The BR Standard steam locomotives were an effort to standardize locomotives from the motley collection of older
pre-grouping locos. Construction started in 1951. Due to the controversial
British Railways' modernisation plan of 1955, where steam traction was abandoned in
favour of diesel and electric traction, many of the locomotives' working lives were very short: between 7 and 17 years. Many have been preserved, mainly due to their having been sent to
Barry Scrapyard.
ex-WD Austerity engines
The first BR standards were the
BR ex-WD Austerity 2-8-0 and
BR ex-WD Austerity 2-10-0s. They were given the numbers 90000-732 and 90750-774. They were assigned the boiler types BR10 and BR11, and both had the tender type BR5.
Background
Robert Riddles
Robert Arthur "Robin" Riddles, CBE, MIMechE, MinstLE (23 May 1892 – 18 June 1983) was a British locomotive engineer.
Biography LNWR and LMS
Riddles was born in 1892 and entered the Crewe Works of the London and North Western Railway as a pre ...
put his case for continuing to build steam locomotives in his presidential address to the Institution of Locomotive Engineers in November 1950. He compared capital costs to show that steam was cheaper than the alternatives, though he did not mention productivity differences, except to say fuel costs did not rank very high relative to total costs. For example, a
Class 5 cost £16,000, compared to £78,100 for a
1,600 h. p. diesel, £138,700 for a
gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directio ...
, or £37,400 for
electric
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described b ...
. He calculated the costs per
drawbar horse power as £13 6s (steam), £65 (diesel), £69 7s (turbine) and £17 13s (electric). Riddles retired in 1953.
Design
From 1951, BR started to build steam locomotives to its own standard designs, which were largely based on LMS practice but incorporating ideas and modifications from the other constituent companies and America. Their design was overseen by Riddles.
Characteristic features were
taper boilers, high running plates, two cylinders and streamlined cabs.
Construction
Although more were ordered, 999 BR "Standards" were constructed: the last,
92220 ''Evening Star'', was built in 1960. Most never achieved their potential service life and were withdrawn in working order.
Construction was split between the ex-LMS works at
Crewe
Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...
,
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...
and
Horwich
Horwich ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. Prior to 1974 in the historic county of Lancashire. It is southeast of Chorley, northwest of Bolton and northwest of Manchester. It l ...
, the ex-LNER works at
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town.
In the 19th century, Darlington under ...
and
Doncaster
Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated i ...
, the ex-GWR works at
Swindon, and the ex-SR works at
Brighton.
Tenders

The tenders used with the Standard locomotives were also new designs. There were different types due to the use of different coal-to-water ratios, weight restrictions and later improved designs. It was standard practice for there to be fewer tenders than locomotives, as tenders took little time to overhaul compared to locomotives, locomotives entering works for overhaul would tend to lose their tenders to locomotives leaving works after overhaul.
Preservation
A total of 46 standards have survived - of these, 38 were rescued from
Woodham Brothers
Woodham Brothers Ltd is a trading business, based mainly around activities and premises located within Barry Docks, in Barry, South Wales. It is noted globally for its 1960s activity as a scrapyard (hence its colloquial name of Barry Scrapyard ...
scrapyard in Wales. The BR Standard Locomotive Owner's Group provides co-ordination.
New Builds
The new build of the 'Clan' class 72010 “Hengist” is progressing steadily.
The new build of the Class 3 Tank 82045 is well underway, work continues as of 2021.
References
{{BRstds
BR standard classes