Stanier Black Five Locomotives

It is possible that in the history of British steam locomotives no class of engine was ever more universally popular than the Stanier '5MT' 4-6-0 class, which were generally referred to as 'Black Fives'. This informative book includes numerous images of the class at work. Introduced by the London Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1934 the building of the 842-strong class was shared between the locomotive works at Crewe, Horwich and Derby and also by the private builders Armstrong Whitworth Ltd. and Vulcan Foundry Ltd. They were often referred to as the finest mixed-traffic locomotives ever to run in Britain. William Arthur Stanier joined the LMS in 1932 having previously served the Great Western Railway (GWR) at Swindon Works, doubtless his LMS 2-cylinder tapered boiler 'Class 5' 4-6-0 design reflected his Swindon experiences. This highly efficient and reliable general-purpose design could generally be seen at work over all the former LMS network, from Thurso to Bournemouth.