Designed at Brighton, with some additional work farmed out to Derby, Doncaster and Swindon (is this an early example of "political correctness"?) the 75xxx class of 80 lightweight 4-6-0 locomotives were built at Swindon to work secondary main line traffic - both goods and passenger - on virtually any secondary route. The first loco entered traffic during May 1951 and was, in many respects, a tender version of the LMS 2-6-4 tanks built under Stanier and Fairburn (some of the latter were built at Brighton after nationalisation of the railways) but with the same smaller cylinders and higher pressure boilers of the Standard 4 tanks that started to leave Brighton works during July 1951.

photograph by Alan Robinson.

The class, noticeably smaller then the Standard Class 5 introduced the previous month, was allocated to work in the Midland, Southern and Western Regions of British Railways, whilst some achieved everlasting fame by working the legendary "Pines Express" over the Somerset & Dorset Line, frequently as pilot engine to a West Country or BR Standard 9F.

photograph by Alan Robinson.

The Southern Region's allocation were paired with 7,000 gallon tenders and, in some cases, were fitted with a double chimney. This feature, quite attractive on many locomotives, didn't sit well on the Standard 4s with their fairly tall chimney.

photograph by Mike Morant

Technical Details