LMS 8F

LMS Stanier Class 8F
Stanier 8F No. 48476 at Lostock Hall shed, late July 1968
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer William Stanier Builder LMS Crewe Works - (137) LMS Horwich Works - (75) North British Locomotive Co. - (208) LNER Darlington Works - (53) LNER Doncaster Works - (50) GWR Swindon Works - (80) Vulcan Foundry - (69) SR Brighton Works - (93) SR Eastleigh Works - (23) SR Ashford Works - (14) Beyer, Peacock & Co. for REC and MoS orders) - (50) Build date 1935–1946 Total produced 852
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 2-8-0  • UIC 1′D h2 Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Leading dia. 3 ft 3 1⁄2 in (1.003 m) Driver dia. 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1.435 m) Length 63 ft 0 1⁄2 in (19.22 m) Loco weight 72.10 long tons (73.26 t; 80.75 short tons) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 9 long tons (9.1 t; 10.1 short tons) Water cap 4,000 imp gal (18,000 l; 4,800 US gal) Firebox:  • Firegrate area 28 1⁄2 sq ft (2.65 m2) Boiler LMS type 3C Boiler pressure 225 lbf/in2 (1.55 MPa) Heating surface:  • Tubes 1,479 sq ft (137.4 m2)  • Firebox 171 sq ft (15.9 m2) Superheater: ​  • Heating area 215–245 sq ft (20.0–22.8 m2) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 18 1⁄2 in × 28 in (470 mm × 711 mm)
Performance figures Tractive effort 32,440 lbf (144.30 kN)
Career Operators London, Midland and Scottish Railway London and North Eastern Railway War Department Trans-Iranian Railway Palestine Railways Egyptian State Railways Iraqi State Railways Ferrovie dello Stato Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryolları British Railways Israel Railways Kowloon-Canton Railway Yuehan Railway China Railway Power class LMS & BR: 7F, later 8F Axle load class Route Availability 6 Withdrawn BR: 1960–1968 Disposition 12 preserved, 2 dumped in Turkey but still extant, 1 parts donor, 23 lost at sea, remainder scrapped

The London Midland and Scottish Railway's 8F class 2-8-0 heavy freight locomotive is a class of steam locomotive designed for hauling heavy freight. 852 were built between 1935 and 1946 (not all to LMS order), as a freight version of William Stanier's successful Black Five, and the class saw extensive service overseas during and after the Second World War.

LMS freight traction suffered from the adoption of the Midland Railway's small engine policy which had left it with trains double-headed by underpowered 0-6-0s supplemented by inadequate Garratts and Fowler 7F 0-8-0s.

The 8F design incorporated the two-cylinder arrangement of the Black Fives. They were initially classified 7F, but this was later changed to the more familiar 8F.

On the outbreak of the Second World War, the design was chosen to become the country's standard freight design, reprising the role the GCR Class 8K had in the First World War. The War Department had 208 8Fs built by Beyer Peacock and North British Locomotive Company and requisitioned 51 more.

Stanier 8F production for the WD continued until 1943, when the cheaper WD Austerity 2-8-0 was introduced. Production for British domestic use continued until 1946.

The War Department originally ordered 8Fs for service in support of the British Expeditionary Force, but they were not delivered until after the Fall of France. However, most of them did see wartime military service overseas in Egypt, Palestine, Iran and Italy. Many of these locomotives were later sold to the local railways in these countries, and some were also sold to Turkey and Iraq.