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The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Royal Scot Class is a class of 4-6-0 express passenger locomotive introduced in 1927. Originally having parallel boilers, all members were later rebuilt with tapered type 2A boilers, and were in effect two classes.

Background[]

Until the mid-1920s, the LMS had followed the Midland Railway's small engine policy, which meant that it had no locomotives of sufficient power for its expresses on the West Coast Main Line. These trains were entrusted to pairs of LMS/MR Midland Compound 4-4-0s between Glasgow and Carnforth, and a 4-6-0 locomotive of the LNWR Claughton Class, piloted by an LNWR George V 4-4-0, southwards to Euston station.

The Operating and Motive Power Departments of the LMS were satisfied with the small engine policy. However, in 1926 the Chief Mechanical Engineer, Henry Fowler, began the design of a compound Pacific express locomotive. The management of the LMS, faced with disagreement between the CME and the other departments, obtained a loan of a GWR Castle class locomotive, Launceston Castle, which was operated for one month between Euston and Carlisle.

Following the success of the Castle 4-6-0 in working on the LMS, a decision was taken to cancel Fowler's Pacific project, and to replace it with a 4-6-0 with three cylinders and a simple-expansion steam circuit. Because there was an urgent need for new express locomotives the LMS placed an order with the North British Locomotive Company of Glasgow for 50 engines. The North British, with its extensive drawing office and two works, possessed sufficient capacity to expedite the order within a year. The Derby drawing office and North British staff collaborated in designing the class, with the latter producing the working drawings. Fowler took little part in the design process, which was carried out by Herbert Chambers, Chief Draughtsman at Derby, and his staff. The LMS requested a set of drawings of the Castle class from the GWR, but did not receive them. Instead a set of drawings of the SR Lord Nelson Class were obtained, and used for the design of the firebox. The main features of the design followed existing Derby practice, with the cylinders and valve gear being derived from the Fowler 2-6-4T, also being designed at Derby at that time.

They were introduced without testing. Radford claims that the boiler owed much to the MR 0-10-0 Lickey Banker 'Big Bertha'. A further 20 were built by Derby Works.

They were initially named after regiments of the British Army, and after historical LNWR locomotives. Those with LNWR names were renamed in 1935 and 1936 with more names of regiments.

File:Bourne End, with up WCML express between Hemel Hempstead and Berkhamsted geograph-2741733-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg

46158 The Loyal Regiment, with smoke deflectors in 1951.

From late 1931, after several forms of smoke deflectors were tried on various locomotives to stop drifting smoke obscuring the crew's forward vision, the straight sided smoke deflectors were added. These were later replaced by deflectors with angled top. From 1933 the class was taken off the top-link expresses, being superseded by the LMS Princess Royal Class and later the LMS Coronation Class Pacifics.

North American tour[]

In 1933 the LMS was invited to send a locomotive and train to the Century of Progress International Exposition in Chicago, USA. It was decided to send an engine of the Royal Scot class, and one was selected that was due for general overhaul. The identity of this locomotive is generally regarded as having been No. 6152 "The Kings Dragoon Guardsman". The coupled axleboxes were replaced with larger ones, based on a GWR design, and the bogie replaced by a De Glehn type, also derived from GWR practice. Springs and spring rigging were also updated, and the boiler replaced. The rebuilt locomotive assumed the identity of 6100 The Royal Scot with (on its return from the USA) an enlarged nameplate with details of its appearance at the exhibition. It retained this identity after its return from the USA.

Fury[]

LMS 6399 Fury, built in 1929, was an unsuccessful experimental prototype locomotive with a high-pressure, water tube boiler and compound 3-cylinder drive, based on the Royal Scot. It was rebuilt by William Stanier in 1935 with a Type 2 conventional boiler to become 6170 British Legion. This served as the blueprint for later rebuilding, but always remained a one-off.

Rebuilding[]

Main article: LMS Rebuilt Royal Scot Class
File:Royal Scot 2109460.jpg

Rebuilt 'Royal Scot' 7P 4-6-0 No. 46122 'Royal Ulster Rifleman' on the West Coast Main Line in 1957

In 1942 the LMS rebuilt two LMS Jubilee Class locomotives with Type 2A boilers, but later turned to the parallel-boilered Royal Scots whose boilers and cylinders were life-expired, and whose smokeboxes were difficult to keep airtight. Between 1943 and 1955 the whole class was rebuilt to create the LMS Rebuilt Royal Scot Class. The rebuilds were quite substantial, requiring new boiler, frames and cylinders, but in most cases the original frame stretchers, wheels, cab and fittings were retained. The usual procedure was that as each locomotive arrived for rebuilding, it was stripped and the identity transferred to a fresh frameset prepared using the parts recovered from the locomotive that had previously been rebuilt. The new frames were slightly shorter than the originals. Thus, most rebuilt examples retained their own cab, wheels etc., but most of the frame stretchers, and other integral parts of the frame were from the previously rebuilt loco.

The new 'Rebuilt Scot' design was carried out under the auspices of William Stanier, who was then engaged on war work, so was actually undertaken by George Ivatt and E.S. Cox. Initially these too were built without smoke deflectors but later acquired them.

Year Number rebuilt NumbersTemplate:Sfn
1943 9 6103/8/9/12/7/24/5/32/46
1944 9 6116/9/20/7/9/31/3/8/45
1945 11 6101/22/6/44/9/50/2/9/60/6/9
1946 10 6104/14/8/21/8/39/47/57/61/8
1947 3 6111/5/35
1948 4 46105/54/62/7
1949 6 46102/6/23/30/43/53
1950 6 46100/7/13/36/41/55
1951 2 46142/64
1952 3 46140/58/65
1953 4 46110/34/51/63
1954 2 46148/56
1955 1 46137
Total 70

Accidents and incidents[]

On 30 September 1945, at the Bourne End rail crash, 6157 The Royal Artilleryman was hauling an express passenger train which was derailed at Bourne End, Hertfordshire due to excessive speed through a set of points. Forty-three people were killed and 64 were injured.

Details[]

Note: Date built refers to the 'LMS build date'.

LMS

No.

BR

No.

Name Builder Date

built

Date

rebuilt

Date

withdrawn

Notes
6100 46100 Royal Scot Derby Oct 1927 Jun 1950 Oct 1962 Permanently swapped identities with 6152 in 1933. Swap engine 6152 Preserved under 6100's identity.
6101 46101 Royal Scots Grey North British Sep 1927 Nov 1945 Sep 1963
6102 46102 Black Watch North British Sep 1927 Oct 1949 Dec 1962
6103 46103 Royal Scots Fusilier North British Sep 1927 Jun 1943 Dec 1962 First locomotive to be rebuilt with a taper boiler.
6104 46104 Scottish Borderer North British Sep 1927 Mar 1946 Dec 1962
6105 46105 Cameron Highlander North British Sep 1927 Mar 1948 Dec 1962
6106 46106 Gordon Highlander North British Sep 1927 Sep 1949 Dec 1962 Fitted with BR style smoke deflectors Dec. 1952
6107 46107 Argyll and Sutherland Highlander North British Sep 1927 Feb 1950 Dec 1962
6108 46108 Seaforth Highlander North British Sep 1927 May 1948 Jan 1963
6109 46109 Royal Engineer North British Sep 1927 Jul 1943 Dec 1962
6110 46110 Grenadier Guardsman North British Sep 1927 Jan 1953 Feb 1964
6111 46111 Royal Fusilier North British Oct 1927 Oct 1947 Oct 1963
6112 46112 Sherwood Forester North British Oct 1927 Sep 1943 May 1964
6113 46113 Cameronian North British Oct 1927 Dec 1950 Dec 1962
6114 46114 Coldstream Guardsman North British Oct 1927 Jun 1946 Oct 1963
6115 46115 Scots Guardsman North British Oct 1927 Aug 1947 Jan 1966 Preserved – last to be withdrawn.
6116 46116 Irish Guardsman North British Oct 1927 Aug 1944 Sep 1963
6117 46117 Welsh Guardsman North British Nov 1927 Dec 1943 Nov 1962
6118 46118 Royal Welch Fusilier North British Nov 1927 Dec 1946 Jun 1964
6119 46119 Lancashire Fusilier North British Nov 1927 Sep 1944 Dec 1963
6120 46120 Royal Inniskilling Fusilier North British Dec 1927 Nov 1944 Jul 1963
6121 46121 H.L.I. from 1928 North British Nov 1927 Aug 1946 Dec 1962 Renamed 15 January 1949
Highland Light Infantry, City of Glasgow Regiment
6122 46122 Royal Ulster Rifleman North British Nov 1927 Sep 1945 Nov 1964
6123 46123 Royal Irish Fusilier North British Nov 1927 May 1949 Oct 1962
6124 46124 London Scottish Regiment North British Nov 1927 Dec 1943 Dec 1962
6125 46125 Lancashire Witch North British Sep 1927 Aug 1943 Oct 1964 Renamed June 1936
3rd Carabinier
6126 46126 Sans Pareil North British Sep 1927 Jun 1945 Oct 1963 Renamed June 1936
Royal Army Service Corps
6127 46127 Novelty North British Sep 1927 Aug 1944 Dec 1962 Renamed June 1936
The Old Contemptibles
6128 46128 Meteor North British Sep 1927 Jun 1946 May 1965 Renamed April 1936
The Lovat Scouts
6129 46129 Comet North British Sep 1927 Dec 1944 Jun 1964 Renamed January 1936
The Scottish Horse
6130 46130 Liverpool North British Nov 1927 Dec 1949 Dec 1962 Renamed June 1935
The West Yorkshire Regiment
6131 46131 Planet North British Sep 1927 Dec 1949 Dec 1962 Renamed May 1936
The Royal Warwickshire Regiment
6132 46132 Phoenix North British Sep 1927 Oct 1944 Oct 1962 Renamed May 1936
The King's Regiment Liverpool
6133 46133 Vulcan North British Oct 1927 Jul 1944 Feb 1963 Renamed May 1936
The Green Howards
6134 46134 Atlas North British Oct 1927 Dec 1954 Nov 1962 Renamed May 1936
The Cheshire Regiment
6135 46135 Samson North British Oct 1927 Jan 1947 Dec 1962 Renamed May 1936
The East Lancashire Regiment
6136 46136 Goliath North British Oct 1927 Mar 1950 Apr 1964 Renamed May 1936 at Carlisle Citadel station
The Border Regiment
6137 46137 Vesta North British Oct 1927 Mar 1955 Oct 1962 Renamed May 1936. Last locomotive to be rebuilt.
The Prince of Wales's Volunteers (South Lancashire)
6138 46138 Fury North British Oct 1927 Jun 1944 Feb 1963 Renamed October 1929
The London Irish Rifleman
6139 46139 Ajax North British Oct 1927 Nov 1946 Oct 1962 Renamed May 1936
The Welch Regiment
6140 46140 Hector North British Oct 1927 May 1952 Nov 1965 Renamed May 1936
The King's Royal Rifle Corps
6141 46141 Caledonian North British Nov 1927 Oct 1950 Apr 1964 Renamed June 1936
The North Staffordshire Regiment
6142 46142 Lion North British Nov 1927 Feb 1951 Jan 1964 Renamed May 1936
The York and Lancaster Regiment
6143 46143 Mail North British Nov 1927 Jun 1949 Dec 1963 Renamed July 1934
The South Staffordshire Regiment
6144 46144 Ostrich North British Nov 1927 Jun 1945 Jan 1964 Renamed January 1933
Honourable Artillery Company
6145 46145 Condor North British Dec 1927 Jan 1944 Dec 1962
The Duke of Wellington's Regt. (West Riding)
6146 46146 Jenny Lind North British Nov 1927 Oct 1943 Dec 1962 Renamed May 1936
The Rifle Brigade
6147 46147 Courier North British Nov 1927 Sep 1946 Dec 1962
The Northamptonshire Regiment
6148 46148 Velocipede North British Dec 1927 Jul 1954 Nov 1964 Renamed October 1935
The Manchester Regiment
6149 46149 Lady of the Lake North British Dec 1927 Apr 1945 Aug 1963 Renamed May 1936
The Middlesex Regiment
6150 46150 The Life Guardsman Derby Jun 1930 Dec 1945 Nov 1963
6151 46151 The Royal Horse Guardsman Derby Jun 1930 Apr 1953 Dec 1962
6152 46152 The King's Dragoon Guardsman North British Jun 1930 Aug 1945 Apr 1965 Permanently swapped identities with 6100 in 1933. Preserved under identity of 6100 - first to be withdrawn.
6153 46153 The Royal Dragoon Derby Jun 1930 Aug 1949 Dec 1962
6154 46154 The Hussar Derby Jul 1930 Mar 1948 Dec 1962
6155 46155 The Lancer Derby Jul 1930 Aug 1950 Dec 1964
6156 46156 The South Wales Borderer Derby Oct 1930 May 1954 Oct 1964
6157 46157 The Royal Artilleryman Derby Jul 1930 Jan 1946 Jan 1964
6158 46158 The Loyal Regiment Derby Aug 1930 Sep 1952 Oct 1963
6159 46159 The Royal Air Force Derby Aug 1930 Oct 1945 Dec 1962
6160 46160 Queen Victoria's Rifleman Derby Aug 1930 Feb 1945 May 1965
6161 46161 The King's Own Derby Sep 1930 Oct 1946 Dec 1962 The King's Own carried from Sep. 1930 to Jun. 1931
King's Own
6162 46162 Queen's Westminster Rifleman Derby Sep 1930 Jan 1948 May 1964
6163 46163 Civil Service Rifleman Derby Sep 1930 Oct 1953 Aug 1964
6164 46164 The Artists' Rifleman Derby Sep 1930 Jun 1951 Dec 1962
6165 46165 The Ranger (12th London Regt.) Derby Sep 1930 Jul 1952 Nov 1964
6166 46166 London Rifle Brigade Derby Oct 1930 Jan 1945 Sep 1964
6167 46167 The Hertfordshire Regiment Derby Oct 1930 Dec 1948 Apr 1964
6168 46168 The Girl Guide Derby Oct 1930 Apr 1946 May 1964
6169 46169 The Boy Scout Derby Oct 1930 May 1945 May 1963
6170 46170 British Legion North British Feb 1930 Oct 1935 Dec 1962 Rebuilt from experimental high pressure locomotive Fury with non-interchangeable boiler.

It was the only Rebuilt Scot to carry Crimson Lake livery in service, and a single chimney.

Preservation[]

No original Royal Scots in 'as built' condition survive, as all were rebuilt by 1955. However, two of the rebuilt locomotives have been preserved as LMS Rebuilt Royal Scot Class examples.

In fiction[]

  • No. 6115 Scots Guardsman featured in the 1936 film Night Mail along with No. 6108 Seaforth Highlander, the latter being cleaned at an unknown shed.
  • 46126 Royal Army Service Corps featured in the 1949 film Train of Events.

Models[]

Models to 00 scale of the Royal Scot in both unrebuilt and rebuilt forms have been produced by several manufacturers, and each has been available in several liveries with a variety of numbers and names. Mainline (Palitoy) introduced a model of the rebuilt locomotives in 1977 and they were followed by Airfix who introduced their own version in 1978, but after the Airfix range was incorporated into the Mainline range, the ex-Airfix model was dropped. In unrebuilt form, G & R Wrenn introduced a model in 1980; and Mainline introduced their own version in 1982. Bachmann took over the tooling for both of the Mainline locomotives, and did do several production runs, with the ultimate intention of re-tooling the design to upgrade it to modern standards and detailing, but unfortunately for them, Hornby beat them to it.

Hornby produced their own Rebuilt Scots, these being introduced in 2007, along with the rebuilt patriot locomotives. Rivarossi (now part of Hornby) made a similar model of the No. 6100 in an intermediate 1:80 scale (approx. 3.8 mm/ft) between HO & OO in 1977 based on the original unrebuilt form in LMS livery. It also made another model of the No. 6140 "Hector" sister engine.

Graham Farish released a British N gauge model in 2009, in LMS Black, and BR Brunswick Green liveries.

Comet Models produce a 4 mm kit in brass and white metal for the rebuilt Scot. Wills produced an original version kit in whitemetal which Southeastern Finecast have revised this kit and added an etched chassis. Eames/Jamieson produced a rebuilt version using nickel silver for the superstructure.

Brassmasters did a limited edition kit in 4 mm.

The erstwhile Kitmaster company produced an unpowered polystyrene injection moulded model kit for TT gauge. In late 1962, the Kitmaster brand was sold by its parent company (Rosebud Dolls) to Airfix. It is thought that the moulds for this locomotive were amongst those lost or destroyed at about this time or before. As a result, unmade examples of this kit exchange hands between collectors for considerable sums.

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