LMS Fowler Class 4F

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.[1]

LMS Fowler Class 4F
44444 at Stockport, 1950
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerHenry Fowler
Builder
Build date1924–1941
Total produced575
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte0-6-0
 • UICC h2
Gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Driver dia.5 ft 3 in (1.600 m)
Length52 ft 0 1⁄8 in (15.853 m)
Loco weight48.75 long tons (49.53 t; 54.60 short tons)
Tender weight41.20 long tons (41.86 t; 46.14 short tons)
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity4 long tons (4.1 t; 4.5 short tons)
Water cap3,500 imp gal (16,000 l; 4,200 US gal)
Firebox:
 • Firegrate area		21 sq ft (2.0 m2)
BoilerLMS type G7S
Boiler pressure175 lbf/in2 (1.21 MPa)
Heating surface:
 • Tubes and flues		1,034 sq ft (96.1 m2)
 • Firebox124 sq ft (11.5 m2)
Superheater:
​
 • Heating area252 sq ft (23.4 m2) later 246 sq ft (22.9 m2)
CylindersTwo, inside
Cylinder size20 in × 26 in (508 mm × 660 mm)
Valve gearStephenson
Valve typepiston valves
Performance figures
Tractive effort24,555 lbf (109.23 kN)
Career
Operators
Power class4F
Numbers
  • LMS: 4027–4606
  • BR: 44027–44606
Axle load classBR: Route Availability 5
LocaleLondon Midland Region
Withdrawn1959–1966
Disposition3 Preserved, remainder scrapped
An earlier view of 44458, this time passing Water Orton.

Background

The 4F was based on the 197-strong Midland Railway 3835 Class of 1911, with only a few modifications, primarily the adoption of left-hand drive instead of right-hand drive. They originally had been designed by Henry Fowler, who from 1925 became CME of the LMS.

Midland Railway locomotives were notorious for their short axle-box bearings, which were prone to overheating. This design feature was perpetuated in the LMS 4F. The problem was eventually solved with the fitting of mechanical lubricators.

Construction
4129 with number on the tender, pre-1928

The LMS constructed 530 of the locomotives between 1923 and 1928, numbered sequentially from where the Midland engines left off from 4027. A further 45 examples were reluctantly authorised by William Stanier in 1937 at the behest of the operating department.

The missing numbers (4)4557–61 relate to five locomotives built for the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway to the Midland Railway 3835 Class design in 1922, and taken into LMS stock in 1930.

All entered British Railways stock in 1948. BR added 40000 to their numbers. They were all withdrawn between 1959 and 1966.

Accidents and incidents
  • On 12 February 1929, locomotive No. 4491 was hauling a freight train that was in a head-on collision with an express passenger train at Doe Hill station, Derbyshire due to a signalman's error. Two people were killed.[2]
  • On 4 September 1942, locomotive No. 4541 was hauling a freight train that overran the end of a loop in blackout conditions at Todmorden, Yorkshire and was derailed.[3]
  • On 6 June 1961, a locomotive of the class was running light when it was in a head-on collision with a freight train at Carlisle Citadel station, Cumberland.[3]

Withdrawal

Withdrawals from stock occurred between 1959 and 1966.

Preservation
Preserved 44422 pulls into Holt station on the North Norfolk Railway.

Three LMS-built 4Fs survive, with the first-built LMS 4F, No. (4)4027, being part of the National Collection. In addition, one Midland 4F, No. (4)3924 has also survived.

Numbers Built Builder Withdrawn Service Life Location Condition
LMS BR
4027 44027 Nov 1924 Derby Works Nov 1964 40 Years Vale of Berkeley Railway[4] Overhaul in progress following the loco's arrival at Sharpness.
4123 44123 Jul 1925 Crewe Works Jun 1965 39 Years, 11 months Avon Valley Railway Restoration in progress.
4422 44422 Oct 1927 Derby Works Jun 1965 37 Years, 8 months Churnet Valley Railway[5] Under overhaul. Returned to the CVR in December 2019 following the termination of its previous loan agreement with the West Somerset Railway.

Models

The 4F has been modelled by Lima (O, HO and N Gauge) and Graham Farish (N Gauge, still produced under the Bachmann label). Airfix produced a tender drive model of the 4F in OO Gauge in 1978. Production of this was continued by Dapol after it acquired Airfix models in 1985, and were subsequently sold to Hornby in the late 1990s. They upgraded the model to loco drive in 2012. Bachmann have produced a version of the Midland railway variant of the 4F since 2012.

References
  1. Platforms Souls (Chap.1), Whittaker, Nicholas, Gollancz, London, 1995
  2. Earnshaw, Alan (1991). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 7. Penryn: Atlantic Books. p. 22. ISBN 0-906899-50-8.
  3. Earnshaw, Alan (1990). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 6. Penryn: Atlantic Books. pp. 27, 39. ISBN 0-906899-37-0.
  4. "4F 4027". Vale of Berkeley Railway. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  5. Holden, Michael (3 December 2019). "Steam locomotive 44422 arrives at the Churnet Valley Railway". RailAdvent. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
Sources
  • David Hunt, John Jennison Bob Essery & Fred James LMS Locomotive Profiles No.10: The Standard Class 4 Goods 0-6-0s ISBN 1-905184-35-2 (pictorial supplement ISBN 1-905184-37-9)
  • Rowledge, J.W.P (1975). Engines of the LMS, built 1923–51. Oxford: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-902888-59-5.
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