- LMS Class 7F 0-8-0
Infobox Locomotive
name=LMS 7F 0-8-0
powertype=Steam
caption=49582 at Aintree September 1960.
builder=LMSCrewe Works
builddate=1929–1932
whytetype=0-8-0
uicclass=Dh
totalproduction=125
gauge=RailGauge|ussg
driversize=RailGauge|ussg
weight=convert|60.75|LT|t|1
locotenderweight=convert|101.95|LT|t|1
length=convert|56|ft|1|in|m|2|abbr=on
wheelbase="loco:" convert|18|ft|3|in|m|2|abbr=on
fueltype=Coal
fuelc
convert|4|LT|t|1
waterc
convert|3500|impgal|l|abbr=on|lk=on
boiler=LMS type G7¾S
boilerpressure=convert|200|psi|MPa|2|abbr=on|lk=on
tubearea=convert|1434|sqft|abbr=on later convert|1402|sqft|abbr=on
superheaterarea=convert|353|sqft|abbr=on to convert|338|sqft|abbr=on
fireboxarea=convert|150|sqft|abbr=on
firearea=convert|23.5|sqft|abbr=on
cylindercount=Two
cylindersize=19½×26 in (495×660 mm)
valvegear=Walschaerts, piston valves
tractiveeffort=convert|29745|lbf|kN|2|abbr=on
roadnumber=LMS: 9500–9674
BR: 49500–49674
railroadclass=7F
nicknames="Baby Austins"
"Austin Sevens"
retiredate=1949–1962TheLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway Fowler Class 7Fsteam locomotive was an update of theLondon and North Western Railway (LNWR) G2 Class0-8-0 . The class were sometimes known as 'Baby Austins', orAustin 7 s, after a motor car that was becoming popular at the time.Overview
It featured a
Belpaire firebox and increased boiler pressure over its predecessor but had the same power rating of 7F. Unfortunately the design had been done at the old Midlands'sDerby Works and the drawing office staff insisted on using Midland practice. Among other things this meant that theaxle bearings were too small for the loads they had to carry. E.S Cox, writing in a series of articles in Trains Illustrated c. 1957, suggests that they had a sufficiently modern and effective front end that, for steady slogging, some drivers preferred them to anLMS Stanier Class 8F . However, this also meant that, with bearings comparable to anLMS Fowler Class 4F and already inadequate for the lower powered engine, the bearings broke up rapidly.Numbering
Equipment
Numbers 9672-4 were fitted with
ACFI feedwater heater s when built but these were removed duringWorld War II . After the war, five were briefly converted to oil burning.British Railways
They all survived to pass into
British Railways ownership but there were only 19 left by the end of January 1959. They had a fairly short life and
were all withdrawn between 1949 and 1962, some time before the G2s which lasted until 1964.External links
* [http://www.railuk.co.uk/steam/getsteamclass.php?item=7F-B Rail UK database, LMS Class 7F 0-8-0]
References
* Ian Allan ABC of British Railways Locomotives, summer 1961 edition, part 3, page 52
*
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