The British Railways BR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 is a class of steam locomotive designed for British Railways by Robert Riddles. The Class 9F was the last in a series of standardised locomotive classes designed 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. In profile daylight can be seen between the frames and the boiler.

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 (53) and Crewe Works (198). The last of the class, 92220 Evening Star, was the final steam locomotive to be built by British Railways, in 1960. Withdrawals began in 1964, with the final locomotives removed from service in 1968. Several examples have survived into the preservation era in varying states of repair, including Evening Star.

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Franco-Crosti Boiler

Ten locomotives (numbers 92020-92029) were built in 1955 with the Franco-Crosti boiler. which incorporated a combustion gas feed water preheater that recuperated low-grade residual heat In the 9F version, this took the form of a single cylindrical water drum running along the underside of the main boiler barrel. The standard chimney on top of the smokebox was only used during lighting up. In normal working the gases went through firetubes inside the preheater drum that led to a second smokebox situated beneath the boiler from which there emerged a chimney on the right-hand side, just forward of the firebox. In the event, the experiment did not deliver the hoped-for benefits, and efficiency was not increased sufficiently to justify the cost and complexity. Moreover, conditions were unpleasant on the footplate in a cross-wind, this in spite of the later provision of a small deflector plate forward of the chimney. These problems led to the subsequent removal of the preheater drum, although the locomotives did retain the original main smokebox with its distinctive look.

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92203 Black Prince

No. 92203 was built by Swindon and delivered on 6 April 1959. When withdrawn in November 1967 after a working life of less than nine years, it was working the heavy iron ore trains out of Bidston Dock, Birkenhead to Shotwick Shotton steelworks, and worked the last steam-hauled ore train in November 1967. The locomotive was purchased straight from BR by the artist David Shepherd for £3,000 and moved to the Longmoor Military Railway. He named her Black Prince, a name never carried by 92203 in British Railways service. On closure of the LMR, 92203 moved to Eastleigh Depot and then, in 1973, to the East Somerset Railway, where it was based until 1998. During this period 92203 visited several other heritage railways and in September 1982 hauled the heaviest freight train in Britain, 2198 tonnes, at Foster Yeoman's Tor Works. After being overhauled at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway in 2004, she worked there until 2011. She then moved to the North Norfolk Railway and re-entered service there in 2014 after receiving an overhaul. She was purchased by the railway in 2015.

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92212

No. 92212 was one of the last 9Fs to be built, being turned out from Swindon in September 1959. First allocated to Banbury, it was transferred in June 1961 to Bath (Green Park) for working over the Somerset and Dorset route to Bournemouth, it was transferred to Ebbw Junction, Newport in September 1961 and then to Tyseley in July 1962. It remained there until November 1966, when it spent its last months at Carnforth. The locomotive was sold to Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry, South Wales, where it arrived in January 1968. It was then bought by 92212 Holdings Ltd, and moved to the Great Central Railway at Loughborough in September 1979. Restoration was completed in September 1996, and the engine is based at the Mid-Hants Railway. Following a major overhaul lasting just over two years, in which time it was purchased by Jeremy Hosking, the locomotive returned to operational service on 11 September 2009. 92212 was hired to the Bluebell Railway to provide cover during its current motive power shortage. The locomotive returned to the Mid-Hants Railway in 2013 and is currently in service on that line.

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Murdoch

Murdoch is a mighty, powerful engine with ten drive wheels. He is one of the largest engines working on Sodor and was brought to the Island to help with the heavy workload and pull heavy goods trains across the Main Line. Murdoch is as shy as he is strong, as he is actually a gentle giant. He can often be found seeking peace and quiet, away from the bustle of the yards and the Docks. He enjoys long hauls through the countryside and although he can get short of patience and a little annoyed if he does not get some alone time, he can be quite a reserved engine. Although he can be an independent worker, Murdoch is often content to join in, help and offer advice where he deems it worthy, but, despite being hard to miss due to his defining strength and size, he will not jump to put himself at the centre of attention

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Quantity
251
Manufactured
1945-1960
Retirement
1968