LMS Stanier Black Five

By 1933 the LMS urgently needed a modern mixed-traffic 4-6-0 to replace the worn-out former Midland and London & North Western 4-6-0s and 4-4-0s on its general traffic. Sir William Stanier had been recruited from the Great Western Railway in January 1932 specifically to modernise LMS motive power, and his first task was to produce a series of new standard classes drawing on Swindon practice with LMS modifications.

The Black Five was Stanier's answer to the mixed-traffic requirement, a two-cylinder 4-6-0 with 6 ft 0 in driving wheels, 18½ × 28 in cylinders, and a domeless taper boiler at 225 psi. The design borrowed extensively from the GWR Hall Class (the same wheel arrangement, similar boiler proportions, similar power output) but was scaled and proportioned for LMS conditions, modest axle load for universal route availability, taper boiler for free steaming and high evaporation, and a robust two-cylinder layout for ease of maintenance.

The first engine, No. 5000, was completed at Crewe Works in August 1934. Initial production was at Crewe and the Vulcan Foundry; Armstrong Whitworth's Newcastle works contributed substantial batches in 1935–1936. Production accelerated through the late 1930s as the class proved itself across the LMS system, with deliveries from Horwich and Derby joining the original works.

War interrupted production in 1940; the class resumed building post-war and continued through nationalisation. The final 167 engines were outshopped by British Railways between 1948 and 1951, latterly with detail variations including double chimneys, Caprotti valve gear (twenty engines, Nos 44738–44757), Timken roller bearings (a small batch from 1948), and minor modifications to the cab and tender. By the time the last engine, No. 44767 "George Stephenson", was completed at Crewe in May 1951, the class totalled 842 engines, the largest single-class steam production ever achieved in Britain.

The Black Fives were the universal LMS workhorse from 1934 onwards and the universal BR London Midland Region workhorse from 1948. The class's defining quality was its versatility: a single Black Five might work the morning fast freight from Carlisle to Glasgow, return on the afternoon stopping passenger, and finish the day banking heavy goods over Beattock. Almost every shed across the LMS and the BR LMR rostered Black Fives. The class hauled almost every kind of train except the heaviest sleeping-car expresses (which went to Pacifics) and the heaviest mineral trains (which went to 8Fs and Garratts).

Withdrawal of the class was unusually slow. The first significant withdrawals did not begin until 1961, by which time many lighter and older classes had already gone. Through the 1960s as steam progressively retreated from other regions, the surviving Black Fives concentrated in Lancashire, the Glasgow area, and the Highland section. By 1968 only the Lancashire-based engines remained.

The very last week of British Railways main-line steam, the first week of August 1968, saw Black Fives in front-line service at Lostock Hall, Rose Grove, and Carnforth. The "Fifteen Guinea Special" of 11 August 1968, the official end of BR main-line steam, was double-headed for parts of its route by Black Fives 45110 and 44871, with 70013 Britannia working the central section. The Black Five was thus among the very last steam classes in regular service on British Railways.

Outwardly the Black Five is the archetypal Stanier 4-6-0, clean, balanced, no-fuss outline derived from his Swindon training. Domeless taper boiler (on most engines), Belpaire-style firebox, single chimney, two outside cylinders with Walschaerts valve gear. The class shared its essential proportions with the larger Jubilee 4-6-0 (the same boiler at higher pressure, with three cylinders) and the smaller Stanier 8F 2-8-0 (the same boiler on a heavy freight chassis), the three classes were the structural pillars of LMS post-1934 motive power. Detail variations across the 842-engine production run included Stephenson valve gear (Nos 4767/8, experimental, the engines later named "George Stephenson"), Caprotti rotary valve gear (Nos 44738–44757, twenty engines fitted from 1948), Timken roller bearings (Nos 44755–44767, fitted from 1948 for life-cycle testing), and double chimneys (a few engines from 1957 onwards). The class was never named in BR service except for the four named exceptions: Tom Bowlin (44900), The Lord Provost of Glasgow (45154), Lanarkshire Yeomanry (45156), and Service of the Empire.

5000 (BR 45000), the class prototype, completed at Crewe Works in August 1934 and the engine that established the design. Preserved by British Railways for the National Collection on withdrawal in 1968. Currently a static exhibit at the National Railway Museum.

5305 "Alderman A. E. Draper" (BR 45305), preserved by Albert Draper of Hull, the scrap merchant who handled many late-steam Black Fives. Currently main-line registered with the 5305 Locomotive Association based at the Great Central Railway.

5407 (BR 45407) "The Lancashire Fusilier", privately preserved by David Smith from new (1937) survivors. Currently main-line registered.

5025 (BR 45025), preserved on the Strathspey Railway, Aviemore.

5212, 5231, 44767 "George Stephenson", 44871, 44806, 44871, 44901, 44932, 45110, 45163, 45212, 45231, 45305, 45337, 45379, 45390, 45407, 45491, eighteen Black Fives are preserved across the heritage network in various states from working order to long-term storage. Several have spent extended periods main-line registered for charter trains. The unusually high preservation rate reflects the class's late survival into 1968 (when scrapping became less automatic) and its ubiquity at the surviving steam sheds.

LMS era (1934–1947): the class was allocated to virtually every LMS shed. The Western Division had Black Fives at Camden (London), Crewe North, Edge Hill (Liverpool), Patricroft (Manchester), Carnforth, and the Glasgow sheds. Northern Counties had them at Holbeck (Leeds), Bristol Barrow Road, and Saltley (Birmingham). The Central Division and Northern Counties also had substantial allocations. The class's flexibility meant a single shed might roster the same Black Five on a fast freight one day, an excursion the next, and a stopping passenger the day after.

British Railways London Midland Region (1948–1968): the LMR continued the LMS allocation pattern, supplementing with new construction through 1951. Major allocations through the 1950s included Camden, Edge Hill, Crewe North, Carnforth, Patricroft, Bank Hall (Liverpool), Holbeck, and the Glasgow sheds. Black Fives became the standard 4-6-0 across the LMR for any duty not requiring a Jubilee or Pacific.

Scottish Region: the class's low axle load and route availability made it indispensable on the Highland and West Highland routes. Allocations to Inverness, Perth, Aviemore, and Fort William persisted through to the very end of Scottish steam in 1967.

Final years (1965–1968): as steam was withdrawn from other regions, surviving Black Fives concentrated in Lancashire, particularly Lostock Hall (Preston), Rose Grove (Burnley), and Carnforth. The very last main-line British Railways steam working, the "Fifteen Guinea Special" of 11 August 1968, was double-headed by Black Fives 44871 and 44781 (with 70013 Britannia for the inward leg).

LMS lined black (1934–1947): all engines built in LMS lined black with red, cream, and grey lining and serif "L M S" lettering. The class's common name "Black Five" derives from this base livery combined with the LMS power class 5, a name applied by enginemen well before formal use, in distinction from the bigger "Red Fives" (Jubilees in LMS crimson lake) of similar dimensions.

British Railways mixed-traffic black (1948–1968): from 1948 the class wore BR mixed-traffic livery, lined black with red, grey and cream lining and the early lion-and-wheel emblem (later the late BR crest from 1956). This remained the standard livery to the end. A small number of late-built Black Fives (1947–1948) carried BR experimental apple green for short periods.

Preservation liveries: preserved Black Fives have appeared in LMS lined black, BR mixed-traffic black with each emblem variant, and (rarely) plain unlined black for wartime representation. Several preserved engines have run on the main line in BR lined black.