Steam locomotives of British Railways
It inherited a wide legacy of locomotives and rolling stock, much of which needed replacing due to the ravages of World War II.
After initially using letter prefixes (E for ex-LNER, M for ex-LMS, S for ex-SR, and W for ex-GWR locomotives, as used for other inherited rolling stock), a numbering scheme was decided on in March 1948.
Initially, the newly nationalised network continued to be run as four different concerns, and pursued the policy of building of well-established designs.
Great Western management was opposed to nationalisation and built many pannier tanks, resulting in a surplus of them.
From 1951, BR started to build steam locomotives to its own standard designs intended to succeed a disparate number of pre-grouping engines.
They were largely based on LMS practice but incorporating ideas and modifications from the other constituent companies and America.
[7] The second logo (1956–1965) featured a lion holding a wheel (which gave rise to the nickname "ferret and dartboard"), sitting in a crown, with the words "British" and "Railways" to left and right.
(Passenger stock and certain diesel locomotives used a roundel variant, where the words "British Railways" were in a ring surrounding the crest.
Certain classes of steam locomotives were barred from working south of Crewe with effect from 1 September 1964 due to clearance issues with the new overhead electrification.
Those locomotives affected had a broad yellow band painted diagonally across their cabsides to denote this prohibition.
Major withdrawals occurred during 1962–1966, and steam traction ended in August 1968, coinciding with the Beeching Axe.
With regular maintenance, British steam locomotives typically lasted for approximately 30 years of intensive use, before major components would need to be replaced or overhauled.
Withdrawn locomotives were sent for scrap to various locations around the United Kingdom, either to the railway workshops at Brighton in Sussex, Crewe in Cheshire, Darlington in County Durham, Doncaster in South Yorkshire and Swindon in Wiltshire, etc.
; or to scrap metal merchants who had been approved to bid on the contracts – these included Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales, which became a centre for the UK railway preservation movement.
Former main line locomotives, along with various smaller industrial shunters, form the backbone of steam motive power for heritage railways.
None of the 78xxx class was ever allocated to, or regularly worked on, the Southern Region, so the decision was taken to convert this locomotive to the tank engine (2-6-2T) version, of which none now exist.
[10] The 82045 Steam Locomotive Trust is part way through building a brand new example of the 3MT tank engine, currently under construction at Bridgnorth on the Severn Valley Railway.
