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 Light Engine policy indirectly contributed to several rail accidents in the late-19th and early 20th centuries, such as those at Hawes Junction and Ais Gill. Accidents and less serious incidents were caused by several trains stalling due to insufficient power, even from multiple locomotives, and the much higher number of light engine movements needed over Midland lines to allow locomotives used for multiple heading operations to return to their depots. Both the accidents mentioned above happened in the north of England, on a line known for its steep gradients. On the majority of the Midland network, where frequency of service was more important than gradient performance, the Light Engine policy was used without issue. Only on the relatively few Midland lines with steep, long gradients did it cause these problems.

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

• Midland Counties Railway Locomotives
• North Midland Railway Locomotives
• Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway Locomotives

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.

Matthew Kirtley (1844-1873)

• 156 Class 2-4-0
• 480 Class 0-6-0
• 700 Class 0-6-0
• 890 Class

Samuel W. Johnson (1873-1903)

Classes include:

• 115 Class 4-2-2 ("Spinners")
• Class 4 Compound 4-4-0
• 179 Class
• 483 Class
• 1116A Class 0-4-0ST
• 1377 Class 0-6-0T
• 1738 Class
• 2228 Class 0-4-4T
• 2441 Class 0-6-0T
• Class 2 & 3 Goods engines 0-6-0
• Baldwin 2-6-0 30 Locomotives built at the Baldwin Locomotive Works, USA
• Schenectady 2-6-0 10 Locomotives built at the Schenectady Locomotive Works, USA

Richard Deeley (1903-1909)

• 990 Class 4-4-0
• 1000 Class 4-4-0
• 1528 Class 0-4-0T
• 2000 Class 0-6-4T
• Paget locomotive 2-6-2

Henry Fowler (1909-1923)

Fowler claimed never to have designed a locomotive, but it is customary to attribute to a Locomotive Superintendent those designs produced during his term of office.

• Class 2P 4-4-0
• 3835 Class 0-6-0
• Lickey Banker 0-10-0

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:

• 156 Class 2-4-0 no. 158A. (LMS 20002)
• 115 Class "Spinner" 4-2-2 no. 673
• 1000 Class "Compound" No. (4)1000
• 1377 Class "Johnson half-cab" no. (4)1708
• 4F 0-6-0 No (4)3924

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

• 4Fs nos (4)4027 (4)4123 and (4)4422
• 3F Jinties 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:

• S&DJR 7F 2-8-0 nos 88 and 89.

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

References

• Bob Essery and David Jenkinson An illustrated review of Midland locomotives from 1883
• Vol. 1 - A general survey
• Vol. 2 - Passenger tender classes
• Vol. 3 - Tank engines
• Vol. 4 - Goods tender classes

External links

• Some photographs of Midland engines from the Midland Railway Society