Named LNWR "Prince of Wales" Class locomotives

Throughout its existence the London and North Western Railway re-used the numbers and names of withdrawn locomotives on new ones as they came out of Crewe Works. This resulted in each class of locomotives being allotted numbers virtually at random, with names that adhered to no discernible theme. By 1911 new locomotives were being produced at a much faster rate than old ones were being scrapped, and it became necessary to introduce a new set of names for Bowen Cooke’s 4-6-0 express engines which were beginning to enter service.

On 13 July 1911 Prince Edward, the future King Edward VIII, was invested as Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle. The investiture gave the LNWR an opportunity to name the first of the locomotives (and the class) in honour of the new Prince. A further nine engines were built during 1911 and given names associated with ships of the Royal Navy, in keeping with the patriotic sentiments of the time.

The second batch of 30 locomotives of 1913 and early 1914 commemorated British, European and American poets and novelists of the 18th and 19th centuries. The final engine of the batch was named G.P. Neele in honour of the former LNWR Superintendent of the Line, who had retired in 1895.

The ten engines produced in 1915 were given the names of the leaders of Britain’s allies in the Great War, and the names of two soldiers, a sailor, and a nurse who had been executed by the Germans. By the beginning of 1916 sufficient engines had been scrapped to enable the re-use of historical LNWR names. However in March and April of that year three locomotives were named in remembrance of the ill-fated campaign in the Dardanelles, and seven were named to commemorate maritime losses of 1915 and 1916.

The next batch of locomotives entered service in January 1919, by which time a decision had been taken not to allocate names until matters had returned to normal after the war. It was not until 1922 that another twelve engines were given names taken from former LNWR engines.

During 1921 and 1922 a further 90 locomotives of the class were built by William Beardmore and Company at Dalmuir. These remained nameless.

Following the absorption of the LNWR into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923, the LMS Rolling Stock Committee at Derby issued Minute no. 53 on 31 May 1923 which announced that in conformity with former Midland Railway practices

“Passenger engines and coaching stock to be painted in old Midland crimson lake, goods engines to be black without lining – new engines not to be named but those with names will continue to do so.”

One of the last locomotives to be named at Crewe was No. 5753 Premier, a clear reference to the LNWR slogan of being "the Premier Line", and a final and defiant gesture aimed at the new management in Derby.

The LMS renumbered all of the Prince of Wales in a block from 5600 to 5844, but not in exactly the same order that the locomotives had been built. A final locomotive was built by Beardmore in February 1924, which was displayed at the British Empire Exhibition that year; the LMS bought it in November 1924, and numbered it 5845.

LNWR Number Maker Works
No.
Name Entered Service LMS Number Date
withdrawn
Notes
819Crewe5030Prince of WalesOctober 19115600October 1933
1388Crewe5031AndromedaOctober 19115601March 1935
1452Crewe5032BonaventureOctober 19115602June 1937
1454Crewe5033CoquetteNovember 19115603January 1935
1537Crewe5034 EnchantressNovember 19115604October 1934
1691Crewe5035PathfinderNovember 19115605November 1934
1704Crewe5036ConquerorNovember 19115606October 1933
1721Crewe5037DefianceNovember 19115607December 1934
2021Crewe5038WolverineDecember 19115608February 1935
2359Crewe5039HermioneDecember 19115609October 1933
362Crewe5167Robert SoutheyOctober 19135610October 1933
892Crewe5168Charles WolfeOctober 19135611June 1935
1081Crewe5169John KeatsOctober 19135612January 1936
1089Crewe5170Sydney SmithOctober 19135613February 1935
1134Crewe5171Victor HugoOctober 19135614December 1934
2040Crewe5172Oliver GoldsmithNovember 19135615March 1935
2075Crewe5173Robert BurnsNovember 19135616November 1934
2198Crewe5174John RuskinNovember 19135620March 1936
2205Crewe5175Thomas MooreNovember 19135621August 1934
2213Crewe5176Charles KingsleyNovember 19135622October 1933
321Crewe5177Henry W. LongfellowNovember 19135617January 1935
479Crewe5178Thomas B. MacaulayDecember 19135618February 1935
951Crewe5179Bulwer LyttonDecember 19135619August 1934
1679Crewe5180Lord ByronDecember 19135623May 1935
2249Crewe5181Thomas CampbellDecember 19135624March 1937
2283Crewe5182Robert L. StevensonDecember 19135625December 1936
307Crewe5183R. B. SheridanDecember 19135628November 1934
637Crewe5184Thomas GrayDecember 19135629December 1934
979Crewe5185W. M. ThackerayJanuary 19145630September 1934
1400Crewe5186Felicia HemansJanuary 19145631June 1936
86Crewe5187Mark TwainJanuary 19145626May 1936
146Crewe5188Lewis CarrollJanuary 19145627July 1936
964Crewe5189Bret HarteFebruary 19145632September 1933
985Crewe5190Sir W. S. GilbertFebruary 19145633August 1935
1321Crewe5191William CowperFebruary 19145634September 1934
2152Crewe5192Charles LambFebruary 19145635March 1934
2293Crewe5193Percy Bysshe ShelleyFebruary 19145636January 1935
2377Crewe5194Edward GibbonFebruary 19145637December 1936
2443Crewe5195Charles James LeverMarch 19145638April 1936
2520Crewe5196G. P. NeeleMarch 19145639October 1933
136NBL21256MinervaOctober 19155663January 1935
173NBL21257LivingstoneOctober 19155664February 1935
257NBL21258PlynlimmonNovember 19155666September 1934
446NBL21259PegasusNovember 19155668August 1935
1749NBL21260PrecedentNovember 19155677January 1935
2063NBL21261HiberniaNovember 19155679May 1935
2175NBL21262LoadstoneNovember 19155680June 1937
2203NBL21263FalstaffNovember 19155681June 1935
2300NBL21264HotspurDecember 19155687September 1934
2392NBL23265CalibanDecember 19155689September 1936
90NBL21266KestrelDecember 19155660August 1936
401NBL21267ZamielDecember 19155667November 1934
525NBL21268VulcanDecember 19155669April 1937
610NBL21269AlbionDecember 19155670October 1935
867NBL21270CondorJanuary 19165672December 1936Name removed, July 1933
1132NBL21271ScottJanuary 19165674February 1946
1466NBL21272SphinxJanuary 19165675August 1936
1744NBL21273PetrelJanuary 19165676April 1935
2055NBL21274MiltonJanuary 19165678April 1935
2339NBL21275SamsonJanuary 19165682April 1935Name removed, July 1933
27Crewe5297General JoffreOctober 19155640February 1937
88Crewe5298Czar of RussiaOctober 19155641September 1936
122Crewe5299King of the BelgiansNovember 19155642March 1936
160Crewe5300King of SerbiaNovember 19155643October 1934
185Crewe5301King of ItalyNovember 19155644March 1936
877Crewe5302Raymond PoincaréNovember 19155645June 1936
1333Crewe5303Sir John FrenchNovember 19155646December 1934
2275Crewe5304Edith CavellNovember 19155647January 1935
2396Crewe5305Queen of the BelgiansDecember 19155648October 1948
2408Crewe5306Admiral JellicoeDecember 19155649October 1933
606Crewe5307CastorJanuary 19165650April 1936
745Crewe5308PlutoJanuary 19165651July 1934
352Crewe5309The NileJanuary 19165653October 1935
379Crewe5310WitchJanuary 19165654March 1935
484Crewe5311SmeatonJanuary 19165655December 1934
810Crewe5312OnyxJanuary 19165652September 1933
884Crewe5313SharkJanuary 19165656August 1938
346Crewe5314TrentJanuary 19165657April 1936
417Crewe5315AtlasJanuary 19165658October 1935Name removed, July 1933
442Crewe5316OdinFebruary 19165659March 1935
95Crewe5317GallipoliMarch 19165661February 1935
126Crewe5318AnzacMarch 19165662August 1936
233Crewe5319Suvla BayMarch 19165665April 1936
849Crewe5320ArethusaMarch 19165671December 1936Name removed, September 1936
1100Crewe5321LusitaniaMarch 19165673January 1949
1324Crewe5322FalabaApril 19165683January 1946
2092Crewe5323ArabicApril 19165684March 1936
2276Crewe5234PersiaApril 19165685August 1936
2295Crewe5325AngliaApril 19165686November 1934
2340Crewe5326TaraApril 19165688September 1933
940Crewe5444Richard CobdenJanuary 19195697July 1936Named in 1922
621Crewe5447TelfordFebruary 19195700March 1936Named in 1922
1584Crewe5451ScotiaMarch 19195704September 1936Named in 1922
504Crewe5453CanningMarch 19195706December 1936Named in 1922
974Crewe5454HampdenMarch 19195707April 1935Named in 1922
522Crewe5470StentorJune 19195723January 1936Named in 1922
1290Crewe5475LucknowJuly 19195729February 1935Named in 1922
1325Crewe5483DisraeliAugust 19195736June 1935Named in 1922
1178Crewe5489Prince AlbertSeptember 19195743September 1934Named in 1922
1542Crewe5597MarathonNovember 19195750March 1936Named in 1922
1694Crewe5500PremierNovember 19195753February 1936Named in 1922
2516Crewe5501DaltonNovember 19195754May 1935Named in 1922

References

    • Baxter, Bertram (1979). Baxter, David (ed.). British Locomotive Catalogue 1825–1923, Volume 2B: London and North Western Railway and its constituent companies. Ashbourne, Derbyshire: Moorland Publishing Company. pp. 275–285. ISBN 0-903485-84-2.
    • Goodman, Rev. John. LMS Locomotive Names. Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. ISBN 0-901115-79-7.
    • Nock, O. S. (1966). The LNWR Precursor Family. David and Charles (Publishers) Ltd.
    • Nock, O. S. (1952). The Premier Line. Ian Allan.
    • Yeadon, W. B. LNWR Locomotives 1912–1949. ISBN 978-1-901945-90-4.
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.