London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Jubilee Class No. 5690 (BR No. 45690) Leander is a preserved British steam locomotive.
Operational history[]
5690 was built at Crewe in March 1936 and named Leander after HMS Leander, which in turn was named after the Greek hero Leander. From March 1936 it was based at Crewe North shed where it remained until 1947 when it was transferred to the former LMS engine shed at Bristol (Barrow Road). After nationalisation in 1948, it was renumbered 45690 by British Railways.
After being withdrawn in 1964, Leander was sold to Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry, South Wales
Preservation[]
Rescued by Brian Oliver in May 1972, it was restored by the Leander Locomotive Society at Derby and later kept at the Dinting Railway Museum, Glossop. After later purchase by and running on the Severn Valley Railway, Leander was sold to Dr. Peter Beet, and restored to running condition on the East Lancashire Railway in LMS Crimson Lake livery. As of 2008, Leander was owned by Chris Beet (Engineering and Rail Operations Manager, National Railway Museum) and operated by the West Coast Railway Company from their base at Carnforth Motive Power Depot.
In 2008, Leander provided motive power for the Scarborough Spa Express heritage service. It also spent October at the Great Central Railway "Steam Railway" gala, alongside BR Standard 7 Britannia Class No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell and LNER Peppercorn Class A1 No. 60163 Tornado.
In September 2010, Leander visited the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) for their 40th anniversary Autumn steam gala alongside fellow visiting locomotives and former Severn Valley based engines GWR 2251 Class 0-6-0 No. 3205, GWR 3700 Class 4-4-0 No. 3717 City of Truro, GWR 4575 Class 2-6-2T No. 5542 and SR West Country pacific 4-6-2 No. 34070 Manston. Leander departed from the SVR at the beginning of October hauling the Severn Valley Limited to Blackpool North one way only as the locomotive was en route to the East Lancashire Railway for a few weeks stay during their Autumn Steam Gala. Shortly afterwards, Leander returned to Carnforth and mainline operation. In April 2012, Leander was withdrawn early for overhaul due to it's poor condition. Chris Beet managed the overhaul, assisted by the team at West Coast Railway Company from their base at Carnforth MPD.
2014 to 2024 operation[]
She returned to mainline operation in October 2014 to begin her light and loaded test runs, instead of her normal LMS crimson lake she was painted into BR Lined Black with the early cycling lion crest, the livery that it carried between 12 April 1949 and 15 November 1952, which was also carried by 46 other members of the class from August 1948. The locomotive also had different coloured nameplates and different power classifications on each cabside. On the left hand drivers side it had 6P on it's cabside above the number and a red backed nameplate & on the right hand firemans side it had 5XP on it's cabside below the number and a black backed nameplate. For a brief period later in it's ticket the engine operated with the tender from 44932 while it's own was undergoing maintenance. 44932's tender which was also in BR Lined Black had the later BR crest and was also authentic for the class, this as a result allowed people to see a BR black jubilee with both crests.
Her first revenue earning run was to be on 24 January 2015 when it was to double head with LMS Black 5 number 45407 The Lancashire Fusilier while hauling Railway Touring Company's "Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express" from Manchester Victoria over Shap Summit to Carlisle and back along the Settle & Carlisle line. Prior to the tour she failed her FTR exam due to concerns with a leaking washout plug which couldn't be fixed while the engine was in steam and at pressure, as a result the tour had to be run with 45407 alone. Her first revenue earning run as a result was while hauling RTC's "Hadrian" which ran from Preston over Shap Summit to Carlisle and then back to Preston via Haltwhistle, Darlington, York and Manchester on 7 March 2015. The tour was also run as a double header where it was double heading with 45407 The Lancashire Fusilier.
On 25 February 2017, Leander was allocated to haul a Railway Touring Company railtour called "Buxton Spa Express" that ran from Preston to Buxton and saw the engine paired up for a rare double header with British Railways standard 4 2-6-0 number 76084 (this tour for the standard 4 2-6-0 being it's inaugural railtour and one of only two it would haul on the mainline during it's ticket, the main reason being due to 76084 being power class 4). 45690 hauled the tour on it's own from Preston to Heaton Norris via Manchester Victoria and Denton where 76084 was attached infront of the jubilee for the journey to Buxton running via Stockport and the freight only line to the outskirts of Buxton where the train reversed with 76084 dragging the train into Buxton and then later in the day from Buxton to the sidings to once again change ends. The standard 4 while still piloting 45690 then worked the tour back from Buxton to Blackburn travelling via Peak Forest, Sheffield, Wakefield Kirkgate & Copy Pit where 76084 was detached from the train and Leander returned the tour to Preston on it's own.
On 17 March 2018, Leander was allocated to haul another Railway Touring Company railtour called "The High Peak Explorer" which ran from Carnforth to Buxton via Eccles, Manchester Victoria, Denton and Chinley. The tour being similar to the normal "Buxton Spa Express" trains with it being a double header but with the added bonus of a trip up the freight only Ashbourne Line. The second locomotive used on the tour for the double header was LMS Black Five 4-6-0 number 45407 The Lancashire Fusilier (on this occasion 45407 was running as scrapped classmate 45157 The Glasgow Highlander). For the outward run in a rare sight Leander was positioned infront of the black five. Following a reversal outside Buxton in the sidings, 45690 dragged the train tender first into Buxton with 45157 trailing on the rear. After turning 45690 once again dragged the train out of Buxton to the sidings with 45157 on the rear & then on an extremely rare sight both 45407 and 45690 travelled up the Ashbourne Line from Buxton sidings to Hindlow with 45157 leading the train & 45690 banking on the rear. After a short stop at Hindlow the two locomotives returned the train down the gradient to Buxton sidings with 45690 leading the train and 45157 trailing on the rear. For the return journey to Carnforth, after running around the train for the return journey the black five and jubilee swapped places with 45157 now piloting 45690 for the journey back to Carnforth via the outward route. The original planned return route was to be via Stockport, Denton, Rochdale, Copy Pit, Blackburn and Preston to Carnforth but had to be changed due to gauging issues.
On 27 April 2022, Leander hauled "The Great Britain XIV", for the journey from Grange over Sands to Cardiff Central. This part of the tour was run as a double header and the second locomotive that 45690 was to work with in an extremely rare pairing was older classmate 45596 Bahamas. 45596 acted as pilot locomotive to 45690 for the journey to Cardiff travelling via Frodsham, Chester, Shrewsbury, Hereford and Newport. The locomotive had previously piloted sister 45699 Galatea on a previous Great Britain trip in 2018, "The Great Britain XI" for the section from Carlisle to Edinburgh Waverley and was to once again double head with 45699 Galatea (now disguised as 45627 Sierra Leone) & in April 2023 while hauling "Great Britain XV" for the Blackpool North to Scarborough leg of the tour, but while in Preston prior to hauling the train 45627 was failed with a hot axlebox.
Leander was withdrawn from the mainline in October 2023 following the expiry of the engines mainline certificate and the boiler certificate was due to expire in November 2023 (this was later extended to May 2024). The engines final railtour took place on 30 September 2023 which was RTC's "Cumbrian Coast Express" which ran from London Euston to Carlisle via Shap Summit with BR Class 86 number 86259 Les Ross/Peter Pan, Leander was booked to haul the tour from Carlisle to Carnforth travelling via Workington, Ravenglass and Grange-over-Sands along both the Cumbrian Coast and Furness Line's. The engine moved by rail from Carnforth MPD to the East Lancashire Railway the following day and was to remain in service now confined to running only on heritage railways.
After spending a period at the East Lancashire Railway which included making an appearance at the lines "Legends of Steam" gala in March 2024 alongside BR Standard 7 Britannia Class No. 70000 Britannia and LNER A4 Class No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley, the engine was moved by road from the ELR to the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway to spend a few days working alongside her owners other engine LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0 number 46441 over the weekend of 23 and 24 March. Following it's visit the engine departed Haverthwaite by road for the Mid Hants Railway to appear at the railways spring steam gala which took place over the weekend of 26 to 28 April, it's final appearance before withdrawal from service was at the Epping Ongar Railway for their steam gala over the weekend of 4 to 6 May and the engine hauled it's final trains over the weekend of 11 and 12 May (12th May being the engines final valid day of it's 6 month extended boiler certificate).
The locomotive was eventually returned by road to Carnforth MPD for it's next overhaul which in an interview with the engines owner is to be the last one he carries out. In an interview with Chris Beet in late 2023 he stated: "Twelve months ago I wasn't convinced we'd do it again and I'm still not convinced now. I'm 57 in October, in ten years I'll be 67 and I'll be done. If it does take place it's possible that Leander will appear in a new guise rather than Crimson Lake or BR Lined Black that it's carried in Preservation. She was going to be repainted green this ticket but we never got round to it, however whatever colour she is in it will boil water".
Ongoing Overhaul[]
In an interview by Steam Railway with Chris Beet in June 2024 he stated: "Leander has run well with very few problems and got safely through to the end of her ticket. The extra income from the additional running is a bonus and will certainly help with the cost of the overhaul. It was certainly great to get our two locomotives together at Lakeside which was a first - and hopefully not the last. Going to the Mid-Hants and Epping Ongar railways was a great experience, being in the south of England for a change. We never really planned to have an end-of-ticket tour of heritage railways but that's how it ended up, mainly owing to road transport costs". Chris further added: "Leander's overhaul has already begun with the removal of the brick arch and washing out of the boiler. The engine will be winterised while we work on the tender - fitting the new tender tank and repairs to the drag box. Once the tender is done we'll move on to the loco: new ashpan (as normal), change some stays, renew the smoke tubes and flues, and refurbish brake gear, in addition to any work that shows up when the boiler is stripped down. I think the overhaul will take a few years depending on the volunteer team's input; fewer people means it will take longer".
In a final comment on whether Leander's overhaul would be the last under it's current overhaul, Beet Said: "It's hypothetical as we are talking ten years plus into the future and the heritage railway/main line landscape will have changed. Who knows? Realistically, I'm 56 years old; if we can get 45690 running again by the time I'm 60, then I'll be about 70 when the next overhaul is due".
The provisional completion of 45690's overhaul is expected to be 2028.
Fame in Preservation[]
Following the closure of the Conwy Valley Line in March 2019 due to damage inflicted from Storm Gareth which had washed away sections of the line and left the track suspended in the air, a steam hauled reopening train was planned to take place on 3 August 2019. The tour which was to be called "The Conwy Quest" (Rheilffordd Dyffryn Conwy on the headboard), was to run from Chester to Blaenau Ffestiniog via Llandudno Junction. The tour was to be run with two steam engines double heading as it was to be a 9 coach train and one of the confirmed engines was LMS 8F 2-8-0 number 48151. Leander wasn't originally planned to haul the tour as the second engine was going to be LMS Rebuilt Royal Scot 4-6-0 number 46115 Scots Guardsman which had just returned to traffic following the completion of it's 10 yearly overhaul while Leander was to haul RTC's "Cumbrian Mountain Express" from London Euston to Carlisle with her hauling the train from Carnforth to Carlisle via Shap Summit and then from Carlisle to Preston via the Settle and Carlisle Line. Following the failure of Scots Guardsman on a test run with a hotbox on the tender which mean't that the engine was now unavailable for the tour and because 9 coaches was too much for 48151 to haul up the branch solo due to the 1 in 40 to 45 gradient in the Blaenau direction and tight curves on the line, Leander was re-rostered to assist 48151 with "The Conwy Quest" while it's place on the CME would be covered by SR Rebuilt Merchant Navy 4-6-2 number 35018 British India Line.
The section from Chester to Llandudno Junction was run with the two engines travelling tender first and 45690 Leander acting as pilot engine to 48151, after running around their train at Llandudno Junction the 8F acted as pilot engine to Leander for the chimney first journey to Blaenau Ffestiniog. The return journey from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Llandudno Junction once again saw the jubilee pilot the 8F for the tender first section of the tour & from Llandudno Junction to Chester the 8F piloted Leander. The tour's arrival and stop in Blaenau Ffestiniog was also featured in an episode of the UKTV series "Steam Train Britain".
Leander during it's boiler ticket when wearing LMS Crimson Lake featured in Michael Portillo's tv programme "Great British Railway Journey's" which for this episode was to travel from Settle to Garsdale. While hauling a Statesman Rail railtour called "The Fellsman" which would travel from Lancaster to Carlisle via the Settle and Carlisle Line, For the part of the programme which would see Michael Portillo travel over the Ribblehead Viaduct, he was to travel onboard the tour as for a short journey from Ribblehead along the S&C from Ribblehead to Garsdale. Following a stop at Ribblehead to pick-up Michael the tour then travelled to Garsdale where Michael was to leave the train. After this brief stop to drop off Michael the tour then continued it's journey to Carlisle along the S&C.
Gallery[]
