Streamlined locomotives
of the world
21C1 Channel Packet pulling the Golden Arrow, by L Ashwell Wood
Southern Railway 'Merchant Navy' class,
'West Country' Class
and 'Battle of Britain' class Pacifics
Designed by Mr O V S (Oliver Vaughan Snell) Bulleid, the Merchant Navy (1941), West Country (1945) and Battle of Britain (1946) class Pacifics for the Southern Railway all share the same boxy 'air smoothing' Spam-can casings, carried on the main frames rather than the boiler so as to accommodate heat expansion and contraction. Another innovation was the use of 'Boxpok' pattern wheels.
21C1 Channel Packet, introduced in 1941, carried the highest ever operational working pressure of a UK loco: 280 lbs per square inch. The curious original number 21C1 represents the number of leading and trailing axles, followed by a letter denoting the number of driving axles, then the individual engine number.
West Country Class 21C123 Blackmoor Vale
West Country Class 34007 Wadebridge
Battle of Britain Class 34081 92 Squadron
Preserved Southern streamliner locos:
11 Merchant Navy and 20 West Country/Battle of Britain locos are in some state of preservation.
Check out 35028 Clan Line on the Merchant Navy Locomotive Preservation Society pages
Also, visit the Bulleid Society site.