London Transport’s railway network is well known for being electrified and “underground” but there had always been a small fleet of steam locomotives retained for working infrastructure trains on the surface lines. By the 1950s, these older locomotives were well past their prime and London Transport began to look for replacements. Diesel locomotives were considered, as was a small fleet of ex GNR J52 steam locomotives but their trial was unsuccessful. In 1956, the solution came in recently withdrawn ex GWR 57xx pannier tanks.

Modifications were required to the cab roofs to allow for tighter clearances which involved removing the protruding roof section and placing a new rainstrip higher on the roof. Modifications were also required to fit the locomotives with “trip cocks” to be compatible with LT’s signalling system. These cocks would contact a ramp which was raised at red signals causing a loss of vacuum brake and stopping the train. Extra brackets were fitted on the running plate, and the cocks were fitted to these. Steam heat was not a requirement for the engineering trains so this was removed. In total 13 locomotives were bought by LT although only 11 ever ran at once.


Steam on the LT system lasted until 1971, 3 years after the big “final day” on BR. During this period, the “Red Panniers” gained quite a following as they were still mainline type locomotives doing real work, unlike the industrial systems which struggled to find favour with many enthusiasts. This 3 year window also allowed many of the LT panniers to find homes in preservation following their withdrawal. Fledgling preservation schemes were face with having to purchase either industrial or scrapyard condition locomotives so the opportunity to purchase a working mainline locomotive was not passed up. L95 was even steamed the day it arrived on the Severn Valley Railway!

L94 was one of these locomotives. After hauling the last steam service on the underground, it was sold from service to “7029 Clun Castle ltd” and moved to Tyseley in Birmingham. It has been seen in both its LT guise as L94 or repainted in to GWR or BR condition as its original number 7752. A product of Glasgow, dating from 1930, L94/7752 has to be seen as one of preservations hardest working panniers as during 2011, it was fitted with equipment to run on the mainline. Still retaining the LT “cut cab” but having lost the trip cock brackets, it now gained new modifications. A GWR style speedometer drive was fitted to the rear wheel under the driver’s side and two electrical equipment boxes were fitted under the running plate to house electronics for modern mainline signalling. Also evident are slightly more polished areas than it would have had during squadron service as well as the mandatory OHLE warning flashes on the step areas. L94 was seen working frequently with classmate 9600, either top and tail, double heading or even used as a pair for banking duties on some of Vintage Trains’ railtours as well as spending periods on hire to preserved railways around the country. L94 has most recently been repainted into Great Western Green livery and is carrying the original number of 7752.