Today we have a special look at one of the growing collection of BR standard class locomotives in the Locoyard fleet.  This is a Bachmann model that is as dependable as the prototype (click here for it’s review).  Today we look at the history of the real thing…

The link between this and the last model spotlight blog post on a member of the GWR 45xx (click here to read) may not seem obvious at first.  However, the lineage of the popular, characterful British Railways Standard tank engine design that was first introduced in 1951 can be traced back to Churchward’s 45xx of 1906.  However, the reason or purpose for the type came from the years after the first world war when people started to move out of cities and so did the need for Suburban motive power across the UK.

The LMS were no different.  Inspired by the GWR’s 2-6-2 tank engines, Hughes of the LMS looked into building a 2-6-4 tank engine, but it was Henry Fowler who developed the first 2-6-4T locomotive.  The design was very successful and the free-steaming qualities soon saw impressive performances being recorded.

Stanier adapted Fowler’s two cylinder design into a three cylinder locomotive for the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (there is one survivor of this class in the National Railway Museum, click here to read more).  However, the cost in construction and maintenance of a third cylinder proved to be enough for Stanier to adapt his 3 cylinder 2-6-4T to a 2 cylinder design for the remainder of the LMS network.  The final addition to the LMS 2-6-4T family was Charles Fairburn’s 2-6-4T which was an adaption of Stanier’s class.  A Fairburn 2-6-4T model can also be found in the locoyard fleet, pictured above and below (click here for more) with 80009.

Fairburn’s 2-6-4T class continued into production with the newly formed British Railways after nationalisation in 1948.  Some of these were built in Brighton for the Southern region.  Indeed the south desperately needed a new steam suburban type.  Having concentrated on electric motive power for suburban passenger’s, the south lacked a decent suburban steam engine and Fairburn’s 4MT 2-6-4T filled that gap.  Fairburn’s 4MT would not prove to be an ideal type for British Railways though, as it’s curves and welded cab sides wouldn’t fit within their universal loading gauge.  To do this Riddles redesigned the type with smaller cylinders and increased the boiler pressure to compensate.  Therefore, Robert Riddles updated the 2-6-4T once again to produce the BR Standard 4MT.  As you can see, a large proportion of the story of today’s locomotive begins before it was constructed!

Although most members of the 155 members of the BR standard class were built in Brighton, 80009 was one of 15 built at Derby and was completed in December 1952.  The Southern region had the biggest total demand for the 4MT 2-6-4T class but 80009 was not a Southern locomotive and was sent to Scotland to fill a gap in power there.

Based at Corkerhill engine shed, the locomotive appears to have had a fairly uneventful life.  As with most British Railways standard classes it had a terribly short working life and was withdrawn in 1964 and cut up at Motherwell Machinery & Scrap, Inslow Works, Wishaw.

The BR standard 4MT 2-6-4T class were as successful as they could have been and have proven popular in preservation with no less than 15 being saved.  Unfortunately 80009 was not one of those to survive, but thanks to Bachmann it lives on at locoyard in model form!

Don’t forget that links to other model prototype histories can be found in the Loco Model Page (click here to see more).  Thanks for reading folks!