There were thirteen “Prinnies”, though the experimental No. 46202 Princess Anne was short-lived and was scrapped after the Harrow crash in 1952. I saw the remaining twelve members of the class, which had all been withdrawn by 1962. They are amongst my favourite engines. They just oozed power and importance. I liked their names, too, though I never really thought about the people they were named after - or even knew who half of them were.
No. 46203 Princess Margaret Rose at the head of a Euston
express at Liverpool Lime Street is one of my earliest railway memories. The
most attractive name for me was probably No. 46208 Princess Helena Victoria and
the most intriguing was No. 46207 Princess Arthur of Connaught. I did not know,
until this morning, that she had been involved in two fatal crashes in her time.
I have an original Barry Price painting of her on the West Coast Main Line near
Stafford. In more recent times, watching [and listening to] No. 46201 Princess
Elizabeth climbing the Lickey incline was also a very memorable experience.
John Dyer’s photographs show No. 46205 Princess Victoria at
Chester and Oxenholme [both in 1960], No. 46206 at Preston in 1959, No. 46211 Queen
Maud awaiting scrapping at Crewe Works in 1962 and No. 46212 Duchess of Kent in
a similar predicament.
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