Celebrating 80 years since Princess Elizabeth’s record-breaking run
Eighty years after its record-breaking run, No. 6201 Princess Elizabeth is back on the main line and still going strong.
Over 400 miles at an average speed of 70.1mph. Whichever way you look at it, that’s a staggering achievement. Eighty years ago this month, LMS ‘Princess Royal’ No. 6201 Princess Elizabeth set a record for steam traction that has never been bettered. It’s a feat that often gets overlooked, especially when stablemate ‘Princess Coronation’ No. 6220 Coronation took the LMS top speed crown a year later. It shouldn’t be forgotten that Princess Elizabeth’s record-breaking non-stop run between Euston and Glasgow on November 16/17 1936, which raised the bar for sustained high-speed, non-stop running, re-ignited the greatest rivalry in British railway history and ushered in an era of record-chasing. A year after the LNER ‘A4’ No. 2509 Silver Link ruffled feathers by breaking the world steam speed record - attaining 112mph with a demonstration run of the company’s new King’s Cross-Edinburgh ‘Silver Jubilee’ service, the LNER’s great rival, the LMS, knew it had to compete by running a similar high-speed service between Euston and Glasgow. In the same way that Gresley ‘A3’ No. 2750 Papyrus laid the foundations for the streamlined ‘A4s’ and the high-speed daily expresses to Scotland’s capital, the LMS’s riposte with Princess Elizabeth would pave the way for the ‘Duchesses’ and the ‘Coronation Scot’.
Over those two days in November 1936, covering over 800 miles with an average load of 240 tons, Princess Elizabeth, with Driver Tom Clark and Fireman Charles Fleet at the helm, would speed along at well over 80mph, mile after mile. Unlike the East Coast Main Line, which is largely straight and flat - the perfect setting for the LNER’s speed records the West Coast Main Line is notoriously twisty and features some fearsome gradients. To sustain those speeds, Princess Elizabeth and its crew’s achievements on that record run are something to behold.
On Her Majesty’s Service
Considering what it achieved on those remarkable days in November 1936, and what it represents - the first class under Stanier’s ‘big engine’ policy - it’s surprising that Princess Elizabeth was not selected for preservation by the British Transport Commission. When William Stanier was appointed CME of the LMS in 1932, he had the task of introducing a locomotive capable of running continuously between London and Glasgow with 500-ton train loads and surmounting the Shap and Beattock summits. So when No. 6201 emerged from Crewe Works on November 3 1933, the locomotive and its sisters started a motive power revolution on the LMS, paving the way for a raft of designs that made Stanier one of the most revered engineers in the country. And yet, in 1961, when the BTC unveiled its list of engines to be preserved, it wasn’t interested in saving a ‘Princess’. Perhaps the reason lies with its policy of saving only one example of a particular wheel arrangement per designer, and although not a part of the National Collection, No. 46235 City of Birmingham was to be the preserved Stanier 4-6-2. Whatever the reason, No. 46201 was withdrawn from Carlisle Kingmoor shed on October 20 1962, with nothing to look forward to but being cut up. One of preservation’s pioneers, Roger Bell, was dismayed by the exclusion of Princess Elizabeth from the BTC’s list, and he decided to do something about it. “I was appalled by that list. It was sterile, as far as the LMS was concerned and I was staggered that Coronation, Royal Scot or even Flying Scotsman weren’t listed. This was our heritage.” Of course, Flying Scotsman’s saviour would arrive in the form of Alan Pegler, but the LMS engines had no such champion. Enter Roger Bell and David Anderson. In November 1961, Mr Bell wrote to the London Midland Region’s Supplies & Contracts Manager A.B. MacLeod - who would one day be instrumental in the preservation of the locomotives at Butlin’s - about saving Nos. 46100 and 46201. The prices quoted were £1,900 for Royal Scot and £2,160 for Princess Elizabeth.
In Mr MacLeod’s correspondence, the prices given are for the value of metals, with the cost of cutting the engines up deducted, but Princess Elizabeth Locomotive Society Chairman Clive Mojonnier says: “I reckon Mr MacLeod was having a little joke when he quoted £2,160 for ‘Lizzie’ - the digits are an anagram of 6201.” The Princess Elizabeth Preservation Fund (PEPF) began fundraising immediately. “We wrote to every station on the former LMS. We wrote to newspapers and journals. We bought, made and sold railway photographs - and we dipped deeply into our own pockets.” Despite this, it looked unlikely that the PEPF would raise enough money to save both Royal Scot and Princess Elizabeth. One day, Mr Bell took a trip up to Nottingham to inspect No. 46100, as it looked as though only one engine could be saved. “I looked at Royal Scot but it was quite battered. It needed so much attention that we could never have done it at that time. We had no choice but to abandon the idea of saving her. “I remember sitting in the cab of Royal Scot in Nottingham after reaching that painful decision. This was very emotional as there was no apparent interest elsewhere at that stage.” Thankfully, fellow enthusiast and PEPF supporter Brian Walker contacted Butlin’s in the hope that they could save Royal Scot (see SR457). The rest, as they say, is history. Although Royal Scot would be guaranteed a future, at that time, Princess Elizabeth’s survival was still hanging in the balance. Things were so desperate that Mr Bell even considered buying the locomotive without the tender.
But he and the PEPF doggedly refused to give up. After being made aware of the precipitous financial situation, BR agreed to hold the locomotive for a 75% deposit. To make up the shortfall, Roger went in search of a loan. Two events, occurring on the same day, would finally put Princess Elizabeth in safe hands. The first was the offer of a £470 loan from the Forward Trust in Birmingham, secured against the value of the locomotive’s brass and copper. Later that day, one of the group’s supporters, Professor John Mynors, made an interest-free loan of the exact same amount. Not only did this mean that taking the loan from the Forward Trust was unnecessary, but it would enable the group to purchase Princess Elizabeth outright. On February 4 1963, A.B. MacLeod wrote to Roger Bell confirming the sale of No. 6201. He also offered to have the locomotive painted in LMS Crimson Lake (for at that time, the engine was still in BR Brunswick green) but as finances were already stretched to their limit, the PEPF had to decline. The question now was: where to store Princess
Elizabeth? Roger Bell says: “Once we bought ‘Lizzie’, we thought ‘where on earth do we put it?’ “We were made a tentative offer of Didcot. The Keighley & Worth Valley Railway had started by then. She could have gone to the goods yard at Haworth, but it would have meant keeping her out in the open and with no facilities in which to carry out her restoration. There was also an offer from the West Midlands branch of the RPS at Hednesford.” And this is where Butlin’s would re-enter the story. Knowing the PEPF was struggling to find somewhere to base No. 6201, the holiday company offered to display Princess Elizabeth at one of their camps, in the same way they had done with their other locomotives. “When Butlin’s kindly offered to plinth her at one of their camps, I was delighted. I went to Pwllheli and had a look at Princess Margaret Rose,” says Roger Bell (Princess Margaret Rose had been procured by Butlin’s in May 1963). According to Brian Walker, Butlin’s wanted to display Princess Elizabeth alongside No. 46203 and ‘Lizzie’s’ history made the locomotive an attractive proposition for the company. However, it was not to be. “All the Butlin’s sites were a fair distance away from where I was living at the time and, of course, there was also the question regarding the ability to do the necessary restorative and maintenance tasks that would be required.” So it was not to be, and eventually Princess Elizabeth made its way to Dowty’s factory at Ashchurch where, from humble beginnings with few facilities and little experience, No. 6201 would be returned to steam and the main line. In the early 1960s, very few people had purchased a locomotive directly from BR and returned it to main line running. The exodus of locomotives from Barry wouldn’t begin for another five years, and at the start of the decade, preserved railways were very much in their infancy. Certainly, none would have had the capacity of engineering expertise to restore and run a locomotive like Princess Elizabeth. So why did Roger Bell and his cohorts save it in the first place? “We had no plan, no ideas about steaming it at all when we tried to buy her. It was done purely to preserve an historical item. We had no idea then of what we were about to achieve.”
Preservation flagship
And ‘Lizzie’s’ achievements in preservation are equal to anything the locomotive managed in its LMS and BR days. Since No. 6201’s return to the main line on August 23, it has embarked upon what is an incredibly intensive schedule for any locomotive, especially one that’s 83 years old. Princess Margaret Rose, being out of action for the last 20 years, has allowed Princess Elizabeth to claim the preservation plaudits for the class; most recently, No. 6201 became the first ‘Princess’ to enter Cornwall and then, barely a month later, made the class’ debut on the Swanage Railway. But the locomotive’s finest hour came in 2012. On June 3, Princess Elizabeth stood in light steam on Battersea railway bridge, where the distinctive sound of its Stanier hooter marked the start of the Diamond Jubilee pageant, launching a flotilla of boats up the River Thames in honour of the locomotive’s namesake. Then, on July 11, No. 6201 had the privilege of hauling the Royal Train, taking the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh 140 miles from Newport to Oxford via Hereford and Worcester.
Princess Elizabeth seems to have had a lasting impression upon its namesake. Clive Mojonnier recalls: “I presented a model of Princess Elizabeth to the Queen when Her Majesty came to visit us at Crewe, in 1987. I believe that model is still on display in the library in Windsor Castle.” The Royal Train would be the engine’s last hurrah during its last ‘ticket’, as it was withdrawn in December 12 2012. To commemorate the achievement, however, a crown was fitted to each nameplate earlier this year, an honour similarly bestowed on Duchess of Sutherland when it famously hauled the Royal Train in 2002. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing however, as minor mechanical
We had no plan, no ideas of steaming it at all when we tried to buy her
faults have plagued ‘Lizzie’ on a few of its recent main line outings. On August 28, while being serviced at Chaddesden sidings for the return leg of the Steam Dreams ‘Cathedrals Express’, it was discovered that the water pipe between the tender and locomotive had been torn off. Although the problem was fixed soon after No. 6201 returned to Butterley, it meant the return to King’s Cross from Matlock ended up being diesel-hauled. More recently, a fault with the blower valve meant Princess Elizabeth was unable to haul the return Hanwell-Gloucester and return ‘Cathedrals Express’ on October 5, but it was declared fit to haul West Coast Railways’ ‘The Spirit of the Lakes’ to Salisbury on October 15. But these problems cannot detract from what has been a remarkable return to main line running for Princess Elizabeth. With its LMS Crimson Lake livery, No. 6201 cuts a colourful swathe through the glut of BR black and green locomotives on the main line. It’s a livery that has proved popular not just with enthusiasts, but also the general public, as Clive Mojonnier describes: “When we came across the Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash on our way into Cornwall, the approach road was jam-packed with cars and people taking photos. “I don’t know what it is about ‘Lizzie’. It just looks right. People frequently come up to us and tell us how beautiful she looks.” Fans of the Crimson Lake paintwork have no need to fear about a change to BR liveries any time soon - the LMS livery is staying put. While most main line tours these days (barring Flying Scotsman of course) go unnoticed, Princess Elizabeth’s recent ventures into territory hitherto unexplored have attracted much attention from the mainstream press. Proof of ‘Lizzie’s’ popularity occurred upon the locomotive’s arrival at Waterloo, after its return from Swanage. A swarm of commuters descended on ‘Lizzie’ - one even asking if it was the ‘Hogwarts Express’. While enthusiasts may roll their eyes at such a statement, it undoubtedly proves that Princess Elizabeth is a hit with ‘the masses’.
Long to reign over us
For the time being, ‘Lizzie’ will carry on doing what it does best - hauling tours on the main line. However, following the recent controversy surrounding the Tangmere SPAD incident and the effects that has had on main line steam over the last 12 months, can Princess Elizabeth continue earning its keep exclusively on the main line? “Since it returned in 1976 on its first main line ticket, it has only been in one place and that is on the main line. We’re taking it one week at a time. Our CME, Simon Scott, inspects No. 6201 every week to make sure we’re clear to run, but we don’t want to over-egg it.” The Stanier ‘Pacific’ is only halfway through an intensive main line tour programme for this year, and no doubt 2017 holds similar prospects, so can Princess Elizabeth keep up the pace? With every locomotive, especially one as complex as ‘Lizzie’, overhaul costs will always be high, as Mr Mojonnier warns: “When you get to the end of the ticket, there’s never enough money in the bank. But we just need to keep on being reliable. Talk to any main line locomotive owner about that!” The PELS certainly plans to keep ‘Lizzie’ running for as long as possible, and as long as there’s the money and wherewithal to do so, No. 6201 will carry on flying the flag for ‘Princess Royals’ on the national network. But if the time does come for ‘Lizzie’ to abdicate, Roger Bell hopes that No. 6201 will find a home in the National Collection. No one can deny it belongs there. Princess Elizabeth’s record can never be bettered; the lack of water troughs alone makes it physically impossible, notwithstanding the aversion to non-stop, high-speed steamhauled trains on an increasingly busy WCML. Its unassailable place in history justifies ‘Lizzie’s’ inclusion in the National Collection, but here’s hoping, after No. 6201’s last charter for 2016 on December 12, and its return to the West Shed at Butterley for winter maintenance, that Princess Elizabeth carries on reigning supreme on the main line. Long live the Queen.
A swarm of commuters descended on ‘Lizzie’ - one even asked if it was the ‘Hogwarts Express’