Steam locomotives of British Railways facts for kids
The steam locomotives of British Railways were special trains used in Britain from 1948 to 1968. These powerful machines ran on steam, pulling passengers and goods across the country. Most of these steam engines were taken over from four big railway companies when British Railways was formed. Later, in the 1950s, British Railways started building its own new types of steam locomotives, known as "Standard" engines.
How British Railways Numbered Steam Engines
British Railways had a special system for numbering all its locomotives. This helped them keep track of the many different types of trains they had. The numbers often showed where the engine came from or what type it was.
Number Series for Different Locomotives
- 1 series: These numbers were given to steam locomotives that used to belong to the Great Western Railway.
- 10,000 series: This group was for newer diesel locomotives and electric locomotives, not steam engines.
- 30,000 series: Steam locomotives from the old Southern Railway were given numbers in this range.
- 40,000 and 50,000 series: These numbers were for steam engines that came from the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.
- 60,000 series: Steam locomotives from the London and North Eastern Railway were numbered in this series.
- 70,000 series: This was for the brand new British Railways Standard steam locomotives that British Railways built itself.
- 90,000 series: Steam locomotives that had been used by the War Department during wartime were given these numbers. They were originally in the 70,000 series.
- 92,000 series: This specific series was for a very powerful type of British Railways Standard engine called the BR Standard Class 9F.
Images for kids
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British Railways bought 553 steam engines like this one from the War Department. This is number 90035.
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This is a 94XX class pannier tank engine, which was built by British Railways.
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This steam engine, number 61306, was built by British Railways and is seen at Leeds City in 1966 or 1967.
