Locomotive Performance

Review: The smaller Midland Locos
 
The Performances that I have encountered with Stanier Pacifics, Royal Scots, Jubilees, and Black 5's, have been summarized in recent editions of Locomotive Performance. So here we deal with the rest of the London Midland locomotives.

This includes 2-8-0 freight engines (hardly small, I agree), the 2-6-0 moguls, 0-6-0's, 4-4-0's, and tank engines ranging from the 2-6-4 classes, right down to the North London, and Midland class 1F, 0-6-0 tank locos. And, as well as covering the BR Steam period up to 1967, there are Main Line Steam runs from the 1980's, and, in the case of the smaller locos, visits to many of our Heritage lines.

The runs are classified in descending order of size, so we start with the 2-8-0 classes, and end with the small tank engines.

 
  2-8-0 CLASSES: 
22nd September 1962: 53808 Weymouth to Broadstone, Evercreech Junction, and Bath Green Park on an Ian Allan railtour  [view log of 53808]

2nd May 1981: 13809 Sheffield Midland to York via Normanton and return via Pontefract on the Pines Express railtour [view log of 13809]

3rd April 1982: 13809 Hellifield to Carnforth with driver Fothergill on the bottom leg of the Cumbrian Mountain Express   [view log of 13809]

13th September 1987: The inaugural runs of 53808 on the West Somerset Railway [view log of 53808]

18th September 1993: 48773 (8233) on the West Somerset Railway on a through Severn Valley Charter train from Kidderminster  [view log of 48773]
 
  2-6-0 CLASSES: 
4th October 1997: 42765 on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway [view log of 42765]

11th April 1959: 43017 Evesham to Birmingham New Street via Broom  [view log of 43017]

11th April 1981: 43106 Dorridge to Didcot and back on the Flying Pig railtour. The loco was based on the Severn Valley Railway [view log of 43106]
11th & 26th February 1983: 43106 & 80079 on the Welsh Marches Express. Shrewsbury to Hereford on 11th February 1983, and  Hereford to Newport and return on 26th February 1983. On the latter date the sparks really flew [view log of 43106 & 80079]
26th August 1987: Steam on the Cambrian Coast line: 46443 Machynlleth to Barmouth and return on both the morning and afternoon services [view log of 46443]
1st June 1991: 46443 on the Llangollen Railway [view log of 46443]
22nd February 1997: 46441 on the East Lancashire Railway [view log of 46441]
 
  0-6-0 CLASS 4F: 
18th July 1959: 44082 Rotherham to Birmingham New Street on the Saturday 9.20am from Filey Camp to Kings Norton. 44082 took over from an ailing 44206, which had replaced LNER V2 2-6-2 no 60975 at Gascoigne Wood   [view log of 44082]
28th March 1965: 44560 Templecombe to Highbridge and return on the SCTS Southern Wanderer railtour  [view log of 44560]
25th June 1995: 44422 on the Great Central Railway [view log of 44422]  
9th March 1996: 44422 on the West Somerset Railway [view log of 44422]
 
  4-4-0 CLASSES: 
6th December 1955: Compound 4P 4-4-0 no 40932: Worcester Shrub Hill to Birmingham New Street on the 1.50pm stopping service from Gloucester Eastgate  [view log of 40932]
27th March 1957: 2P 4-4-0 no 40356 Peterborough to Leicester London Road on the 2.26pm Ely to Birmingham New Street. A Black 5 took over at Leicester   [view log of 40356]
 
  2-6-4T CLASSES: 
8th March 1958: 42186 on the 8.26am Birmingham New Street to Leicester London Road semi fast  [view log of 42186]
5th April 1958: 42267 Rugby Midland to Birmingham New Street  on a relief service from Peterborough  [view log of 42267]
 
  2-6-2T IVATT 2MT CLASS: 

The photograph of 41241 (left) was taken on the Llangollen Railway, at Glyndyfrdwy, during the 2004 Spring Gala. The locomotive's home base is the Keighley & Worth Valley line. Similarly, 41312, is based on the Mid Hants Railway, but made a successful visit to the West Somerset Railway for that railway's 1999 Branch line Gala.

These locomotives are ideal for working on our Heritage lines, and are popular with the footplate crews.

8th November 1955: 41285 Leamington Spa Avenue to Rugby Midland on the 10.32am Push Pull service from Leamington Spa Milverton [view log of 41285]
2nd September 1958: 41306 on the 2.49pm Exmouth to Exeter Central [view log of 41306]
2nd September 1958: 41318 on the 2.21pm Tipton St Johns to Exmouth [view log of 41318]
4th April 1987: 41241 on the Worth Valley Railway [view log of 41241]
19th March 1999: 41312 on the West Somerset Railway [view log of 41312]
8th March 2004: 41241 on the Llangollen Railway [view log of 41241]
  OTHER CLASSES: 
LNWR 0-6-2 COAL TANK no 1054: 20th September 1986: 1054 on the Severn Valley Railway [view log of 1054]
26th & 27th May 1997: 1054 on the Llangollen Railway [view log of 1054]
MIDLAND RAILWAY 1F 0-6-0T no 41708: 25th May 1997: 41708 on the Llangollen Railway [view log of 41708]
CLASS 3F 0-6-0T (Jinty) no 47383: 15th September 1985: 47383 on the Severn Valley Railway [view log of 47383]
CLASS 3F NORTH LONDON 0-6-0T no 58850: 8th September 1985: 58850 on the Bluebell Railway. A 6 coach train, and a spot of bother with steam  [view log of 58850]
 
HIGHLIGHTS: (1) Driver Fothergill's 1982 effort with 2-8-0 13809 from Hellifield to Carnforth (2) The double headed Welsh Marches Express in 1983 with 43106 and Standard tank no 80079  (3) 44082 battling with a 10 coach train from Rotherham to Birmingham in 1959 (4) The pleasure of travelling behind the Ivatt class 2 2-6-2 tanks on the East Devon branches in the 1950's, in particular 41318 in September 1958.