Midland Railway Class 3 4-4-0

Midland Railway Class 3 4-4-0
745 at Bourneville (Birmingham) Locomotive Depot, July 1947
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerSamuel W. Johnson
BuilderDerby Works
Build date1900–1905
Total produced80
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte4-4-0
 • UIC2′B n2 → 2′B h2
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Leading dia.
  • First ten: 3 ft 6+1⁄2 in (1.080 m)
  • Remainder: 3 ft 3+1⁄2 in (1.003 m)
Driver dia.6 ft 9 in (2.057 m)
Loco weight53 long tons 0 cwt (118,700 lb or 53.9 t)
Fuel typeCoal
Water cap.3,500–4,500 imp gal (16,000–20,000 L; 4,200–5,400 US gal)
CylindersTwo, inside
Cylinder size
  • Original: 19+1⁄2 in × 26 in (495 mm × 660 mm)
  • Rebuilt: 20+1⁄2 in × 26 in (521 mm × 660 mm)
Career
Operators
Power class
  • MR: 3
  • LMS/BR: 3P
Withdrawn1925–1926 (7)
1928 (1)
1935–1953
DispositionAll scrapped

The Midland Railway Class 3 4-4-0 was a series of 80 steam engines built by the Midland railway at the Derby locomotive works between 1900 and 1905.

They were designed for express passenger trains, earlier types not being powerful enough for the new heavier trains. They were the first of that railway's engines to be built new with Belpaire fireboxes,[1] and the engines were generally known as "Belpaires".

Overview

[edit]

There were only minor differences between the four groups. All had 6 ft 9 in driving wheels with inside cylinders of 19½ in diameter with 26 in stroke. Seventy-three received type G8AS superheated boilers between 1913 and 1926. The remaining 7 continued in service with non-superheated boilers.

Accidents and Incidents

[edit]
  • On 13 October, 1928, locomotive No. 714 of the class was hauling a night mail train from Leeds to Bristol, when it failed to stop at a signal near Charfield railway station. It collided with a freight train, which was hauled by GWR 4300 Class no. 6381. Another freight train, hauled by an 0-6-0 on the opposite line, was partially derailed. In total, 16 people were killed and 41 people were injured. No. 714 was scrapped as a result of the accident.[2]

Disposal

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The 7 non-superheated locomotives were withdrawn in 1925/6. No. 714, was destroyed in the Charfield railway disaster of October 1928[3] and the remainder withdrawn between 1935 and 1953. None has been preserved.

Numbering

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Original numbers Post-1907 numbers Year built Boiler
2606–2610, 800–804 700–709 1900–1901 GX - 175 psi
2781–2790, 810–839 710–749 1902–1904 G8 - 180 psi
840–849 750–759 1904 G8 - 180 psi
850–869 760–779 1904–1905 G8A - 200 psi

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Cook 2000, p. 30.
  2. ^ Gerard & Hamilton 1981, pp. 45–49.
  3. ^ Baxter 1982, p. 132.

Sources

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  • Baxter, Bertram (1982). Baxter, David (ed.). British Locomotive Catalogue 1825–1923. Vol. 3A: Midland Railway and its constituent companies. Ashbourne, Derbyshire: Moorland Publishing Company. ISBN 9780903485524.
  • Cook, A.F. (2000). Raising Steam on the LMS: The Evolution of LMS Locomotive Boilers. RCTS. ISBN 978-0901115850.
  • Bob Essery and David Jenkinson An Illustrated Review of Midland Locomotives from 1883 (Didcot, Oxon: Wild Swan Publications)
  • Gerard, Malcolm; Hamilton, J.A.B. (1981) [1967]. Trains to Nowhere. London: George Allen & Unwin. ISBN 0-04-385084-7.
  • Stephen Summerson Midland Railway Locomotives – Irwell Press
    • Vol. 4 – Johnson classes part 2 : the goods and later passenger tender engines, Deeley, Fowler and LTSR classes. ISBN 1-903266-55-6
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