The S class

A series of 16 4-6-2 locomotives built in 3 batches by North British and Beyer-Peacock. They had 8-wheel bogie tenders.

The first batch of three was supplied by North British in 1928 to eliminate double-heading of the heavy passenger trains on the main line. The second almost identical batch was supplied two years later so that the heavy freight trains could benefit also. These two batches had Walschaerts valve gear. Beyer Peacock supplied the third batch in 1932 and they differed in having rotary cam valves, and tender water capacity was increased from 3,000 gallons to 4,000 gallons. By 1934 5 of the class based at Kuala Lumpur were dedicated to Taiping to Singapore passenger services. They were all withdrawn in 1958 and 1959.

Below: in order, S¹ FMSR 238, S¹ FMSR 239 and S² FMSR 242. Photographs reproduced with permission from the Stephenson Locomotive Society, they are thought to be from the H M le Fleming collection.

Maker	Number	Date	Original Railway / No		1946 No.	Name
North British	23679	1928	F.M.S.R.	237	551.01	THE SULTAN OF PERAK
North British	23680	1928	F.M.S.R.	238	551.02	THE SULTAN OF SELANGOR
North British	23681	1928	F.M.S.R.	239	551.03	THE YANG DI-PERTUAN BESAR OF NEGRI SEMBILAN
North British	23904	1929	F.M.S.R.	240	552.01	THE SULTAN OF PAHANG
North British	23905	1929	F.M.S.R.	241	552.02	SIR CECIL CLEMENTI
North British	23906	1929	F.M.S.R.	242	552.03	SULTAN OF JOHORE
North British	23907	1929	F.M.S.R.	243	552.04	SULTAN OF KELANTAN
North British	23908	1929	F.M.S.R.	244	552.05	SULTAN OF TRENGGANU
North British	23909	1929	F.M.S.R.	245	552.06	THE RAJAH OF PERLIS
North British	23910	1930	F.M.S.R.	246	552.07	SIR C. B. H. MITCHELL
North British	23911	1930	F.M.S.R.	247	552.08	SIR J. S. SWETTENHAM
Beyer-Peacock	6721	1931	F.M.S.R.	248	553.01	SIR F. A. SWETTENHAM
Beyer-Peacock	6722	1931	F.M.S.R.	251	553.04	SIR JOHN ANDERSON
Beyer-Peacock	6723	1931	F.M.S.R.	252	553.05	SIR ARTHUR YOUNG
Beyer-Peacock	6724	1931	F.M.S.R.	249	553.02	SIR L. N. GUILLEMARD
Beyer-Peacock	6725	1931	F.M.S.R.	250	553.03	SIR HUGH CLIFFORD

Leading particulars:
Wheel arrangement:	4-6-2 with 8-wheel bogie tender.	Boiler pressure:	180 lbs, superheated.
Fire grate:	35 sq. feet.	Heating surface:	2,286 sq. feet.
Fuel capacity:	10 tons.	Water capacity:	3,000 (S³ 4,000) gallons.
Max. axle load:	16 tons.	Fixed wheel-base:	10 feet.

Variable particulars:
Introduced	Class	Numbers	Cylinders (3)	Tractive effort	Loco weight	Tender weight	Overall length
1928	S¹ 551	237 - 239 551.01 - 551.03	17" x 24"	29,480 lb	69.15 tons	41.7 tons	55' 11"
1930	S² 552	240 - 247 552.01 - 552.08	17" x 24"	29,480 lb	70.15 tons	41.7 tons	55' 11"
1932	S³ 553	248 - 252 553.01 - 553.05	17" x 24"	29,480 lb	70.15 tons	47 tons	55' 11"

Unclassified	A & B classes	A² class	C¹ class
Burma E and O	C² class	D class	E class
F class	G class	H class	I class
J class	K¹ class	K² class	L class
M class	O class	P class	Mallet
Q class	R class	S class	T class
WWII	Sentinel	WD class