A FORGOTTEN LONDON WORKHORSE - THE LNER HOLDEN F5

It is probably fair to say that since the debut of LNER A1 Peppercorn 4-6-2 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado, new-build standard gauge steam projects have gained serious momentum. Beforehand many people no doubt only saw such proposals as simply ‘nice ideas’ with no real expectation that they would ever come to fruition. Since 2008, other projects – such as the GWR Saint 4-6-0 No. 2999 Lady of Legend – have started and/or finished. But amid the glitz and glamour of these big tender locomotive proposals are projects that many may not have given much thought to. For while the larger names have the potential for main line running – a serious draw for supporters, there are those who have started off with less ambitious but equally valid reasons: to fill a gap in our heritage and to offer locomotives suitable for working many of our preserved lines.

“With none surviving into preservation, in 2001 the Holden F5 Steam Locomotive Trust was incorporated with the aim of filling this gap in GER, LNER, and London history…”

The LNER 2-4-2T Holden F5 class may not have the awe-inspiring size of a P2 or have had the bulk of a locomotive to start off with as with the Bluebell Railway’s 2MT No. 84030, but this class of hard-working tank engines were spread across East Anglia throughout their working life, with the final examples withdrawn from service at Stratford shed in May 1958.

Forgotten workers

Until the introduction of the N7 class, the F5s could be found working on London suburban services, and although the GWR 57XX Pannier