REVIEW OF THE MONTH
A Detailed History of the LMS Royal Scot 4-6-0s
John Jennison
Railway Correspondence & Travel Society, 16 Welby Close, Maidenhead SL6 3PY. Website www.rcts.org.uk Description: Hardback, 214mm x 276mm, 264pp. ISBN: 9780993490873. Price £29.50 + £3 postage.
The 70 LMS ‘Royal Scots’ (71 if you include the rebuild of the high pressure ‘Fury’) were in the shadow of the larger ‘Coronation’ 4-6-2s for most of their lives, but they were hard working, dependable, and above all good looking.
To be given the RCTS treatment, where no stone seems unturned to give precise data on every aspect of each individual engine, is the latest accolade for a type that was easy prey for diesel replacement.
The last overhauls took place around 1960/61, and suddenly they were gone from most of their duties. Twenty-nine were withdrawn in the closing months of 1962 alone, and the survivors became a pitiful sight.
The ‘Scot’ story begins with Sir Henry Fowler’s seeking a successor to the ‘Claughtons’
