Railway Vehicle Information Sheet
1976-7000 - Duchess of Hamilton
Company
LMS
Type
Wheel Arrangement
4-6-2
Class
Duchess or Princess/Coronation, Power class 7P (8P
from 1951)
Name
Duchess of Hamilton (1938, 1943-1964) (Coronation,
1939-1943)
Number(s)
1.)LMS
6229 (new)
2.)LMS
6220 (Jan 1939)
3.)LMS
6229 (April 1943)
4.)BR
46229 (April 1948)
Current Number
Builder
Crewe Works
Works Number
Order / Lot Number
Lot 145
Cost (new)
£11,302
Date Authorised
27/10/1937
Date Built
7/9/1938
Rebuilds / Alterations
1.)Double Chimney fitted, 4/1943
2.)Steamlined casing removed, 10/1/1948
3.)Speedometer fitted, 09/1957
4.)ATC fitted, 10/1959
Date of Withdrawal
WE 15/2/1964
Final Mileage
1,517,250
Boiler Details
Class
IA
Number
10297
Date of Construction
1938
Builder
Crewe Works
Tender Details
Class
Number
9747
9802
Date of Construction
Sept 1938
(exchanged Nov 1945)
Builder
Crewe Works
Crewe Works
Coal Capacity
10 Tons
8 tons from 1990
Water Capacity
4000 Gallons
5000 gallons from 1990
Locomotive Details
Length (with tender)
73`10 ¼``
Maximum Height
13`3``
Maximum Width
8`11 3/8``
Weight
Engine
Tender
Total
(Empty)
95.5 tons
28.5 tons
124.0 tons
(In Working Order
105.25 tons
56.35 tons
161.6 tons
Museum notes:
The LMS ‘Duchess’ or ‘Princess/Coronation’ 4-6-2 may be regarded as the largest
and most powerful express passenger steam locomotives to be built for service in
Great Britain. Introduced, initially in streamlined form, in 1937 the design could
trace direct descent from the first British 4-6-2, the GWR Great Bear of almost
thirty years earlier. The ‘Bear’ (1908) was an enlargement of the ‘Star’ (No.4003,
1907), which was subsequently developed into the ‘Castle’ (No.4073, 1923) and
the ‘King’ (No.6000, 1927). The first LMS 4-6-2, No.6200 Princess Royal (1933)
was a development of the Great Bear but with ‘King’ boiler pressure and cylinder
dimensions, and was designed following W A Stanier’s move from the GWR to the
LMS in 1932. However, the ‘Princess’ was rather heavy (actually heavier in reality
than was ever officially acknowledged) with a rather long wheelbase. Under T F
Coleman it was completely re-vamped in 1936, using the latest metallurgical
technology available to produce a more compact design with notably increased
boiler capacity but no significant weight increase. See The Railway Gazette, The
Metallurgy of a High-Speed Locomotive, 18 February 1938, 303-311, and 25
February 1938, 360-370. Firegrate area was increased from 45 to 50 sq ft, thus
equalling that of the recent LNER P2 2-8-2s, and later adopted on post-war LNER
4-6-2s (Peppercorn A1 and A2).
Streamlining was very much in vogue in the later 1930s, by streamlining its new 46-2s the LMS was clearly trying to catch up on the LNER with its streamlined A4 46-2s and semi-streamlined P2 2-8-2s. At high speed streamlining did actually
serve a useful purpose by reducing air-resistance and releasing more useful
horsepower at the tender drawbar to pull the train. Technically speaking the LMS
type 4-6-2 streamlining was more efficient in this regard than that of the LNER A4.
The first batch of (five) 4-6-2s were streamlined and outshopped in blue lined
silver livery. The second batch, including 6229 (whose delivery was slightly
delayed) were crimson lined gold. However it was quickly selected to masquerade
as No.6220 Coronation for despatch to the USA, but nevertheless still in crimson
rather than blue livery. At least one American noted 6229 rather than 6220
stamped on the motion. The Engine History Cards for 6220 and 6229 chronicle in
red and green ink the exchange and re-exchange of the identities of these two
locomotives. 6229 had to be provided with a headlight and bell in order to conform
with US requirements as it was to tour parts of the country under its own steam.
The temporary exchange of identities is tabulated below.
No.6220
Coronation
Date new
1/6/1937
Livery
Blue/silver
Renumbered (1)
To 6229 17/12/1938
Sent to USA
Returned to traffic
Renumbered (2)
To 6220 9/5/1943
In Crewe Works*
16/4 – 15/5/1943 (HG)
* Note both were in Crewe Works 16-20/4/1943
No.6229
Duchess of Hamilton
7/9/1938
Crimson/gold
To 6220 (20/1/1939)
20/1/1939
18/3/1942
To 6229 20/4/1943
12/3 – 20/4/1943 (LO)
One of the first non-streamlined batch, No.6234, in early 1939 underwent trials
with its original single chimney, and then with a new double exhaust arrangement.
As a result it developed a transitory maximum drawbar horsepower of 2511, which
remained a British record to the end of the steam era, (although possibly since
eclipsed by 6229 and BR 71000 in preservation). No.46225 was tested at Rugby
in the mid-1950s and maximum power output on the test plant was circumscribed
by the adhesive weight available. The boiler nevertheless proved capable of an
evaporation rate of 42,000lb/hr, ie well above the manual firing limit. In the 1948
Exchange Trials the performance of the class representatives was disappointing,
partly owing to one of the drivers endeavouring to keep the coal consumption
down. Water consumption was also rather on the high side owing to a
combination of high cylinder clearance volumes, and only moderate steam
temperatures (due to the use of standard 5.125in diameter superheater flues
housing triple elements).
The fifty Stanier 4-6-2s were effectively displaced by diesel-electrics on their
principal duties on the West Coast Main Line in the Spring of 1961. (Full
electrification between London Euston and Glasgow followed in 1974). Heavy
repairs continued to be carried out at Crewe to the 38 strong Coronations until late
1962, when the first withdrawals, on the Scottish Region, took place. About half of
the class were retired, virtually ‘at a stroke’, at the end of September 1964
rendering it extinct. Proposals to transfer some to the Southern Region to work
between London Waterloo and Bournemouth (electrified mid-1967) did not
materialise.
During its working life No.6229 was successively painted (streamlined) crimson,
black, (non-streamlined) blue, green, and finally crimson once more.
Select bibliography:
The Book of the Coronation Pacifics, by I Sixsmith, Irwell Press, 1998, NRM
E8E/404
The West Coast Pacifics, by J F Clay & J Cliffe, Ian Allan Ltd, 1976, NRM E8E/73
Stanier Pacifics at Work, by A J Powell, Ian Allan Ltd, 1986, NRM E8E/312
LMS Locomotive Profiles No.11, - The ‘Cornation’ Class, by D Hunt et al, Wild
Swan Publications, 28, NRM E8E/49/11
Duchess of Hamilton: ultimate in Pacific Power, by M Blakemore & M Rutherford,
National Railway Museum, 1990, NRM E8F/60L
Locomotives Illustrated, Nos. 16, Nov 1978, & 91, Aug 1993
All surviving Derby drawings relating to the Coronation 4-6-2s, including the
streamlining, have been microfilmed, although some relate exclusively to
No.6256/7.
A volume of test reports relating to the class is held in the Technical Archive at
TEST/LMS/22.
See the E A Langridge and E S Cox papers for other supporting material.