Named LNWR "Prince of Wales" Class locomotives

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Throughout its existence the London and North Western Railway re-used the numbers and names of withdrawn locomotives on new ones as they came out of Crewe Works.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.

London and North Western Railway former railway company in United Kingdom

The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the world.

Crewe Works British railway engineering facility

Crewe Works is a British railway engineering facility built in 1840 by the Grand Junction Railway. It is located in the town of Crewe, in Cheshire. It is currently owned by Bombardier Transportation.

Charles Bowen Cooke British engineer

Charles John Bowen Cooke was born in Orton Longueville and was Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). He was the first to add superheating to the locomotives of the railway. He wrote a book called British locomotives: their history, construction; and modern development which was published in 1893, with a second edition in 1894, and third in 1899 A second book, Developments in Locomotive Practice followed in 1902.

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.

Caernarfon Castle Grade I listed building in Gwynedd. Castle in Caernarfon, north Wales

Caernarfon Castle, often anglicized as Carnarvon Castle, is a medieval fortress in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, north-west Wales cared for by Cadw, the Welsh Government's historic environment service. It was a motte-and-bailey castle in the town of Caernarfon from the late 11th century until 1283 when King Edward I of England began replacing it with the current stone structure. The Edwardian town and castle acted as the administrative centre of north Wales and as a result the defences were built on a grand scale. There was a deliberate link with Caernarfon's Roman past and the Roman fort of Segontium is nearby.

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.

William Beardmore and Company Scottish engineering and shipbuilding company

William Beardmore and Company was a Scottish engineering and shipbuilding conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active from 1886 to the mid-1930s and at its peak employed about 40,000 people. It was founded and owned by William Beardmore, later Lord Invernairn, after whom the Beardmore Glacier was named.

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

London, Midland and Scottish Railway British “Big 4” railway company, active 1923–1947

The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railways into four. The companies merged into the LMS included the London and North Western Railway, Midland Railway, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, several Scottish railway companies, and numerous other, smaller ventures.

Midland Railway British pre-grouping railway company (1844–1922)

The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. It had a large network of lines managed from its headquarters in Derby. It became the third-largest railway undertaking in the British Isles.

“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.

British Empire Exhibition colonial exhibition held in 1924 and 1925

The British Empire Exhibition was a colonial exhibition held at Wembley Park, Wembley, England from 23 April 1924 to 31 October 1925.

LNWR Number Maker Works
No.		 Name Entered Service LMS Number Date
withdrawn		 Notes
819 Crewe 5030 Prince of Wales October 1911 5600 October 1933
1388 Crewe 5031 Andromeda October 1911 5601 March 1935
1452 Crewe 5032 Bonaventure October 1911 5602 June 1937
1454 Crewe 5033 Coquette November 1911 5603 January 1935
1537 Crewe 5034 EnchantressNovember 1911 5604 October 1934
1691 Crewe 5035 Pathfinder November 1911 5605 November 1934
1704 Crewe 5036 Conqueror November 1911 5606 October 1933
1721 Crewe 5037 Defiance November 1911 5607 December 1934
2021 Crewe 5038 Wolverine December 1911 5608 February 1935
2359 Crewe 5039 Hermione December 1911 5609 October 1933
362 Crewe 5167 Robert Southey October 1913 5610 October 1933
892 Crewe 5168 Charles Wolfe October 1913 5611 June 1935
1081 Crewe 5169 John Keats October 1913 5612 January 1936
1089 Crewe 5170 Sydney Smith October 1913 5613 February 1935
1134 Crewe 5171 Victor Hugo October 1913 5614 December 1934
2040 Crewe 5172 Oliver Goldsmith November 1913 5615 March 1935
2075 Crewe 5173 Robert Burns November 1913 5616 November 1934
2198 Crewe 5174 John Ruskin November 1913 5620 March 1936
2205 Crewe 5175 Thomas Moore November 1913 5621 August 1934
2213 Crewe 5176 Charles Kingsley November 1913 5622 October 1933
321 Crewe 5177 Henry W. Longfellow November 1913 5617 January 1935
479 Crewe 5178 Thomas B. Macaulay December 1913 5618 February 1935
951 Crewe 5179 Bulwer Lytton December 1913 5619 August 1934
1679 Crewe 5180 Lord Byron December 1913 5623 May 1935
2249 Crewe 5181 Thomas Campbell December 1913 5624 March 1937
2283 Crewe 5182 Robert L. Stevenson December 1913 5625 December 1936
307 Crewe 5183 R. B. Sheridan December 1913 5628 November 1934
637 Crewe 5184 Thomas Gray December 1913 5629 December 1934
979 Crewe 5185 W. M. Thackeray January 1914 5630 September 1934
1400 Crewe 5186 Felicia Hemans January 1914 5631 June 1936
86 Crewe 5187 Mark Twain January 1914 5626 May 1936
146 Crewe 5188 Lewis Carroll January 1914 5627 July 1936
964 Crewe 5189 Bret Harte February 1914 5632 September 1933
985 Crewe 5190 Sir W. S. Gilbert February 1914 5633 August 1935
1321 Crewe 5191 William Cowper February 1914 5634 September 1934
2152 Crewe 5192 Charles Lamb February 1914 5635 March 1934
2293 Crewe 5193 Percy Bysshe Shelley February 1914 5636 January 1935
2377 Crewe 5194 Edward Gibbon February 1914 5637 December 1936
2443 Crewe 5195 Charles James Lever March 1914 5638 April 1936
2520 Crewe 5196 G. P. NeeleMarch 1914 5639 October 1933
136 NBL 21256 MinervaOctober 1915 5663 January 1935
173 NBL 21257 Livingstone October 1915 5664 February 1935
257 NBL 21258 PlynlimmonNovember 1915 5666 September 1934
446 NBL 21259 PegasusNovember 1915 5668 August 1935
1749 NBL 21260 PrecedentNovember 1915 5677 January 1935
2063 NBL 21261 HiberniaNovember 1915 5679 May 1935
2175 NBL 21262 LoadstoneNovember 1915 5680 June 1937
2203 NBL 21263 FalstaffNovember 1915 5681 June 1935
2300 NBL 21264 HotspurDecember 1915 5687 September 1934
2392 NBL 23265 CalibanDecember 1915 5689 September 1936
90 NBL 21266 KestrelDecember 1915 5660 August 1936
401 NBL 21267 ZamielDecember 1915 5667 November 1934
525 NBL 21268 VulcanDecember 1915 5669 April 1937
610 NBL 21269 AlbionDecember 1915 5670 October 1935
867 NBL 21270 CondorJanuary 1916 5672 December 1936 Name removed, July 1933
1132 NBL 21271 Scott January 1916 5674 February 1946
1466 NBL 21272 SphinxJanuary 1916 5675 August 1936
1744 NBL 21273 PetrelJanuary 1916 5676 April 1935
2055 NBL 21274 Milton January 1916 5678 April 1935
2339 NBL 21275 SamsonJanuary 1916 5682 April 1935 Name removed, July 1933
27 Crewe 5297 General Joffre October 1915 5640 February 1937
88 Crewe 5298 Czar of Russia October 1915 5641 September 1936
122 Crewe 5299 King of the Belgians November 1915 5642 March 1936
160 Crewe 5300 King of Serbia November 1915 5643 October 1934
185 Crewe 5301 King of Italy November 1915 5644 March 1936
877 Crewe 5302 Raymond Poincaré November 1915 5645 June 1936
1333 Crewe 5303 Sir John French November 1915 5646 December 1934
2275 Crewe 5304 Edith Cavell November 1915 5647 January 1935
2396 Crewe 5305 Queen of the Belgians December 1915 5648 October 1948
2408 Crewe 5306 Admiral Jellicoe December 1915 5649 October 1933
606 Crewe 5307 CastorJanuary 1916 5650 April 1936
745 Crewe 5308 PlutoJanuary 1916 5651 July 1934
352 Crewe 5309 The NileJanuary 1916 5653 October 1935
379 Crewe 5310 WitchJanuary 1916 5654 March 1935
484 Crewe 5311 Smeaton January 1916 5655 December 1934
810 Crewe 5312 OnyxJanuary 1916 5652 September 1933
884 Crewe 5313 SharkJanuary 1916 5656 August 1938
346 Crewe 5314 TrentJanuary 1916 5657 April 1936
417 Crewe 5315 AtlasJanuary 1916 5658 October 1935 Name removed, July 1933
442 Crewe 5316 OdinFebruary 1916 5659 March 1935
95 Crewe 5317 Gallipoli March 1916 5661 February 1935
126 Crewe 5318 Anzac March 1916 5662 August 1936
233 Crewe 5319 Suvla Bay March 1916 5665 April 1936
849 Crewe 5320 Arethusa March 1916 5671 December 1936 Name removed, September 1936
1100 Crewe 5321 Lusitania March 1916 5673 January 1949
1324 Crewe 5322 Falaba April 1916 5683 January 1946
2092 Crewe 5323 Arabic April 1916 5684 March 1936
2276 Crewe 5234 Persia April 1916 5685 August 1936
2295 Crewe 5325 Anglia April 1916 5686 November 1934
2340 Crewe 5326 TaraApril 1916 5688 September 1933
940 Crewe 5444 Richard Cobden January 1919 5697 July 1936 Named in 1922
621 Crewe 5447 Telford February 1919 5700 March 1936 Named in 1922
1584 Crewe 5451 ScotiaMarch 1919 5704 September 1936 Named in 1922
504 Crewe 5453 Canning March 1919 5706 December 1936 Named in 1922
974 Crewe 5454 HampdenMarch 1919 5707 April 1935 Named in 1922
522 Crewe 5470 StentorJune 1919 5723 January 1936 Named in 1922
1290 Crewe 5475 LucknowJuly 1919 5729 February 1935 Named in 1922
1325 Crewe 5483 Disraeli August 1919 5736 June 1935 Named in 1922
1178 Crewe 5489 Prince Albert September 1919 5743 September 1934 Named in 1922
1542 Crewe 5597 MarathonNovember 1919 5750 March 1936 Named in 1922
1694 Crewe 5500 PremierNovember 1919 5753 February 1936 Named in 1922
2516 Crewe 5501 Dalton November 1919 5754 May 1935 Named in 1922

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