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Description
Adapted from a meme by .

10. The SECR/SR N "Woolworths" – The Maunsell U Boats are overrated. The Ns were lighter, stronger, and better at climbing hills. As light and strong engines go, I wouldn't put them up there with the Manors, the Q1s, and the 7Fs, but give me the sole surviving N over one of the four Us every time.

9. The Rebuilt SR Merchant Navy/West Country/Battle Of Britain Pacifics - I love these engines not for the Bulleid features BR did away with, but for the Bulleid features they retained; the Bulleid Firth Brown wheels, the steel firebox with thermic syphons, and the incredibly photogenic oval smokebox door.

8. Stephenson's Planet - Rocket's overrated. Significant, but outdated within a year of entering service. Planet was the first locomotive mounted on frames, to collect steam in a dome, and given maximum stability by having the cylinders mounted below the engine in between the frames. It was this engine that created the blueprint for the quintessential steam locomotive.

7. The LNER F4 “Gobblers” - Not only is this an example of an Eastern class fitted with push-pull apparatus, but it's also an example of a UK locomotive that wore cow catchers... that's not a J70, a Y6, or an 04. Look for the Fraserburgh-St Combs branchline, and you'll find an LNER D51 and an LMS 2MT Mickey Mouse Mogul with a cow catcher as well. There's also a Y5 that worked at docks in Colchester who wore cow catchers and aprons. But like I said, this was the first non J70/Y6/04 I've stumbled upon.

6. The LMS 8Fs / LNER O6s - These engines were ubiquitous as fuck. And of course, one of these, No.48706, was the inspiration for October, as she worked pretty much everywhere in the UK accept Scotland; hence why I made up that outrageous story about an LMS spy who had a corridor tender secretly built north of the boarder.

5. The LMS 4Fs / Midland 3835s - What I love about these little guys is that no matter how many times they were outperformed and exiled by newer, bigger, and stronger engines, they never lost their usefulness. The 7Fs boot them off the S&D, the Super Ds tell them to get the fuck outta the LNWR, the 8Fs reduce them to slow goods, Riddles WDs take their wartime traffic… they move right on to whatever’s next. thumbs up I also kinda laugh at the joke that there are five of these preserved, as the sole surviving SR Q is barely distinguishable from an LMS 4F.

4. The LB&SCR D3s – Thanks to PrimevalBrony for introducing me to this class. I'm a sucker for 0-4-4 tanks in general, and in preservation, most of the 0-4-4s are Southern; the acceptions are Met 1, Dunrobin, and the Caledonian one. But a class that took down a Luftwaffe takes the cake. Plus, you can’t deny the magnetism of Stroudly’s liveries.

3. The SR Q1s - I don’t give a shit if these engines are weird-looking. It’s an 0-6-0 with a 5F power rating that only weighs 51 and a quarters tons! If you need an engine that’s light, strong, and easy to mend and maintain, look no further... and maybe have the stones to strip away the casing and bring the weight down even lower. Though I won’t deny, the BFB wheels make maintenance tricky. Pity Bulleid never thought to introduce Australia’s SCOA-P wheels to the UK. The BR Standard Range certainly would’ve benefitted, that’s for damn sure as mustard.

2. Chevalier - Vector-Brony would warn you; “Don’t bring up this engine in front of Brass! He’ll bore you to tears talking about how great it would be if after the Campbeltown & Machrihanish Light Railway shut down, this engine was taken to an industrial railway or a farmer or something and was still around in the 50s, and how if she'd been donated, the Talyllyn Preservation Railway would’ve become the hub of 2’3” gauge in the UK!”

1. The GWR 78xx Manors - This is the class that got me interested in the impressive steam loco combination of light and strong in the first place. An express passenger engine that weighed less than 70 tons and could conquer steep climbs. Also, they’re well-suited for passenger trains on single-line heritage railways in the era of preservation. I can’t resist imagining one of these being the flagship engine on a rural branchline, hauling suburban third class coaches and a few cattle trucks, sporting SCOA-P wheels, a double chimney, and a 4000 gallon tender with TIMKEN roller bearings. Also, imagine how much lighter she'd be if her running plate was modified to sit above the driving wheels.

Description
Adapted from a meme by .

10. The SECR/SR N "Woolworths" – The Maunsell U Boats are overrated. The Ns were lighter, stronger, and better at climbing hills. As light and strong engines go, I wouldn't put them up there with the Manors, the Q1s, and the 7Fs, but give me the sole surviving N over one of the four Us every time.

9. The Rebuilt SR Merchant Navy/West Country/Battle Of Britain Pacifics - I love these engines not for the Bulleid features BR did away with, but for the Bulleid features they retained; the Bulleid Firth Brown wheels, the steel firebox with thermic syphons, and the incredibly photogenic oval smokebox door.

8. Stephenson's Planet - Rocket's overrated. Significant, but outdated within a year of entering service. Planet was the first locomotive mounted on frames, to collect steam in a dome, and given maximum stability by having the cylinders mounted below the engine in between the frames. It was this engine that created the blueprint for the quintessential steam locomotive.

7. The LNER F4 “Gobblers” - Not only is this an example of an Eastern class fitted with push-pull apparatus, but it's also an example of a UK locomotive that wore cow catchers... that's not a J70, a Y6, or an 04. Look for the Fraserburgh-St Combs branchline, and you'll find an LNER D51 and an LMS 2MT Mickey Mouse Mogul with a cow catcher as well. There's also a Y5 that worked at docks in Colchester who wore cow catchers and aprons. But like I said, this was the first non J70/Y6/04 I've stumbled upon.

6. The LMS 8Fs / LNER O6s - These engines were ubiquitous as fuck. And of course, one of these, No.48706, was the inspiration for October, as she worked pretty much everywhere in the UK accept Scotland; hence why I made up that outrageous story about an LMS spy who had a corridor tender secretly built north of the boarder.

5. The LMS 4Fs / Midland 3835s - What I love about these little guys is that no matter how many times they were outperformed and exiled by newer, bigger, and stronger engines, they never lost their usefulness. The 7Fs boot them off the S&D, the Super Ds tell them to get the fuck outta the LNWR, the 8Fs reduce them to slow goods, Riddles WDs take their wartime traffic… they move right on to whatever’s next. thumbs up I also kinda laugh at the joke that there are five of these preserved, as the sole surviving SR Q is barely distinguishable from an LMS 4F.

4. The LB&SCR D3s – Thanks to PrimevalBrony for introducing me to this class. I'm a sucker for 0-4-4 tanks in general, and in preservation, most of the 0-4-4s are Southern; the acceptions are Met 1, Dunrobin, and the Caledonian one. But a class that took down a Luftwaffe takes the cake. Plus, you can’t deny the magnetism of Stroudly’s liveries.

3. The SR Q1s - I don’t give a shit if these engines are weird-looking. It’s an 0-6-0 with a 5F power rating that only weighs 51 and a quarters tons! If you need an engine that’s light, strong, and easy to mend and maintain, look no further... and maybe have the stones to strip away the casing and bring the weight down even lower. Though I won’t deny, the BFB wheels make maintenance tricky. Pity Bulleid never thought to introduce Australia’s SCOA-P wheels to the UK. The BR Standard Range certainly would’ve benefitted, that’s for damn sure as mustard.

2. Chevalier - Vector-Brony would warn you; “Don’t bring up this engine in front of Brass! He’ll bore you to tears talking about how great it would be if after the Campbeltown & Machrihanish Light Railway shut down, this engine was taken to an industrial railway or a farmer or something and was still around in the 50s, and how if she'd been donated, the Talyllyn Preservation Railway would’ve become the hub of 2’3” gauge in the UK!”

1. The GWR 78xx Manors - This is the class that got me interested in the impressive steam loco combination of light and strong in the first place. An express passenger engine that weighed less than 70 tons and could conquer steep climbs. Also, they’re well-suited for passenger trains on single-line heritage railways in the era of preservation. I can’t resist imagining one of these being the flagship engine on a rural branchline, hauling suburban third class coaches and a few cattle trucks, sporting SCOA-P wheels, a double chimney, and a 4000 gallon tender with TIMKEN roller bearings. Also, imagine how much lighter she'd be if her running plate was modified to sit above the driving wheels.