4-6-2 Class 8P Merchant Navy streamlined SR Profile and Models
35030 'Elder-Dempster Lines' at Factory Junction, London in September 1953. ©Ben Brooksbank
The SR Merchant Navy class (originally known as the 21C1 class, and later informally known as Bulleid Pacifics, Spam Cans – which name was also applied to the Light Pacifics – or Packets) is a class of air-smoothed 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotives designed for the Southern Railway by Oliver Bulleid. The first members of the class were constructed during the Second World War, and the last of the 30 locomotives in 1949. Incorporating a number of new developments in British steam locomotive technology, the design of the Merchant Navy class was among the first to use welding in the construction process; this enabled easier fabrication of components during the austerity of the war and post-war economies. In addition, the locomotives featured thermic syphons in their boilers and the controversial Bulleid chain-driven valve gear. The class members were named after the Merchant Navy shipping lines involved in the Battle of the Atlantic, and latterly those which used Southampton Docks: a publicity masterstroke by the Southern Railway, which operated Southampton Docks during the period. Due to problems with some of the more novel features of Bulleid's design, all members of the class were modified by British Railways during the late 1950s, losing their air-smoothed casings in the process. |
|
Type of Locomotive |
Steam |
Builder |
SR Eastleigh Works |
Build Date |
1941 to 1949 |
Total Built |
30 |
Tractive Effort |
37,515 lbf (later reduced to 33,495 lbf) |
Wheel Configuration |
4-6-2 |
Operated By |
Southern Railway British Railways |
Main Duties |
Express Passenger |
In Service Until |
All Modified by 1960 |
Surviving Examples |
0 (All modified - 11 of these preserved) |
Products awaiting categorisation
Scale | Brand | Image | Construction Type | DCC Capability | Product Code | Product Title | Livery |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OO Gauge (1:76 Scale) | Millholme Models | Requires assembly | Not set |
MM7 View |
SR Unrebuilt Merchant Navy Class Kit | Awaiting Categorisation |