One of the most numerous and effective classes of locomotive ever built was Stanier’s heavy freight ‘8F’ 2-8-0 – which varied careers at home and abroad, EVAN GREEN-HUGHES describes.
WHEN William Stanier arrived at the London Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS) from the Great Western in 1931, he found that the company was operating the bulk of its goods services with locomotives of the 0-6-0 wheel arrangement, many of which encompassed design features more suitable for the Victorian era than the 20th century. The only exceptions to this were the numerous LNWR and LYR 0-8-0s, the enormous Beyer-Garrett 2-6-0+0-6-2s, and the Midland Railwayinfluenced 2-8-0s provided for the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway, none of which were suitable for further development. In consequence many of the heaviest trains had to be double-headed, something that was both costly and inefficient.
Above: The Stanier ‘8F’ 2-8-0s were formidable machines which were capable of moving heavy goods trains in style. On July 3 1954 48092’s driver opens the regulator wide as the 2-8-0 pounds through Newstead station with a down train of coal empties. Gordon Hepburn/Rail Archive Stephenson.
Stanier’s ‘8F’ 2-8-0 freight locomotive was…
