List of SR Merchant Navy class locomotives

The SR Merchant Navy class is a type of steam locomotive, designed by Oliver Bulleid, that ran on the British Southern Railway network. All were built at the Southern Railway's Eastleigh Works. The following table sets out the names, numbers and other vital statistics of the locomotives that comprised the class. The 'Merchant Navies' represented a publicity success for the Southern Railway in highlighting the names of Merchant Navy shipping lines that used Southampton Docks, which were served by the Southern Railway. They also constituted a roving memorial to the seamen who fought at sea during the Second World War to keep Britain supplied with food, fuel and other goods.

The shipping lines below are linked to their current or last owners, and take into account the many mergers that occur in the Merchant Marine industry, for example, General Steam Navigation merged with P & O in 1920, and finally disappeared as a separate entity in 1972.

BR No.SR No.Name[1]BuiltRebuilt[2]WithdrawnPreserved/locationPreservation StatusNotes
3500121C1Channel PacketFebruary 1941August 1959November 1964Entered SR service June 1941. Scrapped at Birds (Swansea) Ltd. 1965
3500221C2Union CastleJune 1941May 1958February 1964Scrapped at Slag Reduction Co. Ltd., Yorkshire 1964
3500321C3Royal MailSeptember 1941August 1959July 1967Holder of class speed record (105.88 mph). Last authenticated 100 mph plus on British Railways by a steam locomotive.[3] Scrapped at J Cashmore, Newport 1967
3500421C4Cunard White StarOctober 1941July 1958October 1965Scrapped at Cohen's/Eastleigh Shed 1966
3500521C5Canadian PacificDecember 1941May 1959October 1965Mid-Hants RailwayRestored on the Great Central Railway at Loughborough and used on main line steam specials. Painted in British Railways Blue livery between 2000 and 2001. Now based at the Mid-Hants Railway. Currently under Overhaul in Eastleigh Locomotive Works.
3500621C6Peninsular & Oriental S. N. Co.December 1941October 1959August 1964Gloucestershire and Warwickshire RailwayOperational.
3500721C7Aberdeen CommonwealthJune 1942May 1958July 1967Scrapped at J. Buttigieg, Newport 1968
3500821C8Orient LineJune 1942May 1957July 1967Scrapped at J. Buttigieg, Newport 1968
3500921C9Shaw SavillJune 1942March 1957July 1964Private Site, BuryStored awaiting restoration.
3501021C10Blue StarJuly 1942January 1957September 1966Colne Valley RailwayStored
3501121C11General Steam NavigationDecember 1944July 1959February 1966Swindon and Cricklade RailwayUnder long-term restoration, and back-dating to Original condition.Regarded as the only British steam locomotive to bear the word 'steam' in the name; driving crank axle missing.
3501221C12United States LinesJanuary 1945February 1957April 1967Scrapped at J Cashmore, Newport 1967
3501321C13Blue FunnelFebruary 1945May 1956July 1967Originally named Blue Funnel Line, renamed Blue Funnel Certum Pete Finem on 21 June 1945.[4] Scrapped at J. Buttigieg, Newport 1968
3501421C14Nederland LineFebruary 1945July 1956March 1967Scrapped at J Cashmore, Newport 1967
3501521C15Rotterdam LloydMarch 1945June 1958February 1964Scrapped at Slag Reduction Co. Ltd., Yorkshire 1964
3501621C16Elders FyffesMarch 1945April 1957August 1965Scrapped at Birds (Swansea) Ltd. 1965
3501721C17Belgian MarineApril 1945March 1957July 1966Scrapped at J. Buttigieg, Newport 1966
3501821C18British India LineMay 1945February 1956August 1964WCRC CarnforthOperational, main-line certifiedOriginally built with fabricated wheels that were replaced with conventional cast wheels in 1947[5]
3501921C19French Line CGTJune 1945May 1959September 1965The only member of the class to have script lettering on the nameplate, as used by French Line. Scrapped at J Cashmore, Newport 1966
3502021C20Bibby LineJune 1945April 1956February 1965Scrapped at BR/Eastleigh Works 1965
35021-New Zealand LineSeptember 1948June 1959August 1965Scrapped at Birds (Swansea) Ltd. 1965
35022-Holland America LineOctober 1948June 1956May 1966Private Site, BuryBoiler overhauled for eventual use by 35027, awaiting restoration to mainline standards
35023-Holland-Afrika LineNovember 1948February 1957July 1967Scrapped at J. Buttigieg, Newport 1968
35024-East Asiatic CompanyNovember 1948April 1959January 1965Scrapped at C. Woodfield and Sons, Newport 1965
35025-Brocklebank LineNovember 1948December 1956September 1964Private site at Sellindge, KentStored, pending long-term restoration
35026-Lamport & Holt LineDecember 1948January 1957March 1967Scrapped at J Cashmore, Newport 1967
35027-Port LineDecember 1948May 1957September 1966Private Site, BuryUnder overhaul. (see 35027 Port Line) Being restored to mainline standards, based at Southall
35028-Clan LineDecember 1948October 1959July 1967Stewarts Lane, LondonOperational, main-line certified
35029-Ellerman LinesFebruary 1949September 1959September 1966National Railway MuseumSectioned Exhibit
35030-Elder Dempster LinesApril 1949April 1958July 1967Scrapped at J. Buttigieg, Newport 1968

See also

Footnotes
  1. Burridge, Frank: Nameplates of the Big Four (Oxford Publishing Company: Oxford, 1975) ISBN 0-902888-43-9
  2. Derry, Richard (2001). The Book of the Merchant Navy Pacifics. Irwell Press. p. 40. ISBN 1-903266-19-X.
  3. Streeter, Tony. "The last 'proper' 100... by a doomed locomotive". Steam Railway. Bauer Media (388, 29 April – 26 May 2011). ISSN 0143-7232. OCLC 63292071.
  4. Bradley, D.L. (September 1976). Locomotives of the Southern Railway, part 2. London: RCTS. p. 53. ISBN 0-901115-31-2. OCLC 653065063.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  5. Derry, Richard (2001). The Book of the Merchant Navy Pacifics. Irwell Press. p. 190. ISBN 1-903266-19-X.
Preserved locomotives
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