The 9Fs, like all of the BR Standard locomotives, were designed by Robert Riddles to offer greater efficiency, reliability and ease of maintenance, and were one of the most powerful locomotive types ever built in Britain. They were built to work the heavy coal and aggregates trains and had almost unsurpassed levels of grip, allowing them to climb steep hills with heavy trains. Despite being primarily freight engines, the 9Fs sometimes found themselves pulling express passenger trains. On one occasion a 9F was booked to haul a train that would normally have been operated with an express locomotive like ‘Bittern’, and was recorded at a speed of more than 90mph. This means the engines wheels would have been going round more than eight times per second!

During her career ‘92212’ was based across the country, from Banbury to Bath and Tyseley to Carnforth covering all five regions of British Railways. She was eventually retired in January 1968 less than 10 years after being built.

‘92212’ has now been restored to running condition and can be found running at the Watercress Line in Hampshire, where she is a bit of a favourite with the crews.

Photo by: Geoff Griffiths