monorail

Kenneth Gray page 11:

"BR standards et al."

999 locomotives were built to the BR "standard" designs, under the direction of ex-LMS R.A. Riddles. Doubt remains as to whether we needed so many different classes, or whether they were needed at all. Clearly some classes were remarkably similar (e.g. the 78xxx 2-6-0 and the 84xxx 2-6-2T) to existing (LMS) designs. Given the appallingly short lives of the standards, it would perhaps have made more sense to build more of the better existing designs - or, with hindsight, to build diesels or electrify widely. It's true, of course, that more locomotives were built by BR to pre-nationalisation design than standard - no fewer than 100 "Black 5"s, more than 300 pannier tanks to GWR designs, and practically all of Peppercorn's, and most of Thompson's LNER designs - all the A1s and K1s, and 136 B1s. Not forgetting the building of 28 J72s - to a North Eastern design dating from 1898!

I've also included the wartime "austerity" 2-8-0 and 2-10-0 classes (unloved and relatively rarely photographed as they were), including a little surprise many of us will have forgotten about...

Sadly, there's an omission - no photos of 71000.

	We start at the end, in a sense - last of the class 7 "Britannia" class, 70054 "Dornoch Firth" (minus nameplates) at Carlisle, 2 July 1966
	Just 10 class 6 "Clans" were built and they weren't well liked. The first five (Polmadie's), went in 1962. Kingmoor's five, including 72006 "Clan Mackenzie" lasted a little longer. Ex-Aberdeen fish at Stirling, 16 April 1965
	172 class 5 4-6-0s were built, and 23 survived into 1968. Polmadie's 73059 looks neat and tidy with this train arriving from the north at Carlisle
	30 of the 172 were built with Caprotti valve gear - St Rollox-based 73149 is seen at Buchanan Street.
	The 80 class 4 4-6-0s had wider route availability than the 5s (standard "Manors", in effect). 10 were still in service in 1968, the last ones surviving to the very end, and 6 have been preserved. 75026 is at Machynlleth, 2 Oct 1961
	The class 4 2-6-0 - 115 of these were built, surviving until 1967. Here's an interesting contrast between 76000 and an early EE type 1 at Motherwell shed, thought to be July 1966
	Class 3 2-6-0 77003 (with 76049) is on the railtour marking the end of the Stainmore line - here seen at Barnard Castle. 20 January 1962
	Class 2 2-6-0 - subtly different from the LMS version. 78046 is apparently on railtour duties at Edinburgh Princes Street, 19 April 1965
	The class 4 2-6-4T - first of the class no. 80000 at Glasgow St Enoch, 20 October 1965. Coal-fired steam wasn't the cleanest means of transport, was it?
	Class 3 2-6-2T - 82005 at Dovey Junction, 14 August 1962. The Triang model of this locomotive was in my first train set, at about the same time...
	Class 2 2-6-2T - 84008 is one of the Crewe-built batch. All had gone by the end of 1966. Kentish Town, 28 October 1962
	Austerity 2-8-0 no. 90001 heads north at Doncaster, 11 April 1963. Riddles's wartime development of the LMS 8F, there were 733 in BR service, finally going with the end of steam in the north-east, September 1967. By contrast, there were just 25 2-10-0s on the books, all based in Scotland - including 90763, seen here at Durran Hill, Carlisle. Gone by early 1963, 6 others (which never bore BR numbers) survive - best-known is perhaps no. 600 "Gordon" on the SVR. Classmate no. 601 "Kitchener" (at Polmadie?) saw BR service briefly in the late 50s, during a motive power shortage in Scotland.
	The 9F - the last, and widely reckoned to be the best standard design. Intended purely for freight. they did see passenger service - as evidenced by 92034 at Newcastle, on the 12.30pm  Kings Cross - Newcastle, 22 July 1961
	Twenty of the 9Fs were built with the Franco-Crosti boiler - which wasn't successful and was removed. 92020, looking sad and forlorn, appears to be awaiting the operation at Wellingborough shed.

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