Rail Album for steam engines, diesel locos and railway wagons


Home
  |  Steam Locomotive Index |   Contact Us


LMS Steam Locos

Streamlined Princess Coronation Class Pacifics

Rail Album for railway and other photographs

 
Part 1 (this page)    Part 2
 
 
Rail Album for railway and other photographs
Preserved LMS Coronation class 4-6-2 number 6229 "Duchess of Hamilton" on show at the NRM (National Railway Museum) in York in streamlined condition. Photograph Edward Talbot.
 

 
Rail Album for railway and other photographs
An LMS Coronation class Pacific locomotive hauling the "Coronation Scot" train.
 
 
     
  1937 saw the coronation of King George VI and the LMS commemorated this event by introducing the "Coronation Scot" non-stop express between London (Euston) and Glasgow (Central). To haul these trains W A Stanier designed the Princess Coronation class 4-6-2 locomotives.

The schedule for the 401.5 mile journey of the "Coronation Scot" called for a locomotive powerful enough to make the journey in 6 hours 30 minutes. The resulting Princess Coronation class locomotives were a development of the Princess Royal class, with a larger boiler and larger diameter driving wheels. The result was the most powerful of the express steam passenger locomotives of its time.
 
     

 
 
Rail Album for railway and other photographs
LMS Princess Coronation class 4-6-2 number 6220 "Coronation". Official LMS photograph.
  

       
 

Loco Class:  
Introduced:  
Power Classification:  
Designer:  
Boiler Steam Pressure:  
Cylinders:  
Cylinder Size:  
Driving Wheels:  
Weight:  
Boiler:  
Valve Gear:  
Tractive Effort: : 

Princess Coronation
1937
7P
William Stanier
250 lbs sq in
4
16.25 x 28 ins
6 ft  9 ins
108 t  2 cwt (streamlined version)
Tapered. Superheated
Walschaerts
40,000 lbs

 
       

  
 
Rail Album for railway and other photographs
LMS Princess Coronation Class 4-6-2 Steam Locomotive Diagram.
 

     
  The air smoothed design of these locomotives was arrived at after experimenting with models in the wind tunnel of the LMS Research Department at Derby.
 
It was on Tuesday 25th May 1937 that the first locomotive of the Princess Coronation class was rolled out of the Erecting Shop at Crewe Works. This was LMS 6220 "Coronation". The first five locomotives were painted blue, and the remainder were painted red. The type of paint used on both the locomotives and the coaches for the "Coronation Scot" train was "Syntholux", made by Docker Bros.
 
     

 
 
Rail Album for railway and other photographs
LMS 6229 "Duchess of Hamilton" 4-6-2 being hauled through Burton-on-Trent on 18th May 2009 on its way to be displayed at the NRM in York.  Photograph Nick Broome.
 

       
 

Heating area - firebox:  
Heating area - tubes:  
Heating area - total:  
Superheater:  
Grate Area:  

230 sq ft
2,577 sq ft
2,807 sq ft
856 sq ft
50 sq ft

 
       

 
 
Rail Album for railway and other photographs
A line up of three Princess Coronation class Pacifics at Crewe Works in 1937.
 
   
 
Rail Album for railway and other photographs
An LMS Princess Coronation class loco heads "The Royal Scot" train at Dillcar Troughs.
 

       
 

Tender coal:  
Water:  
Assistance:  
Water pick up gear:  

10 tons
4,000 gallons
Steam powered coal pusher
LMS standard type

 
       

 
 
Rail Album for railway and other photographs
The nameplate of LMS 6229 "Duchess of Hamilton". Photograph Nick Broome.
    
   
 
Rail Album for railway and other photographs
An official photograph of LMS 6220 "Coronation" in 1937.
 

     
 

On 29th June 1937 the LMS organised a special run of the "Coronation Scot" train from London (Euston) to Crewe and invited the press witness the comfort and speed of the train. This was a spirited journey and the train came within half a mile an hour of the British railway speed record held by the LNER.

 
     

 
 
Rail Album for railway and other photographs
The magnificent lines of preserved LMS Coronation class 4-6-2 number 6229 "Duchess of Hamilton" are shown well on this photograph taken at the NRM in York. Photograph Edward Talbot. 
 
   
Rail Album for railway and other photographs
LMS Princess Coronation class 6221 "Queen Elizabeth" hauls the Royal Train at Headstone lane on a journey from Glasgow to London. This is the former LNWR Royal Train. It retained the LNWR "plum and spilt milk" livery apparently because the King liked it. During the Second World War these Royal Train carriages were repainted into LMS red livery.
 
   
 
Rail Album for railway and other photographs
Another view of LMS 6229 "Duchess of Hamilton" 4-6-2 being hauled through Burton-on-Trent on 18th May 2009 on its way to be displayed at the NRM in York.  Photograph Nick Broome.
 
 
Part 1 (this page)    Part 2
 


- please report broken links to railalbum@parthenon.uk.com -

©  Greg Martin 2009