The LNER Encyclopedia

I've become interested recently in comparing engines of the Big Four companies that could be said to fill similar roles. As several people have already compared Thompson's B1s with the Black Fives, I wanted to compare the B17s with the Stanier Jubilees.

The B17s were introduced by Gresley to fill a desperate need on the Great Eastern lines for a fast passenger engine that could fit a relatively restrictive loading gauge. They seem to have been quite successful from the beginning, but they had less success when introduced to places farther north, such as Sheffield and Leicester (evidently they were disappointing at hill-climbing). It seems the B17s were very good engines, but they never had as much success as they did on the Great Eastern lines.

The Jubilees had a rough start when first introduced, and would not become a real success until some modifications were made. They were the main express engine on the Midland Main Line, but they were also present on other lines, including the West Coast Main Line, Settle-Carlisle line, and Huddersfield line.

The LMS 'Jubilees' or the Red 5s as they were originally known as were good looking locos even though they 'couldn't steam' and just about managed to boil the water but that problem was sorted out in time.

I like the story Ron White railway enthusiast extraordinaire and life long railway enthusiast retells in a dvd about the Jubilees-

In the days before the railway enthusiast was well served regarding railway matters in specialist publications a railway enthusiast would occasionally go up to a locomotive standing in a station and chat with the driver asking him questions about the locomotives technical details and it's performance in traffic anyway one day a railway enthusiast went up to a loco standing in a station platform somewhere on the LMS and said to the driver "Why have you got a black one on the front instead of a red one today?." (A Black 5 instead of a Jubilee) And Ron said I believe it was a Nottingham driver who's name escapes me said "Those red engines are 'hot water engines' they don't steam that's why."

About four Jubilees have been preserved.