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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.
Various locomotives were inherited from pre-grouping companies. Those from the smaller railways, and hence non-standard, were withdrawn quite early, while ex-Midland, LNWR and L&YR types persisted.
The Midland had long had a 'small engine policy', i.e. it preferred small engines hauling frequent, fairly short trains, and employing a second locomotive (double-heading) where necessary. Unfortunately this practice, while emininently suitable for the route from Sheffield, Derby and Nottingham to London was not at all suited to the route from Euston to Glasgow via Crewe, Preston and Carlisle (the 'West Coast Main Line') and it took several years to convince the senior staff responsible for such matters that this was the case.
The first sign of the change was the Royal Scot 4-6-0 class of 1927, officially designed by Fowler, but actually designed by the North British Locomotive Company with approval from Henry Fowler. Nevertheless, the majority of designs continued to be very much Midland in character.
This changed when William Stanier arrived. His large, streamlined 'Princess Coronation' class engines were iconic and flew the flag for the LMS against the competing Class A4 of the London and North Eastern Railway.
See LMS locomotive numbering and classification for an explanation of the numbers allocated to inherited locomotives and the power classification system used below.
The Midland shaped the subsequent LMS locomotive policy until 1933. Its locomotives (which it always referred to as engines) followed a corporate small engine policy, with numerous class 2F, 3F and 4F 0-6-0s for goods work, 2P and 4P 4-4-0s for passenger work, and 0-4-4T and 0-6-0T tank engines. The only exceptions to this were its 0-10-0 banking engine for Lickey Incline on its Bristol-Birmingham line, and the 7F 2-8-0 goods engines built by the Midland at their Derby locomotive works for the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway.
The LNWR did not have a significant impact on LMS policy as the Midland, although it did inspire the Fowler-built 7F.
The North Staffordshire Railway handed over 192 standard gauge engines into the LMS capital stock.
| NSR Number [1] | LMS Number | Wheel arrangement | Class | LMS Power classification | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger tender locomotives | |||||
| 86–87, 170–171 | 595–598 | 4-4-0 | G | 3P | An Adams design from 1910. Renumbered 5410–5413 in 1928. |
| 38 | 599 | 4-4-0 | KT | 3P | Adams design built 1912. Renumbered 5414 in 1928. |
| Passenger tank locomotives | |||||
| 9, 11–12, 41–42 | 1431–1435 | 0-4-4T | M | 3P | An Adams design of 1907. |
| 15, 17, 19, 54 | 1436–1439 | 0-4-4T | New M | 3P | Slightly modified class M (longer bunkers), built 1920 by then locomotive superintendent Hookham |
| 1A, 2A, 7, 10A, 17A, 18A, 22A, 23A, 27A, 29A, 48A, 71 | 1440–1451 | 2-4-0T | B | 1P | Longbottom class between 1882 and 1895 |
| 21, [2] 24, [2] 35, [3] 40, [3] 52, [3] 61 [4] | 1454–1459 | 2-4-2T | B | 1P | Rebuilt from Longbottom classes of 1878–1895 |
| 4–5, 30–31, 53, 70, 173–174 | 2040–2047 | 0-6-4T | C | 5F | Adams class of 1914. Despite their freight engine power classification the class was considered by the LMS to be a passenger engine class and were painted in a passenger engine colour scheme. [5] |
| 114–121 | 2048–2055 | 0-6-4T | F | 4P | Adams class of 1916–1919 |
| 8, 13–14, 39, 45–46, 55 | 2180–2186 | 4-4-2T | K | 3P | Adams class of 1911–1912 |
| Goods tank locomotives | |||||
| 3, 16, 20, 32, 33–34, 36–37, 43–44, 47, 49–50, 56–57, 60, 62–63, 73, 124A, 125A, 126–153 | 1550–1598 | 0-6-0T | D | 2F | Longbottom class of 1882–1889 |
| 23 | 1599 | 0-6-0T | 4 Cylinder D | 3F | Hookham 4-cylinder experimental. 1599 not carried by the engine before it was rebuilt in 1924 as tender locomotive and numbered 2367; renumbered 8689 before being withdrawn. |
| 58A, 59A | 1600–1601 | 0-6-0ST | ST | 1F | Built by Hudswell Clarke in 1866 |
| 74–75 | 1602–1603 | 0-6-0T | KS | 1F | Built by Kerr Stuart in 1919 |
| 58–59, 76–77, 154–155, | 2234–2239 | 0-6-2T | DX | 2F | Longbottom class of 1899–1902 |
| 1–2, 10, 18, 22, 25–29, 48, 51, 64–65, 69, 72, 89, 93–99, 124–125, 156–158, 165–168, 172 | 2240–2273 | 0-6-2T | L & New L | 3F | Adams class of 1903–1923. 2270–2273 (NSR numbers 1, 2, 10 & 48) were constructed by the LMS and were the last locomotives built at Stoke works. |
| Goods tender locomotives | |||||
| 66–68, 70A, 74A, 75A, 104–113, 116A, 118A, 119A, 120A, 121A, 122–123 | 2320–2342 | 0-6-0 | E | 1F | Clare class of 1871–1877. Engines remaining in 1928 renumbered 8650–8664 |
| 78–83, 100–103 | 2343–2350, 2357–2358 | 0-6-0 | '100' | 2F | Longbottom class of 1896–1907; In 1928 renumbered 8665–8672, 8679–8680 |
| 159–164 | 2351–2356 | 0-6-0 | '159' | 2F | Longbottom class of 1900; In 1928 renumbered 8673–8678 |
| 6, 84–85, 88, 90–92, 169 | 2359–2366 | 0-6-0 | H | 3F | Adams class of 1909–1911; In 1928 renumbered 8681–8688 |
In addition to the above, also added to the capital stock were the three NSR 0-2-2 railmotors numbered 1–3. These were not renumbered by the LMS before scrapping in 1927.
There were two other additions to the capital stock, the two locomotives of the 2 feet 6 inches (0.76 m) narrow gauge Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway. These two engines, number 1 E.R. Calthrop and number 2 J.B. Earle kept both their names and numbers under the LMS.
Four locomotives were added to the LMS service stock. Standard gauge 0-4-0 battery electric locomotive, built in 1917, and three, 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m) gauge, 0-4-0ST locomotives called Frog, Toad and Bob that worked the Caldon Low tramway, owned by the NSR. None of these locomotives were numbered by the LMS.
The class number used for Caledonian Railway engines was the stock number of the first member of the class to reach traffic. Hence earlier numbered classes could well have appeared later in time.
The Furness Railway was a small company with a correspondingly small locomotive stock. It is known best for the Baltic tanks (which seemed to be a little more successful than the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway examples of the same arrangement). The Baltics did not survive for long. The only class that survived as far as nationalisation were some moderate sized 0-6-0 tender engines classified '3F' by the LMS and as D5 by Bob Rush. Six were still in traffic as of 31 August 1948.
George Hughes, formerly of the L&YR, became the first Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the LMS. However, he retired just two years later in 1925. His one new design was a class of mixed traffic moguls known as "crabs".
He also built small numbers of slightly modified versions of pre-grouping designs including:
Sir Henry Fowler, deputy CME under Hughes, was formerly CME of the Midland Railway. He was largely responsible for the adoption of the Midland's small engines as LMS standards. This led to a crisis as these were underpowered. However, some moves towards larger engines were made, particularly through the Royal Scots and Garratts. At the end of Fowler's reign, Ernest Lemon briefly took over as CME, but was quickly promoted to make room for William Stanier.
The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway was jointly owned by the LMS and the Southern with the LMS responsible for locomotive affairs. However, its locomotives were kept separate until 1928 when they were taken into LMS stock. These mostly consisted of standard Midland types constructed by the Midland and the LMS. The S&DJR 7F 2-8-0, however, was specific to the line.
William Stanier arrived in 1932 from the Great Western Railway and, with the backing of Josiah Stamp, reversed the small engine policy.
Charles Fairburn was somewhat restricted by the rules applied to the railway companies by the war situation (not to mention the fact that Stanier had left things in a state that required little or no new design). He was responsible for the construction of a number of locomotives to Stanier designs (mainly the 8F 2-8-0 and 5MT 4-6-0) and some detailed design variations on the latter. He died of a heart attack in October 1945.
George Ivatt, son of the former GNR CME Henry Ivatt, became CME in 1946. He continued building some Stanier types, but introduced some low-powered class 2 engines and a medium-powered class 4 mixed traffic design. A pair of main line diesels were also produced.
The LMS experimented with various forms of non-steam locomotives, and pioneered the use of diesel locomotives in Great Britain.
LMS locomotive design should have ended in 1948 at Nationalisation, but had enormous influence over the design of British Railways' 'Standard' steam locomotives by former LMS man R.A. Riddles. Some of the designs were little changed from the comparable designs by Ivatt.
Riddles built quite a few examples of designs from the 'Big Four', including most of the Fairburn/Ivatt tank engines. These were distributed around the system, with quite a few of the 2-6-2 designs going to the Southern Region.
Pre-grouping types were withdrawn early for being non-standard, and locomotives were routinely withdrawn after their lives expired.
Withdrawal of locomotives generally did not take place until the great locomotive cull of British Railways in the period 1962–1966. A pair of "Black Fives" were the last steam locomotives to be run on British Railways in 1968, although since then there have been almost weekly charter runs for the enthusiast and tourist markets and the occasional timetabled service (for instance at Dawlish and Stratford-upon-Avon).
A significant number of LMS locomotives have been preserved:
A smaller number of pre-grouping locomotives inherited by the LMS have also been preserved.
Sir William Arthur Stanier, was a British railway engineer, and was chief mechanical engineer of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.
The Locomotives of the Midland Railway, 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. 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.
Sir Henry Fowler, was an English railway engineer, and was chief mechanical engineer of the Midland Railway and subsequently the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.
Henry George Ivatt, known as George Ivatt, was the post-war Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London Midland and Scottish Railway. He was the son of the Great Northern Railway locomotive engineer Henry Ivatt. George Ivatt was born in Dublin, Ireland, and educated at Uppingham School, England. He married Dorothy Sarah Harrison (1881-1962) in 1913.
David Jenkinson was a railway modeller and historian, who had a particular interest in the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and was president of the LMS Society.
Robert John "Bob" Essery was a British railway modeller and historian with a particular interest in the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and one of its principal constituents, the Midland Railway (MR).
The steam locomotives of British Railways were used by British Railways over the period 1948–1968. The vast majority of these were inherited from its four constituent companies, the "Big Four".
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Stanier Class 5 4-6-0, commonly known as the Black Five, is a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotives. It was introduced by William Stanier and built between 1934 and 1951, of which 842 were built and were numbered 4658-5499. Several members of the class survived to the last day of steam on British Railways in 1968, and eighteen are preserved.
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Royal Scot Class is a class of 4-6-0 express passenger locomotive introduced in 1927. Originally having parallel boilers, all members were later rebuilt with tapered type 2A boilers, and were in effect two classes.
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) Stanier Class 2 0-4-4T was a class of 10 light passenger locomotives built in 1932. Ostensibly designed under new Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) William Stanier, they were in fact the last new design of the Midland Railway's school of engineering.
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T is a class of light 'mixed-traffic' steam locomotive introduced in 1946.
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 Midland Railway (MR) 2441 Class was a class of steam locomotive. They were introduced by Samuel Johnson in 1899, originally with round-topped fireboxes. Henry Fowler later rebuilt them with Belpaire fireboxes. They were given the power classification 3F. The LMS Fowler Class 3F of 1924 was based on this design.
The Midland Railway 483 Class 4-4-0 was a class of steam locomotive designed by Henry Fowler for passenger work on the Midland Railway. The class were nominally "rebuilds" of various earlier classes designed by Samuel W. Johnson, although the '483' class engines were, unquestionably, 'accountancy rebuilds'
. This design formed the basis for the later LMS Class 2P 4-4-0.
The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LTSR) 79 Class is a class of 4-4-2T suburban tank engines. They were designed by Thomas Whitelegg, as a development of the earlier 37 Class. They could reach a top speed of 65 mph.
The LT&SR 69 class was a class of 0-6-2T steam locomotives designed for freight work on the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway. Six were initially built in 1903 to the design of Thomas Whitelegg, four more followed in 1908, and a further four in 1912, after the LT&SR's takeover by the Midland Railway (MR) in that year, giving a total of 14. The Midland renumbered them 2180–2193, and all entered LMS stock upon the grouping of 1923. The LMS renumbered them 2220–2233 in 1923, but then took them back to 2180–2193 in 1939. In 1947 they were again renumbered 1980–1993 by the LMS, and in 1948 all were acquired by British Railways. BR added 40000 to their numbers so they became 41980–41993. Withdrawals started in 1958, and by 1959 all but 41981 had gone. The last engine was withdrawn in 1962, and none of the small fleet were preserved.
The Midland Railway 1252 class was a class of thirty 0-4-4T locomotives built by Neilson and Company in 1875–1876 to the design of Samuel Waite Johnson. They were a development of the 6 Class. Originally numbers 1262–1281 and 1252–1261. Under the Midland Railway's 1907 renumbering scheme they became 1236–1265.
The North Staffordshire Railway built or had constructed for it, approximately 350 locomotives. Until the company established Stoke railway works at Stoke-upon-Trent in 1864, a variety of engineering firms supplied locomotives. The company became more self-reliant as time went on, and by the beginning of the 20th century virtually all new engines were produced at Stoke works.
The Glasgow and South Western Railway 540 Class were 4-6-4T steam tank locomotives designed by Robert Whitelegg and built in 1922, shortly before the G&SWR was absorbed into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). They were referred to in official G&SWR publicity as the Baltic Class, although they were also known more prosaically to enginemen as the 'Big Pugs'.