TS19: The Red Staniers

Sister to the mixed-traffic Black Fives, the Jubilee Class was designed alongside to be a passenger locomotive for the London Midland and Scottish Railway, or more specifically, the ‘Midland’ division. The Jubilees were in essence a development of Fowler’s Patriot Class, some of which were ordered as such in 1934, but with the addition of a tapered boiler became part of the new fleet. Following these initial deliveries, a batch of 113 Jubilees was ordered, and a total of 191 would eventually be built.

Despite the promise, initial performance left a lot to be desired, so changes to the blastpipe and chimney were rolled out to address the issues. Once able to steam effectively, the Jubilees quickly proved themselves as reliable passenger locomotives, even heading expresses out of the grand London St Pancras station.

The Jubilees were given a similar power rating to the Black Fives, albeit specifically for passenger use, this would change however when the fleet was under British Railways operation who saw their potential for freight work. To begin with, the two were distinguished by livery, the Class 5s were black and the Jubilees were Crimson, ‘Red Stanier’ and ‘Black Stanier’, although the Jubilees would see further liveries such as black and BR Green.

There was quite a lot of variation within the class, boiler types, bogies and smokebox details were all subject to changes throughout the construction period, but perhaps the most significant difference was with the tenders. Jubilees were either twinned with Fowler-designed or Stanier-designed tenders – each of which had their own differences and gave certain locos a unique look.

As the steam era drew to a close, the Jubilees were gradually retired alongside their mixed-traffic sisters throughout the 1960s. A total of 4 would ultimately be preserved, 2 directly from British Railways, the others rescued from the scrapyard; all of these Jubilees have since worked on the main line, 2 of them are currently able to, 5690 Leander and 5699 Galatea, whereas 5596 Bahamas is undergoing overhaul and 5593 Kolhapur awaits such work.

When it arrives to the Steam & Dovetail Games stores, the Jubilee will arrive in full – all 191 examples, variations in the domes, chimneys, smokebox saddles will be present, as will builders plates, headboards and headlamp configurations. LMS Crimson Lake and BR Green liveries will feature, as will the rather unique Black and Chrome 5552 Silver Jubilee. Also included is the Fowler 3500 Gallon tender.

Keep an eye out for more news regarding Bossman Games’ LMS Jubilee Class, if the Black Five is anything to go by, this should be a good one!