67/73/86/88–90/95/97, 45600/02/04/08/26/29/32–33/42/52–53/55/58/61/64/66–67/84/98, 45704–05/21/26/42 |
| 1966 | 15 | 182 | 7 | 45574/81/96, 45627/43/54/60 |
| 1967 | 8 | 189 | 8 | 45562/65/93, 45647/75/94/97, 45739 |
Accidents and incidents
- On 21 January 1938, locomotive No. 5568 Western Australia was hauling an express passenger train which was in a head-on collision with an empty stock train at Oakley Junction due to a combination of driver and signalman's errors. Three people were killed and 46 were injured.
- On 11 October 1943 locomotive 5581 Bihar and Orissa hauling the Leeds - Edinburgh express collided with a freight train being shunted into sidings at Steeton, West Yorkshire. No one was killed but four people were injured.
- On 18 May 1948, locomotives 5609 Gilbert and Ellice Islands and 5605 Cyprus, hauling the 11:45 am down express were derailed, along with 8 coaches of a 12-coach train on a 30 ft high embankment near Wath Road Junction, Rotherham, South Yorkshire. The cause was track distortion in hot weather. Poor track maintenance was a contributing factor. 8 people died and 56 were injured. Both locos were recovered to Derby works and returned to traffic following repairs.
- On 8 October 1952, a three-train collision occurred at Harrow & Wealdstone station, Middlesex. Locomotive No. 45637 Windward Islands was one of two locomotives hauling an express passenger train which crashed into wreckage. A total of 112 people were killed and 340 were injured. This remains the worst peacetime rail crash in the United Kingdom. The locomotive was consequently scrapped due to damage sustained.
- On 16 August 1953, locomotive No. 45699 Galatea was hauling a passenger train which became divided and was derailed at Kingsbury, Warwickshire due to a combination of defects on the locomotive and the condition of the track.
- On 20 July 1959, locomotive No. 45730 Ocean overran a signal and consequently crashed into Dock Junction Signal Box, London. Trains had to be handsignalled into and out of station for several days afterwards.
- On 17 January 1964, No. 45695 Minotaur was involved in a head-on collision with a mail train and a freight train. The locomotive was deemed to be uneconomical to repair and was withdrawn and scrapped off-site.
Details
Preservation
Four Jubilees have been preserved with two of them 45593 and 45596 being purchased directly from BR for preservation, the other two being rescued from Woodham Brothers. All four members of the class have operated in preservation and all have run on the main line. As of 2019 three members of the class are operational and all of them have main line certificates, the most recent engine being 45596 Bahamas following running in at Tyseley.While three members of the class are operational the fourth engine 45593 Kolhapur is stored inside the shed at Tyseley Loco Works awaiting its turn in the overhaul queue.
A large number of parts were taken from sister engine 5562 Alberta, which was the subject matter of a few preservation attempts that failed before she was scrapped and most parts exist on preserved sister engine Galatea.
Note: Marked names indicate that the loco is not presently wearing them & Loco numbers in bold mean their current number.