| BR Standard Class 9F 92220 Evening Star | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 92220 Evening Star on display at the National Railway Museum | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BR Standard Class 9F number 92220 Evening Star is a preserved British steam locomotive completed in 1960. It was the last steam locomotive to be built by British Railways. It was the only British main line steam locomotive earmarked for preservation from the date of construction. [1] It was the 999th locomotive of the whole British Railways Standard range. [2]
Evening Star was built at Swindon Works in 1960. Though the last to be built, it was not the last 9F numerically as Crewe Works had already completed engines with higher numbers. [3] It was equipped with a BR1G-type tender [4] and given BR Locomotive Green livery, normally reserved for passenger locomotives, and was completed with a copper-capped double chimney. [5] All other members of the class of heavy freight locomotives were painted unlined black. [6]
92220 was the only Class 9F to be named when running with BR, although other 9Fs have subsequently been named in preservation.
The name Evening Star was chosen following a competition run in 1959-60 by the BR Western Region Staff Magazine. There were three competition winners, Driver T.M. Phillips (Aberystwyth), Boilermaker J.S. Sathi (Old Oak Common) and F.L. Pugh (Paddington), who had all suggested Evening Star. [5]
A special commemorative plate was affixed below the nameplate on the smoke deflectors. The commemorative plate reads:
No. 92220 built at Swindon
March 1960
The last steam locomotive for British Railways
Named at Swindon on March 18, 1960 by
K.W.C. Grand, Esq
Member of the British Transport Commission
The wooden patterns for this commemorative plate and the engine's name plate were both carved by pattern maker Fred Marsh.
The naming ceremony took place on 18 March 1960 at the Swindon Works, where the locomotive was built. A speech was given by R.F. Hanks, Chairman of the Western Area Board of British Transport Commission: [7]
But it is also a very great day for Swindon, and, to my friends from other Regions and from the B.T.C., I trust I shall not be considered parochial when I say that it is a proud day for Great Western men everywhere who will find much satisfaction, since there had to be a "last one" that it should fall to the lot of Swindon to see the job through. [..] I am sure it has been truly said that no other product of man’s mind has ever exercised such a compelling hold upon the public’s imagination as the steam locomotive. No other machine, in its day, has been a more faithful friend to mankind and has contributed more to the cause of industrial prosperity in this, the land of its birth, and throughout the world.
— R.F. Hanks (18 March 1960), [7]
The loco was then named by Keith Grand of the British Transport Commission, by the unveiling of the nameplate, naming it Evening Star. [7]
92220 was used over the Western Region and over the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway line. Its main duties were as a heavy freight locomotive. However, 92220 was never just any locomotive, its working was closely controlled "to ensure she returned home regularly for cleaning and maintenance in view of the special workings and exhibitions for which the engine was required". [8]
On 27–28 June and 1 July 1960, No. 92220, then allocated to Cardiff Canton shed, hauled the BR Western Region's flagship Paddington to Cardiff, Swansea, Neyland and Fishguard Harbour passenger express trains, the London bound Red Dragon and the return Capitals United Express between Cardiff and Paddington, reportedly having to delay its arrival at Paddington to allow for completion of restaurant services because it was running so early; easily outperforming the regular Britannia passenger express locomotives, which it was observed overtaking (while hauling a full rake of 10+ passenger express coaches) on several occasions. However, its career on these flagship services was cut short, by order of BR senior management, allegedly from fear of damage to its running gear which wasn't designed for extended high speed express work. BR management's embargo, issued after they received word of the runs on 27–28 June, wasn't enforced until after driver Eddie Broom, head of Canton Shed's Local Departmental Committee (the local branch shop steward of ASLEF, the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen's extremely powerful trades union [9] ), had his turn on 92220's down Capitals United Express run, on 1 July 1960. [10] [11] [12]
On 16 July 1962 and 18 July 1962, the locomotive was photographed at Gloucester Barnwood shed yard, [13] and on 8 September 1962 it hauled the last Pines Express on the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway. [14] Evening Star was recorded hauling passenger express trains at over 90 mph (140 km/h) on its Red Dragon and Capitals United Express runs. [15] 92220 was withdrawn in 1965 and stored at Severn Tunnel Junction Marshalling Yard, after incurring minor damage in a shunting accident at Cardiff Docks. It had a working life of just five years and one day which was the shortest operational life of all 251 class members. It was subsequently preserved as part of the National Collection. In late 1966, the locomotive, by then in decrepit condition, was towed to Crewe Works via Shrewsbury for overhaul and restoration. [16]
Evening Star remained in operation into the 1980s and is one of nine surviving 9Fs. From July 1973 it operated on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, moving to the National Railway Museum, York in May 1975. In 1986 it was loaned to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and in 1989 to the West Somerset Railway. [17] Since withdrawal, it has been a static exhibit at the National Railway Museum. [15]
After a brief period displayed at the National Railway Museum Shildon, the engine returned to its birthplace, Swindon Works, on 3 September 2008. Evening Star remained on display for two years at the Swindon Steam Railway Museum to celebrate its 50th anniversary. It returned to York in 2010, whilst the GWR locomotive No. 4003 Lode Star took its place at Swindon.
The Great Bear, number 111, was a locomotive of the Great Western Railway. It was the first 4-6-2 (Pacific) locomotive used on a railway in Great Britain, and the only one of its type built by the GWR.
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The British Railways Standard Class 9F2-10-0 is a class of steam locomotive designed for British Railways by Robert Riddles. The Class 9F was the last in a series of standardised locomotive classes designed for British Railways during the 1950s, and was intended for use on fast, heavy freight trains over long distances. It was one of the most powerful steam locomotive types ever built for British Railways, and successfully performed its intended duties. The 9F class was given the nickname of 'Spaceship', due to its size and shape.
The first Locomotives of the Great Western Railway (GWR) were specified by Isambard Kingdom Brunel but Daniel Gooch was soon appointed as the railway's Locomotive Superintendent. He designed several different 7 ft 1⁄4 in broad gauge types for the growing railway, such as the Firefly and later Iron Duke Class 2-2-2s. In 1864 Gooch was succeeded by Joseph Armstrong who brought his standard gauge experience to the workshops at Swindon. To replace some of the earlier locomotives, he put broad gauge wheels on his standard gauge locomotives and from this time on all locomotives were given numbers, including the broad gauge ones that had previously carried just names.
The BR Standard Class 4 2-6-0 is a class of steam locomotive designed by Robert Riddles for British Railways (BR). 115 locomotives were built to this standard.
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The Great Western Railway Iron Duke Class 4-2-2 was a class of 7 ft 1⁄4 in broad gauge steam locomotives for express passenger train work.
The Great Western Railway 1000 Class or County Class was a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotive. Thirty examples were built between 1945 and 1947, but all were withdrawn and scrapped in the early 1960s. A replica locomotive is under construction.
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The British Rail Class 42 Warship diesel-hydraulic locomotives were introduced in 1958. It was apparent at that time that the largest centre of expertise on diesel-hydraulic locomotives was in West Germany. The Western Region of British Railways negotiated a licence with German manufacturers to scale down the German Federal Railway's "V200" design to suit the smaller loading gauge of the British network, and to allow British manufacturers to construct the new locomotives. The resultant design bears a close resemblance, both cosmetically and in the engineering employed, to the original V200 design. Warship locomotives were divided into two batches: those built at BR's Swindon works were numbered in the series D800-D832 and D866-D870, had a maximum tractive effort of 52,400 pounds-force (233,000 N) and eventually became British Rail Class 42. 33 others, D833–D865, were constructed by the North British Locomotive Company and became British Rail Class 43. They were allocated to Bristol Bath Road, Plymouth Laira, Newton Abbot and Old Oak Common.
The BR Standard Class 3 2-6-0 was a class of mixed traffic steam locomotive designed by Robert Riddles for British Railways. It was essentially a hybrid design, the chassis being closely based on and sharing a number of parts with the LMS Ivatt Class 4, and having a boiler derived from a GWR No.2 boiler as fitted to the GWR Large Prairie 2-6-2T and 5600 Class 0-6-2T tank engines.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) 4500 Class or Small Prairie is a class of 2-6-2T steam locomotives.
Caerphilly Castle is a member of the GWR 4073 Class built in 1923.
The Dean Single, 3031 Class, or Achilles Class was a type of steam locomotive built by the British Great Western Railway between 1891 and 1899. They were designed by William Dean for passenger work. The first 30 members of the class were built as 2-2-2s of the 3001 Class.
British Railways Standard Class 9F steam locomotives Nos 92020-9 were experimentally built with Franco-Crosti boilers, thus forming a subclass. All ten were built in 1955 at Crewe Works.
From 1920, the cab side of Great Western Railway (GWR) steam locomotives bore a letter on a coloured disc, which enabled staff to quickly assess the capabilities of locomotives without the need to check tables of data. The letter showed the power classification, and the coloured disc showed the weight restriction. This system continued after the GWR became the Western Region of British Railways.
The GWR 378 Class was a class of 30 standard-gauge 2-2-2 steam locomotives on the Great Western Railway in Britain. They were introduced in 1866, and the class remained intact until 1898. Several were altered to the 0-6-0 wheel arrangement, and the last was withdrawn from service in 1920.
The Daniel Gooch standard gauge locomotives comprise several classes of locomotives designed by Daniel Gooch, Superintendent of Locomotive Engines for the Great Western Railway (GWR) from 1837 to 1864.
A double chimney is a form of chimney for a steam locomotive, where the conventional single opening is duplicated, together with the blastpipe beneath it. Although the internal openings form two circles, the outside appearance usually forms a single elongated oval.
