Ex-Caledonian Railway Pickersgill '60' class 4-6-0 No. 54560. Built at St. Rollox in November 1916 and withdrawn in September 1953.

The bulky lines of William Pickersgill's '60' class are very evident in this portrait of 54650 at Carlisle's Kingmoor MPD in 1952. The rather ugly cylinder casing does nothing to enhance the design. In spite of their impressive appearance and their intended role as passenger engines, the original batch of six were decidedly sluggish performers and they were quickly relegated to freight duties. Nonetheless, the LMS built twenty more after the grouping and BR inherited 23, the last going for scrap in 1953.

© Steve Armitage Archive