The steam locomotives of British Railways were used by British Railways over the period 1948–1968. The vast majority of these were inherited from its four constituent companies, the "Big Four".
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) Webb Coal Tank is a class of 0-6-2T steam locomotive. They were called "Coal Tanks" because they were a side tank version of Webb's standard LNWR 17in Coal Engine, an 0-6-0 tender engine for slow freight trains.
The Midland Railway 1377 Class was a class of 185 0-6-0T tank locomotives. They were introduced in 1878 by Samuel W. Johnson, and were almost identical to the 1102 class of 1874; the latter having fully enclosed cabs, while the 1377 class were built without a rear to the cab and only a short cab roof, hence their nickname "half-cabs". They were given the power classification 1F.
The Midland Railway (MR) 3835 Class is a class of 0-6-0 steam locomotives designed for freight work. The first two were introduced in 1911 by Henry Fowler. After the grouping in 1923, the designs were slightly modified and continued to be built up to 1941 by the LMS as the LMS Fowler Class 4F.
The North Eastern Railway (NER) Class H, classified as Class Y7 by the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) is a class of 0-4-0T steam locomotives designed for shunting.
The LNWR 1185 Class was a class of 0-8-2T steam tank locomotives designed by Charles Bowen-Cooke and introduced in 1911. They passed into LMS ownership in 1923 and 8 survived to British Railways ownership in 1948. British Railways numbers were 47875-47896.
The LNWR 380 Class was a class of 0-8-4T steam tank locomotives designed by H. P. M. Beames. Although designed under the LNWR regime they appeared as LMS locomotives after the 1923 grouping. They were essentially an extended version of the 1185 Class 0-8-2T with a longer bunker, and were also related to the 0-8-0 freight engines. Their main area of work was to be in South Wales.
The LNWR 17in Coal Engine was a class of 0-6-0 steam tender engines designed by Francis Webb for the London and North Western Railway. They were simple locomotives and in UK service they were very reliable. "17in" refers to their cylinder diameter in inches. They were called "Coal Engines" because they were used for hauling coal trains.
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) Prince of Wales Class was a class of express passenger locomotive. It was in effect, a superheated version of the Experiment Class 4-6-0.
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) Prince of Wales Tank Class was a pacific tank engine version of the Prince of Wales Class 4-6-0 steam locomotive.
The Midland Railway (MR) 1322 Class was a class of small 0-4-0ST steam locomotives designed for shunting. The next class of shunting engines built by the Midland was the 1116A Class, which was nearly identical.
The LNWR 317 class, consisted of a class of 20 square saddle-tanked steam locomotives built by the London and North Western Railway at their Crewe Works between 1896 and 1901. They had a very short coupled wheelbase, with a trailing Bissel truck to carry weight.
The North London Railway crane tank was an 0-4-2ST steam locomotive crane tank type. Originally built in 1858 as an 0-4-0ST by Sharp, Stewart and Company for the North and South Western Junction Railway. It was quickly passed to the North London Railway (NLR) who numbered it 37; they renumbered it 29 in 1861 before placing it on the duplicate lst as 29A in 1872. The same year it was rebuilt into an 0-4-2ST with a steam crane carried by the trailing truck. It was subsequently inherited by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) in January 1922, who allocated it the number 2896; and then in turn the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) in January 1923. They allocated it the number 7217, but it was June 1926 before it was applied. The LMS placed it on the duplicate list as 27217 in February 1935 before it finally passed to British Railways in 1948. It was allocated the BR number 58865, and renumbered in March 1949. It was the oldest locomotive to be inherited by BR. When finally withdrawn in 1951, it was the oldest surviving standard gauge engine in service with British Railways. It was scrapped at Derby Works in February 1951.
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) 4ft Shunter was a class of 0-4-0ST steam locomotives. Introduced in 1863 by Ramsbottom, 26 were built in 1863–1865, 10 in 1870, 10 in 1872, and 10 in 1892. The last three of the latter batch were soon rebuilt as 0-4-2ST crane tanks. They survived into LMS ownership in 1923 and the last one was withdrawn in 1933.
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) DX Goods class was a class of 0-6-0 steam locomotive, designed by John Ramsbottom for freight duties. 943 were constructed, making them the largest single class of steam locomotives built in the United Kingdom. Despite this, none were preserved.
The LNWR 4ft 6in Tank was a class of 220 passenger 2-4-2T locomotives manufactured by the London and North Western Railway in their Crewe Works between 1879 and 1898. The "4ft 6in" in the title referred to the diameter of the driving wheels – although the stated dimension was for the wheel centres – the nominal diameter including the tyres was 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm).
The LNWR 18-inch Goods was a class of 310 0-6-0 freight steam locomotives built by the London and North Western Railway at their Crewe Works between 1880 and 1902.
The LNWR 18-inch Tank class was a class of 80 0-6-2T locomotives built by the London and North Western Railway in their Crewe Works between 1898 and 1902.
The LNWR 5ft 6in Tank was a class of 160 passenger 2-4-2T locomotives manufactured by the London and North Western Railway in their Crewe Works between 1890 and 1897. The "5ft 6in" in the title referred to the diameter of the driving wheels – although the stated dimension was for the wheel centres – the nominal diameter including the tyres was 5 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,740 mm).
