LMS Princess Royal Class

The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Princess Royal Class is a class of express passenger 4-6-2 steam locomotive designed by William Stanier. Twelve examples were built at Crewe Works, between 1933 and 1935, for use on the West Coast Main Line. Two are preserved.
==Overview==
The Princesses are related to the GWR King Class, the general outline essentially being a King with a larger firebox supported by additional trailing wheels. This origin is explained by the designer William Stanier coming from the GWR to the LMS.
When originally built, they were used to haul the famous Royal Scot train between London Euston and Glasgow Central.
==Construction==
A prototype batch of three locomotives was to be constructed in 1933. Two were constructed as drawn but the third set of frames was retained as the basis for an experimental turbine locomotive.
===Turbomotive===
The third prototype was constructed with the aid of the Swedish Ljungstrom turbine company and known as the Turbomotive, although not named. It was numbered 6202, in sequence with the Princess Royals. Although 'generally similar' to the rest of the Princess Royals, and 'not all that much different', it used a larger 40 element superheater to give a higher steam temperature, more suitable for turbine use. This boiler was also domeless as would later be used for the second batch of the Princess Royals. The continuous exhaust of the turbine, rather than the sharper intermittent blast of the piston engine, also required changes to the draughting and the use of a double chimney. It entered service in June 1935 on the London–Liverpool service.
This Turbomotive was rebuilt in 1952 with conventional 'Coronation' cylinders and named Princess Anne, but was soon destroyed in the Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash.
===Later production===
A second batch of eleven locomotives was constructed later.
==Accidents and incidents==
On 17 April 1948, a passenger train hauled by locomotive No. 6207 Princess Arthur of Connaught was halted after a passenger pulled the communication cord. It was then hit from behind by a postal train, which a signalman's error had allowed into the section, resulting in the deaths of 24 passengers.
On 21 September 1951, locomotive No. 46207 Princess Arthur of Connaught was hauling an express passenger train that was derailed at Weedon, Northamptonshire due to a defective front bogie on the locomotive. Fifteen people were killed and 35 were injured.
==Naming==
Each locomotive was named after a princess, the official name for the class was chosen because Mary, Princess Royal was the Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Scots. However, the locomotives were known to railwaymen as "Lizzies", after the second example of the class, named for Princess Elizabeth, who later became Queen Elizabeth II. Later examples of 4-6-2 express passenger locomotive built by the LMS were of the related but larger, Coronation Class.
==Withdrawal==
The class was withdrawn in the early 1960s in line with British Railways' modernization plan.
==Details==
Image	LMSNo.	BRNo.	Name(s) 	Date Built 	Date Withdrawn 	Notes
 	6200 	46200	The Princess Royal 	27 July 1933 	17 November 1962 	Last to be withdrawn.
 	6201 	46201	Princess Elizabeth 	3 November 1933 	20 October 1962 	Preserved.
 	6203 	46203	Princess Margaret Rose 	1 July 1935 	20 October 1962 	Preserved. Owned by the Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust.
 	6204 	46204	Princess Louise 	19 July 1935 	7 October 1961 	.
 	6205 	46205	Princess Victoria 	24 July 1935 	25 November 1961 	Fitted with modified valve gear in 1947. Converted back to normal in 1955.
 	6206 	46206	Princess Marie Louise 	1 August 1935 	20 October 1962 	.
 	6207 	46207	Princess Arthur of Connaught	9 August 1935 	25 November 1961 	Appeared in the 1930s classic documentary film No. 6207; A Study in Steel which showed the production of the locomotive from molten steel to the finished product.
 	6208 	46208	Princess Helena Victoria 	16 August 1935 	20 October 1962 	.
 	6209 	46209	Princess Beatrice 	23 August 1935 	29 September 1962	.
 	6210 	46210	Lady Patricia 	6 September 1935 	7 October 1961 	.
 	6211 	46211	Queen Maud 	18 September 1935	7 October 1961 	.
 	6212 	46212	Duchess of Kent 	21 October 1935 	7 October 1961 	.
==Preservation ==
Two examples, 6201 Princess Elizabeth and 6203 Princess Margaret Rose are preserved and both have operated on the mainline in preservation. They were named after the two children of Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI), and his wife, Elizabeth, Duchess of York (later Queen Elizabeth, and after the king's death, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother). Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary (later Queen Elizabeth II) was seven years old in 1933 when her namesake was built, and Princess Margaret Rose was nearly five in July 1935 when her namesake was completed. At the time, they were third and fourth in line to the throne. 'Princess Margaret Rose' is owned by The Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust and is on static display at the West Shed Museum, Midland Railway-Butterley, Ripley, Derbyshire.
Note: Loco numbers in bold mean their current number.
Number	Number	Name 	Built 	Withdrawn	Service Life 	Livery 	Location 	Owners 	Status 	Mainline Certified	Photograph	Notes
LMS 	BR 	Name 	Built 	Withdrawn	Service Life 	Livery 	Location 	Owners 	Status 	Mainline Certified	Photograph	Notes
6201 	46201 	Princess Elizabeth 	Nov 1933	Oct 1962 	28 Years, 11 Months	LMS Crimson Lake 	Carnforth MPD	6201 Princess Elizabeth Society 	Stored 	No 	 	Withdrawn July/August 2021 due to cracked firebox.
6203 	46203 	Princess Margaret Rose	Jul 1935	Oct 1962 	27 Years, 3 Months 	BR Crimson Lake, Late Crest	Butterley 	Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust	Static Display	No 	 	Last ran in 1996.
==Gallery==
File:Turbomotive2.jpg
File:Turbomotive3.jpg
==Media==
*6201 at Langho on Whalley Bank – sound recording.
==References==
*Ian Sixsmith The Book of the Princess Royal Pacifics 
*Hugh Longworth British Railway Steam Locomotives 1948–1968 
*David Hunt, Bob Essery and Fred James LMS Locomotive Profiles No. 4: The "Princess Royal" Pacifics
==External links==
*6201 Princess Elizabeth Locomotive Society LTD
*Princess Royal Locomotive Trust
*46201 in the Railuk database
*46203 in the Railuk database
*Butlins steam locomotives
*6207 A Study In Steel at YouTube
Category:LMS locomotives
Category:4-6-2 steam locomotives
Category:4-6-2 locomotives
Category:LMS Princess Royal Class
Category:Crewe Works locomotives
Category:Standard gauge locomotives
Category:Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Locomotives
Category:Tender locomotives
Category:Built in 1933
Category:Built in 1935