GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

GWR Route: North Warwickshire Line

Birmingham Snow Hill - Pre-grouping locomotives: gwrbsh60

GWR 2-2-2 Dean Single No 999 'Sir Alexander' is seen standing light engine on the centre up road at the North end of Snow Hill station circa 1898. Robert Ferris writes, 'built in March 1875 (Lot No 34) at Swindon Works (Works No 583) No 999 was named after Sir Charles Alexander Wood, a GWR Director between 1863 and 1890. The engine was the second of the famous ‘Queen Class’ locomotives, which eventually numbered twenty one and regularly averaged over 50 mph on non-stop express trains. As originally built the boiler was domeless, the main driving wheels were exposed and there was very limited protection for the enginemen'.

'By 1882 a drivers cab and enclosed wheel splashers had been fitted, but the distinctive large bass dome only appeared in 1893 when the boiler was changed in the June of that year. This first dome was closer to the chimney than the one depicted in this photograph, but its position altered with a subsequent boiler change in May 1897. By 1904 the 2-2-2 wheel arrangement was considered obsolete and the Queen class locomotives were relegated to secondary duties. In October of that year, No 999 was withdrawn from service to be scrapped, by this time the engine had traveled 1,329,000 miles. The final member of the class (No 1128) survived at Oxford on cross-country passenger services to Banbury until withdrawn in April 1914'.

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