Following the grouping of railway companies into the Big Four in 1923, the LMS found itself in possession of a woefully inadequate and far from standardised fleet of locomotives with which to operate their train services.

Enviable glances were cast towards the GWR, where broad standardisation was very much in evidence. William Stonier was lured away from Swindon and appointed Chief Mechanical Engineer of the LMS. His remit was to oversee the design and introduction of a range of locomotives that would satisfy the needs of the Operating Superintendent.

The Class Five, mixed traffic, 4-6-0 locomotives, which subsequently became known as Black Fives, were the fourth of the new classes to be introduced when they arrived on the scene in 1934. A grand total of 842 were constructed up to 1951 when the final example was turned out during BR days.

This video takes a comprehensive in-depth look at the development of the popular Black Five class which was probably one of, if not the most, versatile of designs ever to grace the British railway network.

Archive footage is included, with a variety of class members being featured:

Six of the 18 surviving locomotives are also seen in action on today's heritage railways (45110, 45337, 45407, 45428, 44806 and 44767).

45110 and 45407 add to the action sequences as they are witnessed both in tandem and on their own out on the main line.

45407 also works double-headed with 8F No. 48773 on the national network.

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Produced by - On Track Productions
Running time - 100 Minutes
DVD only

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