Locomotives of the Midland Railway

Locomotives of the Midland Railway

The Midland Railway's locomotives (which it always referred to as engines), followed its small engine policy. The policy was later adopted by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, and contrasted with the London and North Western Railway's policy. It was, perhaps, carried on too long, giving rise to the derisive poem:

M is for Midland with engines galore
Two on each train and asking for more

The small engine policy was partly the consequence of a difference in the background of senior managers. In most railway companies, the elite position was the design, construction and maintenance of locomotives. Bigger engines brought more prestige and allowed longer trains. In the Midland, the marketing department was paramount. They recognised that people wanted more frequent, shorter trains rather than an infrequent service. It concentrated on very light, very fast and frequent trains.

The Midland was blessed, in that George Stephenson had built its main lines with very shallow gradients. The LNWR had to cope with the hilly country north of Manchester. The Midland had also found it more efficient to use smaller, less fuel hungry locos, simply adding pilots or banking engines as necessary.

The small engine policy served the Midland well when its network was confined to the English Midlands, which is largely free of steep gradients. As the company expanded into other parts of Britain the policy's downsides began to cause problems. The company's own main line to Scotland (the Settle-Carlisle Line) and the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (where the Midland was responsible for providing locomotives) were renowned for their steep gradients and the company's locomotive stock proved badly suited to the task. Nonetheless the small engine policy remained and double-heading or banking was used to make up for the shortfall in power. This indirectly caused two accidents on the Settle-Carlisle Line (at Hawes Junction and Ais Gill) where trains stalled due to insufficient power, even from multiple locomotives. The policy also greatly reduced capacity on the Midland's network as not only were there more (but smaller) trains than there would have been on another railway but further capacity was taken up by the need to accommodate light engines that had been used for piloting or banking duties that were returning to their depots.

The small engine policy remained in place into the 1920s and remained an influence during the early years of the Midland's successor the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, its Chief Mechanical Engineer for most of the 1920s being Henry Fowler, a long-standing Midland engineer and former CME of that company.

Contents

Numbering and classification

Before 1907 numbering was somewhat erratic. New locomotives might take the numbers of old engines, which were placed on the duplicate list and had an A suffix added to their numbers. In 1907 the whole stock were renumbered in a systematic way, each class in a consecutive sequence, classes being ordered by type (passenger/tank/goods), power and age. After the grouping this system was adapted for the whole LMS

The Midland classified their stock into three classes numbered 1 to 3 with 1 the least powerful and three the most. Stock were also split into passenger and freight engines. Just before grouping class 4 was introduced. This system formed the basis for the subsequent LMS and BR classification systems.

Engines inherited from constituent companies

Midland formed in 1844 from the Midland Counties Railway, the North Midland Railway and the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway, and took over a number of others including the Leicester and Swannington Railway and the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway. See

Engines built by the Midland

Initially, the Midland concentrated on maintaining and improving the somewhat varied fleet that it had inherited, with the assistance of The Railway Foundry in Leeds. In addition it bought in twenty four of their Jenny Lind locomotives.

MR class Wheel
arrangement
Pre-1907 Fleet
number(s)
Post-1907 Fleet
number(s)
Manufacturer
Serial number(s)
Year
made
Quantity
made
Quantity
preserved
Year(s)
withdrawn
Comments
Matthew Kirtley (18441873)
156 class 2-4-0 122 Derby Works 18661874 29 1
800 class 2-4-0 800829,
(various)
3562,
6367
Neilson & Co. (30)
Derby Works (18)
187071 48 0 19051936
480 class 0-6-0 23982591, 26722673. 18631868 224 0
700 class 0-6-0 25922711, 27132867 18691874 328 0
890 class 2-4-0 890909
(various)
6887,
88126
Neilson & Co. (20),
Derby Works (42)
18711875 62 0
Samuel W. Johnson (18731903)
1070 class 2-4-0 10701089
(various)
127146,
147156
Sharp Stewart (20),
Derby Works (10)
18741876 30 0
1808 class 4-4-0 18081822, 8087, 11, 14 378402 Derby Works 18881891 25 0 19221952 see also M&GN Class C
2581 class 4-4-0 25812590 473482 Beyer, Peacock & Co.
41534162
1900 10 0 19141927 see also M&GN Class C
179 class 4-2-2 179183, 7577, 79, 88 660669 Derby Works 1893, 1896 10 0
115 class 4-2-2 115121, 123128, 130131 670684 Derby Works 18961899 15 1  ?–1928
1000 class 4-4-0 26312635 10001004 Derby Works 190203 5 0 ..
483 class 4-4-0 .. .. ... .. .. 0 ..
1322 class 0-4-0ST 13221326, 202, 14281430, 1697 15001507 Derby Works 1883, 18891890 10 0  ?–1949
1116A class 0-4-0ST 1116A1120A,
23592360,
1131A1133A
15081512 Derby Works 1893, 1897 10 0 ..
1252 class 0-4-4T 12621281
12521261
12361265 Neilson & Co. 18751876 30 0
1377 class 0-6-0T .. 16601844 Derby Works (165),
Vulcan Foundry (20)
18781891 185 1 19281965
1738 class 4-4-0 .. .. ... .. .. 0 ..
2228 class 0-4-4T .. .. ... .. .. 0 ..
2441 class 0-6-0T 24412460
27412780
19001959 Vulcan Foundry 18991902 60 0 19541967 later LMS 72007259
Class 2 & 3 goods 0-6-0 .. .. ... .. .. 0 ..
2501 class 2-6-0 25012510
25212540
22002229 Baldwin Locomotive Works 1899 30 0 ..
2511 class 2-6-0 25112520 22302239 Schenectady Locomotive Works 1899 10 0 ..
Richard Deeley (19031909)
990 class 4-4-0 990999 Derby Works 19081909 10 0 19251928
1000 class 4-4-0 10001029 10051044 Derby Works 19051909 40 1 ..
1528 class 0-4-0T 15281537 Derby Works 1907, 19211922 10 0 ..
2000 class 0-6-4T 20002039 Derby Works 1907 40 0 19351938
Paget locomotive 2-6-2 2299 Derby Works 1908 1 0 1912
Henry Fowler (19091922)
Class 2F 0-6-0 .. ... .. .. 0 ..
Class 2P 4-4-0 .. ... .. .. 0 ..
3835 class 0-6-0 35854026 ... 19111922 192 1 .. plus S&DJR 6771
Lickey Banker 0-10-0 2290 Derby Works 1919 1 0 1956

Ex- LT&SR (1912-1922)

In 1912 the Midland bought the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway, but this continued to be operated more or less separately. The Midland, and the LMS subsequently built some LT&SR designs.

Liveries

Prior to 1883 painted green. After 1883 the Midland adopted its distinctive crimson lake livery for passenger engines.

Influence on LMS locomotive policy

The LMS continued the Midland's small engine policy until William Stanier arrived in 1933. The last new Midland design was Stanier 0-4-4T of 1932/3 but some Fowler 4Fs were constructed as late as 1940.

Preservation

Five original Midland locomotives have survived, these being:

In addition, there are 13 engines of two classes built by the LMS to essentially Midland designs:

  • 4F 0-6-0 Nos (4)4027 (4)4123 and (4)4422
  • 3F 0-6-0T Nos 16576/(4)7493, (4)7279 (4)7324, (4)7327, (4)7357, (4)7383 (4)7406 (4)7445 (4)7564 and (4)7298

And two engines built by the Midland for the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway:

Also, one ex-LT&SR engine which passed through Midland ownership:

  • LT&SR 79 Class No. 80 Thundersley

Further, there are several more engines to later non-Midland designs built at Derby which have survived.

Further reading

The main works on Midland engines are given by two four volume histories, as follows:

  • Bob Essery and David Jenkinson An Illustrated Review of Midland Locomotives from 1883 (Didcot, Oxon: Wild Swan Publications)
  • Stephen Summerson Midland Railway LocomotivesIrwell Press
    • Vol. 1A comprehensive primary account, general survey 18441922, growth and development, boilers, tenders, fittings and details. ISBN 1903266106
    • Vol. 2The Kirtley classes. ISBN 1903266858
    • Vol. 3Johnson classes part 1 : the slim boiler passenger tender engines, passenger and goods tank engines. ISBN 1903266262
    • Vol. 4Johnson classes part 2 : the goods and later passenger tender engines, Deeley, Fowler and LTSR classes. ISBN 1903266556

Also useful is:

External links


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