SR West Country and Battle of Britain classes

what is it?

The SR West Country and Battle of Britain classes, collectively known as Light Pacifics or informally as Spam Cans, or "flat tops", are air-smoothed 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotives designed for the Southern Railway by its Chief Mechanical Engineer Oliver Bulleid. Incorporating a number of new developments in British steam locomotive technology, they were amongst the first British designs to use welding in the construction process, and to use steel fireboxes, which meant that components could be more easily constructed under wartime austerity and post-war economy. They were designed to be lighter in weight than their sister locomotives, the Merchant Navy class, to permit use on a wider variety of routes, including the south-west of England and the Kent coast.

who runs it

Southern RailwaySRSouthern Region of British Railways

base stats

• built 110made in total

Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.

fun facts

• 🎂First built 81 years ago, in 1945.
• 📏20.4 m long: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.
• ⌛Served for 22 years (1945–1967).

steam locomotive: Burns coal, wood or oil to boil water; the steam drives pistons that turn the wheels.

spec sheet

built

1945–1951

in service from

1945

retired

1967

status

preserved

number built

110

kind

Steam

traction

steam

origin

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

builders

Brighton Works, Eastleigh Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon Works

designer

Oliver Bulleid

operators

Southern Railway, Southern Region of British Railways

top speed

—

power

—

gauge

1,435 mm standard gauge

wheel arrangement

4-6-2

length

20.4 m

nicknames

Light Pacific, Spam Can, Flat top

From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.