{ ‘Leaders’ of the ‘might have-been’ pack }

Bulleid’s double-ended 0-6-6-0T ‘Leader’ class design for the Southern Railway was unique in that all the parts for the five engines authorised in 1946 were actually fabricated. However, only the first engine, as BR No. 36001, was completed, steamed and tested during 1949-50, but it never entered regular service. The second engine, No. 36002, was virtually complete at Brighton Works but never steamed, while No. 36003 had also reached a fairly advanced state of assembly. Nos. 36004-5 were not erected, following the manifest problems and erratic performance of the prototype. A further 31 engines had been envisaged in 1947, but these had long been forgotten by 1951, when the entire project was abandoned and all five locomotives, or the parts intended for them, were cut up at Eastleigh Works.