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The London, Midland and Scottish Railway Fowler Class 7F was a class of 0-8-0 steam locomotives. They were a Midlandised version of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) Class G2 and Class G2A 0-8-0s. They were also classified as Class G3 under the former LNWR system. The class were sometimes known as Baby Austins, or Austin 7s , after a motor car that was becoming popular at the time.
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 Midland Railway's Derby Works and the drawing office staff insisted on using Midland practice. Among other things this meant that the axle 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 an LMS Stanier Class 8F. However, this also meant that, with bearings comparable to an LMS Fowler Class 4F and already inadequate for the lower powered engine, the bearings broke up rapidly.
| Number | Lot Number | Date built | Crewe Works serial Nos. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LMS | BR | |||
| 9500–99 | 49500–99 | 57 | 1929 | 5872–5971 |
| 9600–02 | 49600–02 | 71 | 1930 | 6047–49 |
| 9603–19 | 49603–19 | 71 | 1931 | 6050–66 |
| 9620–32 | 49620–32 | 81 | 1931 | 1–13 |
| 9633 | 49633 | 81 | 1932 | 14 |
| 9634–35 | 49634–35 | 81 | 1931 | 15–16 |
| 9636–59 | 49636–59 | 81 | 1932 | 17–40 |
| 9660–74 | 49660–74 | 84 | 1932 | 41–55 |
Numbers 9672–74 were fitted with ACFI feedwater heaters when built but these were removed during the Second World War. After the war, five were briefly converted to oil burning.
All members of the class entered British Railways ownership in 1948, but 122 had been withdrawn by the end of 1951; fifty were withdrawn without receiving their BR number. They had a fairly short life, and all were withdrawn and scrapped between 1949 and 1962, some time before the final G2s were withdrawn in 1964.
All engines were withdrawn between 1949 and 1962.
| Year | Quantity in service at start of year | Quantity withdrawn | Locomotive numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | 175 | 61 | 9504/07/12/17–18/21–22/27–28/30/33–34/42/46/49–50/59/65/73/75–77/84/97/99, 9601/04/06/13–14/16/26/29/32–33/39/42/44–46/52/54/56/58/69–70, 49513/25–26/39/51–52/64/81/84, 49607/11/22/30/43/47. |
| 1950 | 114 | 37 | 9514/29, 9619/21, 49500–01/16/19–20/31/35/37/41/43/53/56/61/67/69/74–75/79/83/96, 49605/09/15/28/34–36/41/49/51/53/55/65. |
| 1951 | 77 | 24 | 49502/10/23/40/58/68/71/80/85/87/89–90/93–95, 49610/17/23/25/31/50/60/63/73. |
| 1952 | 53 | 6 | 49506/48/63/91, 49661/71. |
| 1953 | 47 | 4 | 49524, 49600/08/12. |
| 1954 | 43 | 2 | 49503, 49602. |
| 1955 | 41 | 3 | 49554/57/70. |
| 1956 | 38 | 6 | 49532/52, 49603/20/38/66. |
| 1957 | 32 | 12 | 49536/38/45/47/55/60/66, 49648/57/59/64/72. |
| 1958 | 20 | 0 | — |
| 1959 | 20 | 11 | 49509/11/15/78/82/86/92/98, 49640/62/67. |
| 1960 | 9 | 4 | 49505/44, 49624/74. |
| 1961 | 5 | 4 | 49618/27/37/68. |
| 1962 | 1 | 1 | 49508. |
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway had the largest stock of steam locomotives of any of the 'Big Four' Grouping, i.e. pre-Nationalisation railway companies in the UK. Despite early troubles arising from factions within the new company, the LMS went on to build some very successful designs; many lasted until the end of steam traction on British Railways in 1968. For an explanation of numbering and classification, see British Rail locomotive and multiple unit numbering and classification.
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Jubilee Class is a class of steam locomotive designed for main line passenger work. 191 locomotives were built between 1934 and 1936. They were built concurrently with the similar looking LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0. They were nicknamed Red Staniers and Jubs.
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Stanier Class 8F is a class of steam locomotives designed for hauling heavy freight. 852 were built between 1935 and 1946, as a freight version of William Stanier's successful Black Five, and the class saw extensive service overseas during and after the Second World War.
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Class V2 2-6-2 steam locomotives were designed by Sir Nigel Gresley for express mixed traffic work, and built at the LNER shops at Doncaster and Darlington between 1936 and 1944. The best known is the first of the class, 4771 Green Arrow, which is the sole survivor of the class.
The Patriot Class was a class of 52 express passenger steam locomotives built for the London Midland and Scottish Railway. The first locomotive of the class was built in 1930 and the last in 1934. The class was based on the chassis of the Royal Scot combined with the boiler from Large Claughtons earning them the nickname Baby Scots. A total of 18 were rebuilt to create the LMS Rebuilt Patriot Class between 1946 and 1948; thereafter those not subjected to rebuilding were often referred to as the Unrebuilt Patriot Class. These remaining 34 unrebuilt engines were withdrawn between 1960 and 1962.
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Hughes Crab or Horwich Mogul is a class of mixed-traffic 2-6-0 steam locomotive built between 1926 and 1932. They are noted for their appearance with large steeply-angled cylinders to accommodate a restricted loading gauge.
The London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Fowler Class 4F is a class of 0-6-0 steam locomotive designed for medium freight work. They represent the ultimate development of Midland Railway's six coupled tender engines. Many trainspotters knew them as "Duck Sixes", a nickname derived from their wheel arrangement.
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway Compound 4-4-0 was a class of steam locomotive designed for passenger work.
The Midland Railway (MR) 3835 Class is a class of 0-6-0 steam locomotives designed for freight work. The first two were introduced in 1911 by Henry Fowler. After the grouping in 1923, the designs were slightly modified and continued to be built up to 1941 by the LMS as the LMS Fowler Class 4F.
The Midland Railway 1000 Class is a class of 4-4-0 steam locomotive designed for passenger work. They were known to reach speeds of up to 85 mph.
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) Improved Precedent Class or Renewed Precedent Class is a class of 2-4-0 steam locomotives originally designed for express passenger work. They later gained the nickname of Jumbos.
The LNWR 380 Class was a class of 0-8-4T steam tank locomotives designed by H. P. M. Beames. Although designed under the LNWR regime they appeared as LMS locomotives after the 1923 grouping. They were essentially an extended version of the 1185 Class 0-8-2T with a longer bunker, and were also related to the 0-8-0 freight engines. Their main area of work was to be in South Wales.
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) Prince of Wales Class was a class of express passenger locomotive. It was in effect, a superheated version of the Experiment Class 4-6-0.
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) George the Fifth Class was a class of 4-4-0 passenger steam locomotive.
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) Experiment Class was a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotive designed by George Whale.
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) Claughton Class was a class of 4-cylinder express passenger 4-6-0 steam locomotives.
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) Renown Class was a class of 4-4-0 steam locomotives. They were rebuilds of F.W. Webb's 4-cylinder compounds of the Jubilee and Alfred the Great classes into 2-cylinder simple engines by George Whale, later continued by Charles Bowen-Cooke.
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) Waterloo Class was a class of 2-4-0 steam locomotives that was also known as the Whitworth Class.
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) Class G2 is a class of 0-8-0 steam locomotives. 60 were built at Crewe Works in 1921–1922. Uniquely amongst classes of LNWR 8-coupled tender engines, they were not rebuilt from or into other classes. Somewhat confusingly, the LNWR Class G2a is sometimes considered a subclass, but not in this article. They were classified by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) as 5, from 1928 7F.
The Caledonian Railway 721 Class was a class of 4-4-0 steam locomotives designed by John F. McIntosh for the Caledonian Railway (CR) and introduced in 1896. All survived to be absorbed by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1923 and a few survived into British Railways (BR) ownership in 1948.
