ROYAL ENGINEER — THIS IS YOUR LIFE
On December 16 1926, the Board of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway approved an order to be placed with North British Locomotive Company of Glasgow for the construction of 50 ‘improved 4-6-0 tender locomotives’ to be delivered within 35 weeks, for the ‘express’ purpose of working the Anglo-Scottish services. Twenty-five, numbered 6100-6124, were thereby built at the Queen’s Park Works and 25, numbered 6125-6149, at the Hyde Park Works. (Later the remaining 20 ‘Royal Scots’ were built by the LMS itself at Derby.)
No. 6109, originally to be named Argyll, but formally named Royal Engineer early in 1928, was built September 11 1927 as Works No. 23604 and despatched to Crewe North. (There is a published ‘Works Official’ photograph of No. 6109 in photographic (or ‘works’) grey, but it is well known that Sir Henry Fowler had sent to each of the regiments represented a photograph of ‘their’ engine, which was in fact No. 6141, prepared and painted per Derby Works order O/7140, for the 25 ‘Scots’ which have military names. (This photograph clearly shows the NBL diamond works plate without a works number or year of construction.)
The design and construction of the first 50 ‘Scots’ was commendably completed by early December 1927 and their performance on the London to Glasgow and Edinburgh expresses matched their LNER rivals as hoped in capturing passenger traffic. Within a year or two, however, coal consumption began to increase alarmingly. The design was originally based on Midland Railway practices and it was soon found that the single piston ring was responsible for considerable steam leakage. Royal Engineer and all her sisters were rapidly fitted with the Ramsbottom design multiple rings which totally restored the ‘Royal Scots’ to their status as the very best LMS locomotives. Further significant changes followed over the years, notably smoke deflectors, 4,000-gallon Stanier tenders and ultimately a major rebuild, with Type 2A taper boilers replacing the original parallel boilers. Such attentive engineering evolution made the ‘Scots’ probably the most successful 4-6-0 engines over the final era of steam traction in Britain.
Although No. 6109 was not formally transferred to Camden shed until October 3 1928, three photographs of the locomotive from around May of that year clearly show Camden’s No. 1 shed code. One of these is taken at Camden with the engine looking brand new, being coaled high for the run to Scotland. Another, by F.R. Hebron, is captioned as being one of the most dramatic photographs taken of a ‘Royal’ Scot in their early days, climbing the Madeley bank out of Crewe. This fine image graces the dust jacket of Philip Unwin’s Travelling by Train in the Twenties and Thirties.
Sister No. 6114 was involved in a serious accident in May Engine History Card notes this job as ‘Blinkers on Side Plates’ at the grand cost of £13! Initially these deflectors were straight-sided. Later, in 1932/33, No. 6109 was photographed at speed near Kilburn on the new accelerated ‘Royal Scot’ services wearing new improved deflectors with angled tops.
