Much has been written elsewhere on whether or not the Standards should have been built and this article is not the place for that debate. The fact remains that they were built and a good number have survived. I have to say that I like them. Why? Well, they look good, sound good and are easy to prepare and dispose. As they are two cylinder locos there is no wriggling up behind the big end cranks to oil the inside engine, in fact the Class 5 can be fully prepared in about 20 minutes, from the driver's point of view.

The tender axleboxes are roller bearing and apart from the valve gear and leading truck, everything else is fed from the two mechanical lubricators situated on either side behind the cylinders. The fireman's side feeds the cylinders and steam passages with cylinder oil, which is thicker, and a steam coil in the resevoir keeps the oil warm. The driver's side feeds the axleboxes and horns. The only tool needed apart from the oil can is a spanner to remove the nut on the lubricating pipe for the steam brake which is placed behind the graduable steam brake control. This needs about an egg cupfull of cylinder oil every day.

The cab fittings are well placed. The regulator is vertical, pull to open and push to close - and is pivoted above the driver's head with the control rod leaving the cab and passing along the side of the boiler.

The reverser is of the screw type placed to the front of the driver's seat and is of the fore and aft pattern. The rotary drum has the cut off percentages cast thereon and is easy to read. The control wheel is placed parallel to the drum and is locked in place with a simple mechanical clutch. I do believe that this pattern of reverser was first used on the Ivatt Pacifics Nos 46256/7. On the tank engines this wheel is placed at an angle and is often referred to as the bacon slicer! The vacuum brake valve is horizontal and placed on a pedestal with the small and large ejector controls placed above the reverser and below the cab window. The actual vacuum ejector is bolted to the side of the smokebox. The blower valve is placed on the rear of the pedestal and is easily accessible from both sides of the cab. The steam sanding control is placed below the blower valve. The cylinder drain cock control is to the left of the reverser on the cab side sheet and when in the shut position the steam supply to the atomiser for the cylinder lubrication is activated.

The fireman's injector control wheels are grouped to his front as well as the tender spray and hose pipe. The damper controls are screw operated and I believe are a product of the Horwich school of locomotive engineering. These are at the side of the firebox casing.

I consider No 73082 Camelot  to be one of the most comfortable locos I have ever worked. Both the regulator and the reverse work very easily, the view is good and I don't get a crick in the neck when going in reverse, although the inset tender, BR1 pattern, would probably be easier in this respect than the BR1B currently behind her. No 73082 has worked the equivalent of one year's engine mileage for the whole Bluebell Railway since entering traffic in October 1995.

My old pal Fred Emery of the Bluebell locomotive department is a lover of all things LMS, as well as the BR Standards such as 75027. He has an interesting theory that with the 75000s the small tender version had to have a single chimney, but when paired with the larger BR1B they had to have a double chimney to look right. Fred continues by saying that the BR Class 4 moguls looked really chunky when the Nos 76053 to 76069 batch had the larger BR1B tender.

Here at Sheffield Park they are well thought of - No 75027 has run up over 60,000 miles since arriving from Carnforth in 1969. From a fitter's point of view some of the pipework is not so easy to get at in a hurry and when the boiler is being washed out the washout plugs around the driver's brake pedestal can be tricky. From experience, getting the nozzel of the hose in the hole can be a pain - just imagine the effort of keeping it there when the pressure pump is turned on. Getting wet in June is one thing - in January it is unpleasant. However, as a breed they are mechanically robust and built to last a lot longer than they did. It's also interesting to point out that upon their introduction the Railway Executive issued a user's manual to all depots responsible for their upkeep which I do not believe had ever been done before except, I believe, for the Bulleid Pacifics. The abiding proof of their usefulness can be seen in the mileages accrued since they have worked on the Bluebell. The collective mileage for all our engines since 1960 is 800,000 of which nearly half has been run up since the stages of the Northern Extension started in 1992.

For all our Standards I append the mileages to date - as at 3 February 2002.

75027 - 60,427
73082 - 40,726
80064 - 11,660
92240 - 39,161
80151 -   1,173

It is worth pointing out that since her last overhaul and entering traffic in October 1997, No 75027 has worked 30,000 miles. Our silent thanks to the generosity of dear old Charlie Pyne who bought this loco from British Rail in 1968.

Gerry Butler