LMS Route: Rugby to Wolverhampton
LMS Route: Rugby to Leamington
LMS Route: Rugby to Tamworth
LMS Route: Rugby to Leicester
LMS Route: Rugby to Market Harborough

Rugby Station: lnwrrm2517

British Railways Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 No 92250 stands ready to reverse into Rugby Locomotive Testing Station. Built at Crewe works in December 1958, No 92250 was to remain in service for a very short time being withdrawn in December 1965 from 85B Horton Road shed in Gloucester. The Class 9F was the last in a series of standardised locomotive classes designed by Robert Riddles for British Railways during the 1950s, and was intended for use on fast, heavy freight trains over long distances. It was one of the most powerful steam locomotive types ever constructed in Britain, and successfully performed its intended duties. The class earned a nickname of 'Spaceships', due to its size and shape. At various times during the 1950s the 9Fs worked passenger trains with great success, indicating the versatility of the design, sometimes considered to represent the ultimate in British steam development. Several experimental variants were constructed in an effort to reduce costs and maintenance, although these met with varying degrees of success. The total number built was 251, production being shared between Swindon where fifty-three were built and Crewe Works which built the other one hundred and ninety-eight. The last of the class, No 92220 Evening Star, was the final steam locomotive to be built by British Railways, being built at Swindon works in 1960. Withdrawals began in 1964, with the final locomotives being withdrawn from service in 1968. Several examples have survived into the preservation era in varying states of repair, including Evening Star.

back