Hornby Pre-Owned LMS Black 5 Stanier 5MT ‘Eric Treacy’ 4-6-0 5428 Steam Locomotive - DCC Fitted

The LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0, more commonly known as the ‘Black Five’ Class of
locomotives were designed by Sir William Stanier and built between 1934 and 1951.

Stanier became Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London, Midland, and Scottish
Railway (LMS) in 1932, tasked with introducing new, more modern, and powerful
designs of locomotive. Having worked previously as Works Manager for the Great
Western Railway, Stanier recognised that with the LMS covering such a wide scope of
the UK, there was a need for larger locomotives that could travel anywhere and do
anything, resulting in the mixed traffic ‘Black Five’ Class for the 20th Century.

5428

No.5428, later 45428 under the BR numbering system, was built in 1937 by Sir W.G
Armstrong Whitworth & Co in Newcastle upon Tyne as part of an order for 227
locomotives, the largest order ever placed with a private firm by a British railway
company. 5428, which was part of Stanier’s ‘Black Five’ Class, entered service in 1937
at Leeds Holbeck depot, which provided such types of locomotives for both main line
operations and special services, primarily from West Riding to Whitby.

After 30 years of service, 45428 hauled the final steam-worked London-bound express
service from Bradford to Leeds in October 1967, before being withdrawn from service a
week later as steam traction was no longer used in Leeds. Following withdrawal from
service, 5428 was selected for preservation and travelled light engine to Birmingham
Railway Museum at Tyseley in August 1968. Having been named ‘Eric Treacy’ after the
renowned railway photographer, the engine then moved to the North Yorkshire Moors
Railway (NYMR) in the 1970s and ran there until the late 1990s before being withdrawn
for a complete overhaul. Having completed a £600,000 restoration programme, 45428
returned to service on the NYMR in 2010 after an eleven-year absence.

Eric Treacy

Eric Treacy, Bishop of Wakefield, an esteemed railway photographer began taking his
photographs in 1932, shortly after joining the clergy. He became part of the Railway
Photographic Society in 1935 and would often befriend drivers and firemen in his
congregation who would subsequently often help to create smoke effects in his images.
Treacy would plan his photography days in advance, taking into account the weather,
position of the sun at the time of the train’s arrival and in-depth knowledge of the
locations.

Sadly, Treacy died suddenly in 1978 on Appleby Station while photographing the
locomotive ‘Evening Star’, but his legacy lives on through his collection of railway
photography which is now housed at the National Railway Museum in York.