The team around Riddles designed the class 2 with the wheel arrangement 2-6-0 as the smallest tender locomotive among the standard classes. It was designed for use with all types of trains on branch lines and therefore had an axle load of less than 14 tons. So it had the route availability 3, i.e. the lowest category, which means it could be used on all lines.

The basis was the LMS Ivatt class 2 2-6-0. Since the LMS had a larger loading gauge than many other British railways, it had to be fitted with a smaller cab. In order to improve the working conditions for the crew when reversing, the type BR3 tender was fitted with weather protection. The fittings on the boiler have been adapted to the standard program.

In the first few months, the LMS locomotive and the standard locomotive were built in Darlington at the same time. The standard locomotive earned the nickname “Mickey Mouse” because it was quite powerful despite its small size. As planned, it was used on branch lines in front of passenger and freight trains and for shunting. Although Riddles had put great effort in the working conditions during development, the cab was apparently drafty and a lot of dirt quickly accumulated. Most machines were retired between 1965 and 1967. Today four units are still preserved, one of which is being converted into a standard class 2 tank variant.

The BR Standard class 3 tender locomotive was a 2-6-0 mixed traffic design that differed somewhat from the other standard designs. They were built at Swindon, and so it's not surprising that their boiler was based on the GWR No. 2 standard boiler used on the Large Prairie and class 5600. But they still had many influences from LMS locomotives, like the chassis and other parts based on the LMS Ivatt class 4. Due to the presence of the Standard classes 2 and 4, only 20 of the class 3 were built. The first one was withdrawn in 1965 and all others followed in 1966 and 1967.

Of the three 2-6-0 BR Standard locomotives, the biggest was the class 4. It was developed by Robert Riddles at Doncaster and based on the LMS Ivatt class 4. Although classified as mixed traffic locomotives, they were primarily intended for use in freight service. But although they had a driver diameter of only 5 ft 3 in, they were nevertheless regularly used in passenger service.

They used the same cylinders as the class 3 tender and tank locomotives, but had a larger boiler and a higher pressure. Like all BR standard locomotives, they had outside cylinders and outside Valve gear. With an axle load as low as 16 tons 15 cwt, they could be operated almost everywhere.

The first 70 were built at Doncaster and 45 more at Horwich. At both of these works, the last class 4 was also the last steam locomotive built there. They were allocated to all BR regions except the Western Region. With a total of 37 and 35, the Scottish and Southern Regions got the most. They were withdrawn between 1964 and 1967 and four are preserved. Three of these have been operational again, with only 76017 being operational today. 76077 is now being restored to be operational again.

When developing a class 5 standard locomotive for mixed service, a Pacific locomotive first came up for discussion. However, since this was considered too expensive, the choice fell on the wheel arrangement 4-6-0. This offered the additional advantage that, for a given total weight, a larger proportion was accounted for by the adhesive weight. The basis for the development was Stanier's LMS Class 5, which had proven itself in all areas of application and was still in production at the time.

The improvements still to be made to this mainly concerned the production and operating costs, which were to be reduced through the use of standardized assemblies and the simplest possible maintenance. A self-cleaning smoke box and a shaking grate for emptying the ash under the firebox were installed for faster turnaround after the end of the shift. The cab was standardized with many similarities to the other standard classes. Some pipes in the cab have been moved to the outside for easier access and cheaper production. The boiler had almost the same dimensions as the Black Five, but was made of manganese steel instead of nickel. In addition, the drivers were increased by two inches and the cylinder diameter by half an inch.

The production of the standard locomotive followed the production of the Black Five almost seamlessly. Between April 1951 and January 1952 only 30 were initially built in the workshops in Derby. A further 100 were later built at Derby and 42 at Doncaster, with the last being delivered in June and May 1957 respectively. The locomotives were used in many regions and were just as versatile as their predecessors. It is reported to have been more economical at higher speeds than the Black Five and the drivers would have credited it with a top speed of just under 100mph.

Variants with a double blast pipe and a 2-8-0 goods variant were proposed, but these were not implemented. This was mainly due to British Railways' modernization plans from 1955, which prepared the phase-out of steam traction. The locomotives were retired between 1964 and 1968 and today there are five of which two were still operational at the beginning of 2022.

The class 9F goods locomotive was built from 1954 as the last and most powerful of the standardized steam locomotives from British Railways. This was ordered when extensive electrification of the British railway network was still considered realistic and powerful steam locomotives were needed for the transitional period. After Robert Riddles had already developed the 2-10-0 wheel arrangement war locomotives for the War Department, he also developed the 9F. This wheel arrangement was chosen because of the greater adhesive weight after initially wanting to develop a locomotive with a 2-8-2 wheel arrangement.

No. 92151 in July 1961 in front of the “Pines Express” at Haresfield, Gloucestershire

Ben Brooksbank / Down 'Pines Express' passing Haresfield station.

A goal in the development was to realize the greatest possible power, taking into account the British loading gauge and a relatively low axle load. The five coupled axles were able to negotiate curves by designing the wheels of the middle coupled axle without a wheel flange and by providing the wheels of the second and fourth axle with weakened wheel flanges. It was soon found that the locomotives with this axle arrangement ran very well at higher speeds, despite the fact that the coupling wheels were only five feet in diameter and they had two cylinders. In the course of production, the output was further increased with a double chimney. Adaptations such as a Franco-Crosti boiler and mechanical stoker were less successful and were not used in large numbers.

No. 92203 “Black Prince” in 2010 at Toddington

Tony Hisgett / Black Prince 6

Like many more powerful British goods steam locomotives, the 9F also had to be used to pull express trains in heavy excursion traffic, especially on weekends. There are credible reports of runs where the locos hit just over 90 mph. A total of 251 examples were made by March 1960. Number 92220 “Evening Star” was the last steam locomotive built for British Railways and was also the 999th standard steam locomotive. This example was not decommissioned even after the steam ban in 1968 and was used without interruption for excursions until the 1980s. Today it is a static exhibit, while eight more of its sisters, which were retired until 1968, were also preserved and some are still running today. One of these, No. 92203 “Black Prince”, pulled the heaviest train in Great Britain ever hauled by a steam locomotive in 1982 at 2,178 tons.

The smallest tank locomotive of the BR standard program was the class 2 tank with a 2-6-2T wheel arrangement. It was derived from the LMS Ivatt class 2 2-6-2T and intended for mixed traffic. It had a smaller loading gauge than its LMS prototype and had a number of standard fittings. A very similar standard locomotive was the class 2 2-6-0.

Since there were already 130 Ivatt 2-6-2T, BR only ordered 30 of the standard type. The first 20 were built in Crewe and used in former LMS area. The other ten were built in Darlington and used in the Southern region. After they also came to other regions, their service life ended between 1963 and 1966. Since none were preserved, the Bluebell Railway is now rebuilding 2-6-0 No. 78059 into 2-6-2T No. 84030.

For power class 3, first a tank locomotive with a 2-6-2 wheel arrangement was developed. Its running gear was based on that of the Ivatt class 4 tender locomotive of the LMS, and other parts also came from this. However, the boiler was based on the GWR's standard No. 2 boiler used on the class “Large Prairie” 5101 and the class 5600. Shortly after the last locomotives were put into service, diesel multiple units were delivered, which contested part of their service area. Nevertheless, the first withdrawals did not take place until 1964 and the last ones were completed in 1967.

The standard class 4 tank locomotive was developed to replace older tank locomotives for use with fast commuter and suburban trains. It was based on the LMS Fairburn 2-6-4T and had a similar driving wheel diameter of five feet eight inches. For a wider range of uses, the loading gauge was reduced by slightly rounding off the driver's cab and the water tanks. The smaller cylinders, which were compensated for with a higher boiler pressure, also contributed to this.

Most of the locomotives were made in Brighton, where a total of 130 were built. Another 15 were from Derby and ten from Doncaster. Another order for 15 locomotives was canceled in view of the dieselisation. The fact that only small detail changes were made to the locomotives during the period of operation shows that the design itself was successful. It also served as the basis for the standard class 4 4-6-0 tender locomotive. 

The locomotives were used almost all over the country. Only in the Western Region was the GWR's Large Prairie available in sufficient numbers to be able to dispense with the 2-6-4T. The first machine was scrapped in 1962 after it suffered a broken frame. Since older classes were phased out first, the 2-6-4T was only phased out between 1964 and 1967. A total of 15 have survived to this day, some of which are used regularly.