Vintage railway film - The Coronation Scot - LMS - 1937

This vintage railway film details the origins, inauguration and capabilities of the London, Midland & Scottish Railways Coronation Scot express passenger train service.

[@siriusmicromaniac]

When ease of maintenance became more important than glamour the original streamlined ones were converted to conventional outline, and other class members built from then on also looked like conventional locomotives. Three of them survived into preservation. 6229 'Duchess Of Hamilton' was restored to its original streamlined outline a few years ago and can usually be seen in the National Railway Museum at York. It looks absolutely awesome. If you were a kid looking at one of these in the mid-late 1930s, this would be your idea of what a spaceship should look like.

[@thesteelrodent1796]

the Railway Museum did a nice video about the coronation, and it is still a truly gorgeous engine

[@Jonathantuba]

Those last couple years before WW2 were the golden age of railways in Britain - afterwards never quite matched again.

[@TrevorMcGregger]

I might even say one of Britain’s greatest golden ages

[@Uftonwood2]

'An orgy of speed.' It was the Concorde of its day, an inspiring sight. Imagine the work done by the fireman to sustain 83mph for 150 miles. He would have started as an engine cleaner, the junior cleaner did the firebox, a dirty hot job. He worked through the links: cleaner, fireman, pass fireman, driver. And, if he was good and sound, for the last few of perhaps a 45 year career he would get to be a driver of these supreme engines on the premier trains.

[@HelminthCombos]

Since this is a late 30's train it had oil vaporizer aka they didn't use coal any more, thus no fireman.

[@Uftonwood2]

Helminth: I’m no gricer, but behind that engine looks like a tender heaped with coal.

[@daylightman8459]

Wrong wrong wrong wrong! British engines still burned coal until the end of steam! Oil-burning steamers were failures in the eyes of engineers.

[@redbeard3923]

@@daylightman8459 defo there my dad was fireman first then a driver up shap fell told me the coal was sucked off the shovel going up their worked out of crewe North she.d 5a

[@brianthesnail3815]

I was thinking that too but its not just about shoving coal into the boiler like a conveyor but doing it just right feeding the boiler, not killing the fire, distributing the coal in the grate for maximum efficiency, not overheating, not wasting coal.

[@stuarthall6631]

What a fantastic video. Thank you once again! I am sure that there are many in the U.K. enjoying this material who are glad that there is also a taste for these in Australia!

[@bryandavies6530]

The sequence between 5.15 and 6.00 was filmed between Llandudno Junction and Colwyn Bay in N Wales. I can just about remember being taken down to CB station to see Coronation arriving - whatb a happy memory from the past

[@DrivermanO]

Super video. I've coincidentally just finished reading "British Locomotives 1925-1965" by O S Nock, which I bought in a local charity shop. I say read - well, looked at the pictures, and read the bits I understood, but it did say this service between 1937 and the war in 1939 saw the best London - Scotland service ever provided with steam. These were Stanier designed engines of the LMS, even though the Flying Scotsman designed by Gresley on the LNER seems to get all the publicity these days! Also a great engine, but these Coronation Scots were also superb.

[@trek520rider2]

Apparently Stanier didn't think streamlining contributed much, possibly why they soon got rid of it.

[@satriar.listanto2398]

greetings from 🇮🇩indonesia 🇮🇩 ... I am a fan of the legendary steam train ... !!!

[@Selatanstres]

Mantap bang

[@waleedarif6740]

Oh my word. As soon as I have just found out about ' The Coronation Scott ' for the first time in my life just moments ago, I though that it was an engine that was built in the 1960s, but it was built in the 1930s. It actually looks like a 1960s technology.

[@philipperiopel1911]

Art deco style.

[@KiwiGraggle]

They really knew how to build stuff back then.

[@nikolayvasylyev5738]

All the aesthetics and style learned by the British railway manufacturers suddenly disappeared when they started building diesels.

[@avishekkushwaha9144]

Wow what a watch. It's like travelling back in time and re loving those golden moment's again ❤️❤️❤️

[@brianhall8585]

For anyone thinking the locomotive was oil fired or fired with a mechanical coal feeder take a look at around 5 minutes in. The fireman is working hard with his shovel.

[@johnd8892]

Also interesting that the ending got nationalised.

[@Offshoreorganbuilder]

In the clips of the coronation, notice how the soldiers and other service personnel lining the route are facing *away* from the crowd - not like today, when they have to be on the lookout for some nutter. Thanks for the interesting upload.

[@CraigMilesYoutube]

That's the coolest train I've ever seen ♥️

[@ivanreis1538]

HÁ 83 ANOS ACONTECIA ESSA FESTA, DOS QUE NASCERAM NAQUELE ANO POUCOS ESTÃO VIVOS!!! GOSTEI DO VÍDEO, SOU APAIXONADO POR FERROVIAS!!!

[@bennickss]

Reminder that these were built entirely by hand from pen and paper designs, no computer aid at all.

[@jimharris9394]

Who on God's Earth could have possibly voted this down? Someone who obviously has no concept of . . . . anything?

[@wendellwhite5797]

Aeronauts. Those that fly in aeroplanes hate trains.

[@jimstrainsandstuff9539]

Your second statement says it all Jim. Those types just sad little losers who can only bring others down and are not capable of building anything or giving praise as they see it as a form of weakness.

[@jimharris9394]

@@wendellwhite5797 not always true. I *LOVE* aviation, and own several flight sims. But trains have their own special magic too.

[@thesickrobot6924]

GWR fanboys

[@MrStr8den]

@@wendellwhite5797 .. I like planes, trains and automobiles but ride a motorcycle!

[@brianthesnail3815]

That Coronation Scot run was all the more remarkable because it was pulling a full train of carriages too. It wasn't a special light train for a record run. Magnificent in every way.

[@brianthesnail3815]

I just read on another channel that they put aniseed in the lubricating oil in the bearings so the driver would get a nasal warning if the bearings were overheating.

[@JonAschenbrenner]

I heard that 46220 almost crashed into the station on that run. She even scared Sir Stanier FRS crapless as well from what I've read.

[@p.istaker8862]

The narrative on this film must be one of Cholmondely-Warner's finest works !

[@YugyStudios]

The recommendations are working fine again... for now. 😂 BTW, nice railfilm!

[@Scotford_Maconochie]

Imagine the fuel consumption for Coronation Scot running at such speeds.

[@bertsmith4364]

It was in 1946 I rode on the footplate of 6220 at Euston

[@Retroscoop]

1:26 Now THAT's the way to achieve full employment... Tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands of bobbies and soldiers....

[@RHR-221b]

Thank you, B B R. Stay free. R 💚

[@Nubfist]

Getting to the smoke box would be quite difficult

[@bonzomcdrumcat4989]

The front panel had a hatch that opened for easy access to the smokebox door

[@mfaisalbhattimfaisalbhatti8262]

very nice

[@neilhenry1860]

The Coronation Scot was exhibited at New York Worlds Fair in 1939 and, due to the outbreak of WW 2 the spare trainset and locomotive were stranded in the USA in the care of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad at their Mount Clare Shops in Baltimore. Although the loco eventually return sometime in 1942, the fate of the coaches cannot be determined. They were last known to be at a US army facility, in Indiana, as officers' accommodation. Their later fate is unknown.

[@nikerailfanningttm9046]

You must have been high on drugs. The coaches were returned to the LMS after the war.

[@neilhenry1860]

@@nikerailfanningttm9046 I don't understand your comment.

[@nikerailfanningttm9046]

by far the most beautiful British steam locomotive ever built: LMS's Coronation Class pacific. I am both a LMS and LNER aficionado but LMS's streamlining was by far way more beautiful than Gresley's "boxy" streamlining applied to the LNER A4s.

[@bitTorrenter]

3:43 - We're now down to 4 & 1/2 hours to Glasgow now.

[@Spankbucket]

I think the inter-cutting of Edward VIII's coronation was ironic. It seemed to be saying 'it'll be around for a short time and then gone but not forgotten'

[@esmeephillips5888]

George VI's coronation. Edward never made it. His younger brother would reign for 16 years before worrying and smoking himself into an early grave.

[@MrMoggyman]

My uncle Percy, top link locomotive engine driver on the LMS and later BR, fired on these streamline clad Princess Coronation Class locomotives. It was the dream of every young boy in those times to be a steam locomotive engine driver. Princess Royal Class locomotives were crap. Percy admitted it. Poor steamers, a real problem for firemen to raise steam. The Princess Coronation Class locomotives were devised by Stanier to overcome the poor steaming characteristics of the Princess Royal Class locomotives.

[@davidantoniocamposbarros7528]

Mallard: so anyways,i started speeding

[@nemo6686]

Second-best to Mallard...

[@DrivermanO]

Really? Don't think so! Mallard was specially prepared with a crack footplate crew. The LNER Pacifics were an older generation, 3 cylinder with complicated valve gear. The Mallard record was a one off, and couldn't maintain it. She actually nearly broke down on the return journey. Don't forget these Stanier designs were the basis of BR standards. Not Gresleys. Not saying the LNER Pacifics were no good, but I don't think you can say they were better - possibly equal, but its a fine judgement call.

[@nemo6686]

@@DrivermanO Not sure you can use "crack footplate crew" as a reason when the Coronation driver got an OBE, but speed isn't the only factor anyway: I was originally just going to say Mallard was better-looking, but figured I'd be more likely to get a rise if I made it more general. And looks are even more of a judgement call!

[@DrivermanO]

@@nemo6686 Agreed - I agree with you! But not sure the connection between "crack footplate crew" and the OBE is direct. They chose the crew, then they got the record, then the driver got the OBE. Got the OBE for what he did, but not what they were before. But I've always wondered about the fireman - he must have worked brilliantly, and got nothing (so far as I'm aware). Good firing was a very important part of good engine performance.

[@Paulie52UK]

@@DrivermanO No no, Mallard did indeed break down, the middle cylinder shattered as was the case with the A4s. Coronation almost came to grief after her brakes were found to be erm... wanting. She survived taking a curve much too fast.

[@DrivermanO]

@@Paulie52UK When I said nearly broke down, I meant unable to move. I believe Mallard did manage to stagger on for some time, even with the shattered cylinder. She would still have had 2 left. I thought that steam engines slowing down was a combination of shutting off steam when the road demanded it and brakes - surely the crew would have known about the curve and taken the appropriate steps to control their speed without the excessive use of brakes. Perhaps the brakes failed to work completely, causing the problem.

[@yateendrasingh2369]

Such a fantastic speed by a steam locomotive. I want to know how the water supply does to continue with this speed.

[@danielf1313]

Water is picked up at speed from special watering troughs using a retractable scoop under the locomotive

[@howardlister9770]

Good luck EVERYONE......look at this year and guv , god help us .....

[@redbeard3923]

When Britain was a country no divide in this country

[@kaydensrailway5594]

What was that 4-40 that ran in between Lion and Coronation? She looks rather smart, I'd love to find out more about her!

[@railnaeroproduction6264]

The engine is called 1911 Coronation locomotives.

[@johnd8892]

The class is of the LNWR George the Fifth Class : kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5LNgIx4rKaXY68si=NazQz0oX0nmkw2R_ Weird choice of music though.

[@davidwhite450]

I don,t think streamlining made a great deal of difference in practice.The trainset as a whole looks absolutely superb.

[@davidantoniocamposbarros7528]

You're actually right. The streamlining in the Coronations were heavy and only there for marketing,thus why Stanier hated it

[@lawrencelewis2592]

It really didn't make much difference but streamlining was the thing back then. The Germans and the US both had streamlined engines. They looked great but were a pain to maintain. The German type 05 had enclosed drivers but they were accessible through roll-up doors on the sides of the engine.

[@peterallam6494]

08/3 23, Stainer was'nt keen either saying it did little for performance & added an extra 5 tons to its weight. Streamlinning was something the advertising & marketing

[@peterallam6494]

08/3 23, Cont ...marketing people were keen on. LMS & LNER with Gresley's A4s were rivals.

[@kinyou-no-hito]

このBGMだと完全に迷列車で行こうｗｗｗ

[@jiversteve]

Interesting history but OTT. Not so many years later the railways were wrecked with WW2 abuse. They weren’t to know!

[@johnvincentmalilaytesta5072]

#BennettBrookRailway

[@geoffreyking1634]

A duchess holds the record not mallard ,it was done off the cuff not set up with dynometer cars etc

[@frostedbutts4340]

..Then it doesn't hold diddly squat. Without verified measurements that's just talk.

[@geoffreyking1634]

@@frostedbutts4340 sir william never had trouble with his 3 cylinder scots & jubilees.

[@davidantoniocamposbarros7528]

A Duchess holds the power record,Mallard holds the speed record. There's a difference,dumbass

[@mrhotdog468]

With evidence it's only a rumour

[@billpugh58]

The newsreel is sickeningly sycophantic .

[@stevedickson5853]

Not really, when Britain ruled the waves with an empire, what great times 👌

[@gabetheborkingdog5985]

With all the money they looted.

[@lizlawrence4553]

Comment obviously written by some one of low intelligence. Obviously a lefty or dopy foreigner

[@allanm6246]

We are just a couple of years away from the centenary of the forming of the big four. Would be great if we could see Pendolino's in maroon LMS and Azuma's in LNER classic liveries for a time. GWR are already painted in the green of the original GWR.

[@ianallen2490]

LMS Crimson Lake please :-)

[@thesteelrodent1796]

the A4 may have been faster, but Coronation is by far the best looking. Beautiful engine from every angle.

[@nikirk101]

why did they remove the steamlining???

[@dieterkind]

For better maintenance, I suppose. Also, during war and in post-war years high speed wasn't needed as requested for privilege before.

[@Cleveland.Ironman]

Magnificent! Great engineering without CAD/CAM!

[@MarktheMole]

A thought: if the A4s had been on the LMS line and the Coronation Scot had run on the LNER line.. would the latter have beaten the A4's world record??

[@peteryeadon946]

I've often thought that. It would of been fairer if the LMS, GWR and Southern had had a fair go on the same track as the Mallard, pulling the same tonnage at the drawbar.

[@phaasch]

@@peteryeadon946 In the final days of steam on the Southern, Bulleid Pacifics were regularly being clocked over the magic Ton, and that was with full length trains on flattish gradients, too. I'd love to know what one could have done, flat out down Stoke bank with a modest load. They might have scoffed coal by the hundredweight, but those boilers had an incredible capacity for steam production.

[@rogerredding5269]

I wonder if a coronation Scot loco could have beaten A 4 Mallard's speed record down stoke bank with the same carriage load behind the tender and same weather conditions etc ☺️?

[@davidantoniocamposbarros7528]

I mean it's possible,but the LMS didn't did it so they wasted a chance

[@ccaz1001]

I’ve talked to a few enginemen over the years who used to drive the big Pacific’s. the general consensus was that the LMS duchess was the best of all and given the right condition LMS would easily have beaten the Gresley A4s.

[@alisdairmclean8605]

If a machine can be described as sexy. This it!

[@horacebachelor]

Tom Clarke looks like Hermann Goering at 6:06

[@evanstj5]

This patriotic film was made by the LMS in 1937, right? Then why is the "British Railways" (formed in 1948) logo on the end credit?

[@BennettBrookRailway]

I guess they rebranded and re-released the film at some stage.

[@Spankbucket]

I wondered about that too! Probably recycled in the '50's; but the end carried no date.