L&YR Class 8

Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Class 8 (1908 specification)
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer George Hughes Builder Horwich Works Order number Horwich Lot 60 Serial number Horwich 1009–1028 Build date June 1908 – March 1909 Total produced 20
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-0  • UIC 2′C n4 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Leading dia. 3 ft 0+1⁄2 in (0.927 m) Driver dia. 6 ft 3 in (1.905 m) Wheelbase Coupled: 13 ft 7 in (4.14 m) Loco: 25 ft 4 in (7.72 m) Loco weight 77.05 long tons (78.29 t) Fuel type Coal Boiler pressure 180 lbf/in2 (1.24 MPa) Heating surface 2,507 sq ft (232.9 m2) Superheater (None) Cylinders Four Cylinder size 16 in × 26 in (406 mm × 660 mm) Valve gear Joy Valve type Slide valves Train brakes Vacuum
Performance figures Tractive effort 27,156 lbf (120.8 kN)
Career Operators L&YR, LMS Class L&YR: 8 Power class LMS: 3P Numbers L&YR: 1506–1525 LMS:10400–10404 Withdrawn 1925–1926 Disposition 15 rebuilt 1919–1920, remainder scrapped

Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Class 8 (1919 specification)
Type and origin Only items that differ are shown below Power type Steam Builder Horwich Works Order number L&YR Lots 79, 80, 81, 83 LMS Lot No. 1 Serial number Horwich 1319–1353, 1364–1383 Build date 1919–1925 Total produced 15 rebuilt from first batch 55 new Rebuilder Horwich Works
Specifications Configuration: ​  • UIC 2′C h4 Wheelbase Loco: 25 ft 7 in (7.80 m) Loco weight 79.05 long tons (80.32 t) Heating surface 1,686 sq ft (156.6 m2) Superheater: ​  • Type 28-element Top & Bottom  • Heating area 552 sq ft (51.3 m2) Cylinders Four Cylinder size 16+1⁄2 in × 26 in (419 mm × 660 mm) or 15+3⁄4 in × 26 in (400 mm × 660 mm) Valve gear Walschaerts Valve type Piston valves Train brakes Vacuum
Performance figures Tractive effort 26,314 lbf (117.1 kN) (minimum) or 28,880 lbf (128.5 kN) (maximum) Factor of adh. 4.60 (larger cylinders) or 5.05 (smaller cylinders)
Career Operators Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway → London, Midland and Scottish Railway → British Railways Power class LMS: 5P Numbers L&YR: 1506-1525 (excl 1507/8, 1512/3, 1515), 1649–1683 LMS:10405–10474 Withdrawn 1934–1951 Disposition All scrapped

The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) Class 8 was a four-cylinder 4-6-0 express passenger locomotive designed by George Hughes introduced in 1908.

The increased weight of trains in the early 1900s and need for improved power on Liverpool—Manchester—Hull expresses and Leeds—Fleetwood boat trains indicated a need for an engine more powerful than the Aspinall's 4-4-2 Atlantic of 1899.^[1] Hughes described the requirement in a paper read to the Institute of Mechanical Engineers thus:^[2]

This design was brought about by the further increased weight of trains and the necessity of accurate time-keeping with the accelerated train schedule of the Liverpool, Manchester, and Hull expresses, the Leeds, Bradford and Fleetwood boat trains, and to cope with the gradients on the Bradford, Huddersfield, and Sheffield sections

— George Hughes

Hughes created a design with a boiler producing saturated steam, slide valves and Joy valve gear.^[3]

The first examples came out of Horwich Works in June 1908, and the original batch of 20 was completed in by March 1909.^[4] Around the time of their construction, they were nicknamed "Dreadnoughts" on account of their large size, after the then-new Royal Navy battleship HMS Dreadnought.^[5]

The locomotives proved "sluggish, poor runners and poor steamers".^[5] They were subject to a number of modifications to improve steaming, including enlarged blast pipes and an air duct running to the front and rear of the ashpan in order to improve combustion.^[5]

The high maintenance demands of the class saw a queue needing attention building up at Horwich Works during World War I. Remedial modifications were restricted but five were fitted with replacement modified boilers to keep them in service.^[6]

From 1920 to 1921, fifteen were rebuilt with superheaters, piston valves, Walschaerts valve gear, a larger cab, and slightly larger cylinders. The nominal tractive effort of the rebuilds was 28,880 lbf (128.46 kN) which made these engines for a time the second most powerful in Great Britain (to the Somerset and Dorset 2-8-0s dating from 1914) until 1922 when the Gresley Pacifics appeared. The rebuilt locomotives were reported to be "a good workman-like engine"^[7] and "an engine thoroughly master of its work",^[8] although still with a coal consumption on the heavy side.^[3]

Improved performance of the rebuilt locomotives and favourable test comparisons with the LNWR Prince of Wales Class and LNWR Claughton Class in 1921 and published in The Engineer were a trigger for the L&YR to order more of the type.^[9]

Deliveries of the ten locomotives in Lot 80 commenced in August 1921 with the last two being delivered after the amalgamation of the L&YR into the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) in 1922.^[10] Deliveries from the 25 locomotives Lot 81 commenced in November 1922 with only four built before grouping and creation of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and the remainder delivered in 1923.^[10] The 20 more of Lot 83 were originally part of the 30-locomotive order for the related L&YR Hughes 4-6-4T and were delivered during 1924 apart from the final locomotive No. 10474 on 5 January 1925.^[11]

No. 10456 was converted to a 4-cylinder compound in July 1926; it was fitted with 16-inch (406 mm) high pressure and 22-inch (559 mm) low pressure cylinders.^[12]

The original unrebuilt locomotives were described as "poor performers" that were prone to suffering mechanical problems causing very poor reliability.^{[citation needed]} By 1918 there was a case of No. 1519, not one of the better of the class, was recording coal consumption of 100 pounds per mile between Southport and York.^[14]

During the length of the National coal strike of 1912 the unrebuilt Hughes 4-6-0 class were suspended because while able to "shift anything" the amount of coal they used in process was too excessive in a time of shortage.^[15]

The rebuilt version of the locomotive has been described as "creditable but not outstanding" and comparable to the LNWR Claughton Class.^[16]

As well as former L&YR territory the rebuilt class worked the West Coast Main Line mainly between Crewe and Carlisle but increasing less frequently south to Euston as the LMS Royal Scot Class became available.^[17] The swansong was an enthusiast special excursion from Blackpool to York by what was described as an "old" locomotive on 1 July 1951.^[18]

The relatively early withdrawal of most units must be considered in the context that the LMS inherited 393 different locomotive classes at Grouping, and LMS chairman Sir Josiah Stamp thought it desirable to reduce this to just 10 classes.^[19] Also perhaps relevant is that while Hughes became chief mechanical engineer (CME) of the LNWR following its amalgamation with the L&YR and then CME of the LMS at the grouping,^[20] with his resignation in 1925, influence moved from Horwich to Derby.^[21] In a paper presented to the Institute of Locomotive Engineers in 1946 E. S. Cox claimed that while the class were capable of some outstanding performances their "steaming, coal consumption and reliability were not outstanding" and seeming considered not suitable for general use on the Anglo Scottish as had been hoped.^[22]

• Baxter, Bertram (1982). Baxter, David (ed.). British Locomotive Catalogue 1825–1923, Volume 3B: Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and its constituent companies. Ashbourne, Derbyshire: Moorland Publishing Company. ISBN 0-903485-85-0.
• Bulleid, H.A.V. (1967). The Aspinall Era. Ian Allan Ltd.
• Casserley, H. C. & Johnston, Stuart W. (1974) [1966]. Locomotives at the Grouping 3: London, Midland and Scottish Railway. Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0554-0.
• Cox, E. S. (1946). "A Modern Locomotive History — Ten Years' Development on the L.M.S. — 1923-1932" (PDF). Journal of the Institution of Locomotive Engineers (457). doi:10.1243/JILE_PROC_1946_036_015_02. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 December 2016.
• Hunt, David; Jennison, John; James, Fred; Essery, Bob (2006). LMS Locomotive Profiles, no. 7 - The Mixed Traffic Class 5s, Caprotti valve gear engines and class summary. Didcot, Oxon: Wild Swan. ISBN 1-905184-21-2.
• Lane, Barry C. (2010). Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Locomotives. Pendragon. ISBN 9781899816170.
• Evans, Martin (1966). From Inverness to Crewe — The British 4-6-0 Locomotive. Hemel Hempstead: Model Aeronautical Press.
• Mason, Eric (1975) [1954]. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in the Twentieth Century. Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0656-3.
• Marshall, John (1970). The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway. Vol. 2. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-4906-9.
• Marshall, John (1972). The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway. Vol. 3. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-5320-2.
• Nock, O.S. (1969). The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway - a Concise History. Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0130-8.
• Protheroe, Ernest (1914). The railways of the world (1 ed.). London, New York: G. Routledge & Sons, Ltd., E.P. Dutton & Co. OCLC 3222149. OL 7201905M.
• Rowledge, J.W.P. (1975). Engines of the LMS built 1923–51. Oxford: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-902888-59-5.
• Whitehouse, Patrick; Thomas, David St John (1987). LMS 150. Newton Abbot: David & Charles.