Hornby OO R3417 BR 62065 Thompson/Peppercorn K1 Class 2-6-0 BR Black Late Crest

The K1 class was introduced in 1949 for service on the Highland lines. The engines were a further development of the earlier K4 locomotives, Thompson took the opportunity to simplify the engines to a 2-cylinder arrangement, however much of the work on this class was undertaken by A H Peppercorn before he took over from Thomson as chief engineer.The 2-6-0 arrangement was used to provide a powerful, modern locomotive with the extra traction available from the 3 driving axles but within the weight and length constraits applicable to the Mallaig line bridges and turntables. One example of the class is preserved and has been operated regularly on the scheduled summer steam excursions between Fort William and Mallaig.

The K1 Class, which was made up of 70 locomotives, were all built in Glasgow at the North British Locomotive Company’s Park Works over a 10 month period between May 1949 and March 1950. As was the North British Locomotive Company’s all of the Class were sent to Eastfield shed, Glasgow for running in before being sent to England where they were used for both freight and express passenger workings.  Thirty of the Class were sent to the Eastern Region while the remaining forty were dispatched to the North Eastern Region. Many of the North Eastern K1s were often seen as far North as Edinburgh and early on in their working life were regularly used on the West Highland line. A significant number of those allocated to the Eastern Region were based at March.

All of the Class were fitted with electric lighting and self-cleaning smoke boxes identified with an SC plate situated just beneath the shed plate while some were fitted with AWS (Automatic Warning System). The first 50 K1 locomotives were outshopped in black with “British Railways” emblazoned on the tender while the remaining twenty were released with the early BR emblem.  From 1957 all of the Class received the BR crest.

As described the Class were used throughout the former LNER network as they were proven to be an incredible mixed traffic locomotive with each of the Class being paired with a 4200 gallon tender as used with the LNER/BR Class B1 locomotive.  By the early 1950s the K1s were starting to be transferred from the GE Section of the Eastern Region with the result that by 1961 only eight remained at March, however by the middle of 1962 these had been moved to Retford and Doncaster.