Locomotives: Loco rang the changes before and after US trip

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Eric Swales, of Sunny Hill, had his memory stirred by Peter Saunders’ account of locomotive 6100 Royal Scot and its trip to the United States and Canada. Here Eric clarifies the case of the switched identity when No 6152, built in Derby, was swapped with the Glasgow-built 6100 for the trip.

GONE: Mary Adams, of Borrowash, by the old Cavendish bridge in 1950

THE rules and regulations of American and Canadian railroad companies prompted the addition of non-standard fitments to LMS locomotive No 6100 Royal Scot for its trip across the Atlantic in 1933.

As well as the headlight, brass bell and cow-catcher, there was also another unusual fitment, a long horizontal nameplate attached to the smokebox door bearing the legend “The Royal Scot”, as opposed to the side nameplates on the splashers over the leading driving wheels which only displayed Royal Scot.

This locomotive was not the original No 6100, having been replaced by a newer and more mechanically up-to-date locomotive No 6152, The King’s Dragoon Guardsman, which had had some modifications by William Stanier fitted.

There has always been a bit of a mystery surrounding this exchange as the records of these two locomotives make no mention of this event.

However, I believe it was proven by certain apparent physical differences between the two – No 6100 being built in Glasgow and No 6152 built in Derby – that such an exchange had taken place.

On its return from North America, 6100 Royal Scot made a publicity “lap of honour” of the LMS system.

The cow-catcher was immediately dispensed with, followed by the headlight shortly after the tour; the front nameplate and probably the bell lasted until a rebuild in 1950. Having personally seen No 6100 (46100) in the rebuilt form numerous times, I cannot recall seeing the bell and it definitely did not carry the bell in its latter years.

Peter says that locomotives of this class were great rarities at Derby as they were always originally intended for the West Coast main line.

Regarding the weak bridges he mentions, they were at Chapel-en-le-Frith. Until they were strengthened they caused problems with the new Stanier “Jubilee” 5XP class 4-6-0s working the London (St Pancras) to Manchester (Central) expresses and would have precluded the even heavier Royal Scot class locomotives.

The first 50 Royal Scot locomotives were built in 1927 by the North British Locomotive Co, at Glasgow, to a large parallel boiler design by Sir Henry Fowler.

Nos 6100-6124 were to be built at the firm’s Queen’s Park works and named after famous regiments of the British Army and Nos 6125-6149 were built at the Hyde Park works and were to be named after famous locomotives of earlier years. Sir Henry Fowler decreed, however, that No 6100 would be named after the “Royal Scot” train, a title conferred in 1927.

A further batch of 20 locomotives, Nos 6150-6169, were built in 1930 at Derby Locomotive Works and all were named after regiments, except No 6168 The Girl Guide and No 6169 The Boy Scout.

No 6112 of the Glasgow batch had the name Sherwood Forester bestowed upon it.

The non-regimental-named locomotives were renamed during 1935-36 to conform with the rest of the class.

The experimental high pressure locomotive was No 6399 Fury and was built in 1930, again by the NBL Co, to a German Schmidt-Henschel design for the Superheater Co.

However, early that year, while on trial near Carstairs in Scotland, a super-pressure tube in the firebox burst, killing the Superheater Co inspector and severely injuring the fireman.

After this incident, the locomotive was brought to Derby Locomotive Works and languished there for about four years until William Stanier took it in hand.

He rebuilt it with a taper boiler of conventional design as No 6170 British Legion, after which it became part of the Royal Scot class, all of which were rebuilt to a similar design between 1943 and 1955.

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