Midland Railway Class 3 4-4-0

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, and the engines were generally known as "Belpaires".

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 cap3,500–4,500 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

Overview

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.

Disposal

The 7 non-superheated locomotives were withdrawn in 1925/6. No. 714, was destroyed in the Charfield railway disaster of October 1928[1] and the remainder withdrawn between 1935 and 1953. None has been preserved.

Numbering
Original numbersPost-1907 numbersYear builtBoiler
2606–2610, 800–804700–7091900–1901GX - 175 psi
2781–2790, 810–839710–7491902–1904G8 - 180 psi
840–849750–7591904G8 - 180psi
850–869760–7791904–1905G8A - 200psi

References
  1. Baxter 1982, p. 132.
  • Baxter, Bertram (1982). Baxter, David (ed.). British Locomotive Catalogue 1825–1923. Volume 3A: Midland Railway and its constituent companies. Ashbourne, Derbyshire: Moorland Publishing Company. ISBN 9780903485524.

Sources
  • Bob Essery and David Jenkinson An Illustrated Review of Midland Locomotives from 1883 (Didcot, Oxon: Wild Swan Publications)
    • Vol. 2 – Passenger tender classes (1988) ISBN 0-906867-59-2
  • 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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