LMS Black 5 - The Domeless Engines

What became one of the more memorable locomotives in British rail history starts its story in the early 1930s, when William Stanier, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), sought to design a new and suitably powerful mixed-traffic locomotive. In his early LMS days, Stanier used his engineering skills which he acquired while working for GWR, however steadily refining and honing his own unique style of locomotive.

When the LMS needed more powerful traction, Stanier’s response was equivalent to the GWR’s Hall Class, a 4-6-0 with a rating of 5 for passenger, and 5 for freight – the Stanier Class 5.

Originally the Class 5 fleet was known as “Black Stanier”, in contrast to the “Red Stanier” Jubilee Class; however, when ‘5’ was seen adorned on the cab side from 1940 onwards, a new “Black Five” name befell the fleet.
The do-anything attitude of the Black Five saw their popularity rise with both crews and enthusiasts alike – it could turn up almost anywhere, get the job done, and look good while doing it – the fleet of 842 was a familiar sight right up until the end of steam.

This pack recreates the members of the class with the so-called "domeless" boilers in a selection of liveries, with clean and weathered conditions and a selection of welded and rivetted Stanier-design tenders. Numbers 5000 to 5224.