TABLE ONE: YORK TO SAXILBY
THE Stanier Class 5 4-6-0s made a successful class, comprising a total of 842 locomotives built between 1934 and 1951, and in later years could be found all over the UK, although mainly on their home LM region. These good strong engines could undertake almost any task given to them, from heavy freight to express passenger. Although limited to 65mph in preservation, they could run freely up to 90mph, and I timed one at 83mph on a 13-coach train in 1966.
A total of 18 are preserved, several of which are main line-registered, and for this article I have picked their work in diverse areas covering the years 1964 to 2023. First is No. 44932 on the York to Saxilby leg of ‘The Great Britain XV’, shown in Table One and timed by Sandy Smeaton, who travelled on the whole of that Railway Touring Company marathon. No. 44932 was built at Horwich in September 1945 and lasted until the end of steam in August 1968. Sandy’s commentary follows:
“On day eight of ‘The Great Britain XV’, Jubilee class No. 45690 worked the Scarborough-York
