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In 1922, Henry Fowler, CME of the Midland Railway proposed the construction of 60 Power class 2 0-4-4 passenger tanks for suburban traffic in major cities. The board approved a prototype to built at Derby works. This engine, numbered 1431 entered traffic in September 1922. Whilst the trials proved to be a success, the impending grouping & Derby being preoccupied with the other business, prevented more from being built. Even though the LMS adopted the Midland's small engine policy & kept Fowler as CME, the company chose not to adopt No. 1431 as a new class of passenger tank, choosing instead to order more of the ex-LT&SR 4-4-2Ts as an early standard.
1431 (referred to as 'Gwen' by many) would continue working out of Kentish Town shed until mid-1925, when she was sent on loan to the North Western Railway of the Island of Sodor. The railway's then controller, Topham Hatt, was impressed by the engine's performance so much, that he purchased her the following year, (along with two MR 1528 class kits). As of now, 'Gwen' can still be seen working a push-pull service between Wellsworth & Brendam.
After 1431 was sold, the 2P 0-4-4T story did not end on the LMS, but I think you may already know that one.....
In 1922, Henry Fowler, CME of the Midland Railway proposed the construction of 60 Power class 2 0-4-4 passenger tanks for suburban traffic in major cities. The board approved a prototype to built at Derby works. This engine, numbered 1431 entered traffic in September 1922. Whilst the trials proved to be a success, the impending grouping & Derby being preoccupied with the other business, prevented more from being built. Even though the LMS adopted the Midland's small engine policy & kept Fowler as CME, the company chose not to adopt No. 1431 as a new class of passenger tank, choosing instead to order more of the ex-LT&SR 4-4-2Ts as an early standard.
1431 (referred to as 'Gwen' by many) would continue working out of Kentish Town shed until mid-1925, when she was sent on loan to the North Western Railway of the Island of Sodor. The railway's then controller, Topham Hatt, was impressed by the engine's performance so much, that he purchased her the following year, (along with two MR 1528 class kits). As of now, 'Gwen' can still be seen working a push-pull service between Wellsworth & Brendam.
After 1431 was sold, the 2P 0-4-4T story did not end on the LMS, but I think you may already know that one.....
Β Β Gordon the Big Engine was feeling unwell. He was out of breath and his cylinders ached. The Fat Controller met him after the first few days with news.
βYou are in need of a general repairβ, he said, βNow, itβs nothing serious, and youβll be back in about a week or two. James shall take you on his goods train later tomorrow.β
βOh, superbβ¦β, grunted Gordon as James gave him a smug look, βBut who will take my express? Sure not little James or Henry, the holiday trafficβs too much for the likes of themβ¦β
βWellβ¦β, said the Fat Controller, βTheyβre too busy to help out, so Iβve decided to loan anβ¦ express diesel from BR.β
Vulgar noises greeted this, accompanied by loud wheeshes of steam, but they quickly subsided after a few stern looks from the Fat Controller. That didnβt mean the engines kept their grievances bottled up. James was the first to speak after the Fat Controller left.
βHonestly!β, he rapped, βWhy does the Fat Controller insist on bringing these wretched, good for nothing diesels onto our railway!β
βI have no ideaβ¦β muttered BoCo, who was stood next to James.
James tried to recover, but everything he seemed to say made it worse, and eventually he just left it alone. The Scottish Twins continued.
βHeβll probably bring in a diesel from tha' West Coast Mainlineβ, said Donald, βMe βn Douggie met a whole load oβ new express diesels back in yon fifties.β
βAye.β continued Douglas, βThey were some oβ tha rudest diesels we ever met, kept on babbling aboot how easier and simpler they were tae use compared to uz steam engines, and I have no doubt this one will just the same.β
The engines hoped they were wrong.
They werenβt. The diesel arrived just after Gordon went away for his repairs. Her name was Centurion.Β She was bigger than Bear and BoCo, big and boxy with 6 wheels on each bogie. She stared at the engines when she was readied for work in the morning.
βUghβ¦β, she snorted, βLook at you all. Hours and youβre still not ready. All I need is a key and, like that, Iβm offβ¦β
βYes.β drawled Duck, βThatβs the first time weβve heard a diesel say that. Are all mainland engines this unoriginal?β
βWhy you little-β
It was just then that the twins puffed into the yard after snow ploughing. Centurion snorted at the twins.
βAnd waβ do ye mean by thaβ?β glowered Douglas.
βOh, I just havenβt seen your kind in a while, let alone moving about! The last few of you were dealt with as my family arrivedβ¦ I doubt the men missed them, obtuse old things. They never had to fuss around us dieselsβ¦β
Centurion then departed for her train. All the engines in the shouted after her, telling her just what they thought of her little display.Β
For all her poor social graces, Centurion worked well, keeping to time and treating the coaches well. She even hauled goods trains with little complaints or remarks. That, however, was saved for when she was off duty. The diesels on the Fat Controllerβs railway had accepted the fact that theyβd have to wait on the steam engines every so often. The mainlanders were right in that they had to have more fuss over them. If you asked Centurion, however, you would think that it would take hours to complete a steam engine's βweird ritualsβ. Sheβd complain at having to wait on engines to βget steam upβ and how time consuming it was taking on both coal and water, not to mention the soot and ash disposal wagons sheβd gag at while passing by. The biggest source of ire for her, however, was the turntable.
βImagine!β, she said one morning, βNeeding a great big thing just to work in two directions!β
βOi!β, spluttered James, βWe need it! Itβs unsafe to travel backwards at speed!β
βAye!β, added Donald, βWeβll gladly tak thaβ extra time if it guarantees the safety of uz and whatever weβre pulling!β
βUs diesels donβt need such silly things!β, she giggled, βWe work well forwards and backwards!β
She switched from her βAβ end to her βBβ end as she said this, and purred off to the morning express.
A few days afterward, Centurion was once again being readied. It would be one of her last runs on Sodor, with Gordonβs repairs being nearly completed. She started rather quickly, and purred forward. Only Duck had pressure, the others still being steamed, and she honked her horn cheekily. They all shot her glares, but she didnβt care. She certainly did care when she stopped suddenly and looked up. Duck was still on the turntable.Β
βAwwww, taking a little spin are we, pannier?β, she mocked, βHow cuteβ¦ now get a move on, Iβll not have my last day here messed up. I thought tank engines didnβt even need these stupid turny-things!β
βTurntable. I still have to get out of the sheds you know!β
The turntable seemed to go even slower as Duck slowly turned to face Centurion, a snarky grin on his face. That seemed to be the last straw. As soon as the turntable lined up with Centurionβs road, she shot forwards. But her road wasnβt in line with any of the exit roads, and the turntable kept on moving. Or tried to, at least. Centurion yelped as her front went with the table while her rear stayed put before the table hissed and stopped abruptly. Duck, Centurion, and the mainline engines were now trapped.
The Fat Controller came to inspect the scene and grimaced. No one was hurt, and Centurion wasnβt even damaged (Though she did feel very uncomfortable!).
βI must say, Iβm disappointedβ¦β, began the Fat Controller, βYour visit was going so well. Now, almost all of our mainline engines are trapped, and the express will leave late!β
Centurion stammered an apology and looked towards her buffers.
The Fat Controller then looked around.
βHmmmβ¦ where are the twins?β, he asked.
βDonald should be back with the return goods from the mainlandβ, answered Duck, βBut, beg pardon sir, I doubt heβll be strong enough to pull the express on his own. Errβ¦ if you were thinking that, that is.β
βYes Duck, I was.β chuckled the Fat Controller, βBut he and Douglas should manage just fineβ¦β
At that moment Donald bustled in tender-first, which was expected. He halted outside the sheds and gaped as his smokebox was being cleaned out. Another whistle hailed the arrival of Douglas, also tender first.
βHullo lads!β, he called, βTurntable up at Arlesbroughβs frozen solid andβ¦ I see thaβ thereβs issues wiβ this one tooβ¦β
The Fat Controller thought hard as the twins were being filled in on the situation. He had hoped at least Douglas was facing the right way. But the express hadnβt even had itβs coaches shunted yet and it was to leave soon. This was the only real option. He explained the plan to the twins.Β
βNow I trust you two to take it easy.β He said, βThe works have a spare engine in case anything happens, so just get the train there.β
βAye Sirr!β, Chorused the Twins as they made their way to the station.
The passengers were surprised as the twins got their coaches ready and ran around in front, both backwards. Still, they got in as quickly as they could, and the guard blew his whistle.
βLetβs go, Douggie!β, called Donald.
βAye!β, replied Douglas, and the two set off, still backwards.
They got up to a decent pace, or as decent as their crews allowed, and made light work of the express. They didnβt have much of a good view in front, and their crews got whipped with wind and frost, but it was tolerable. Even backwards, the twins knew the line well, and speed up and slowed down with each straight or curve. Even the hill wasnβt a challenge for them. They made it to the works station in good time and came off the train ready for one of the diesels to take over. Howeverβ¦
βThe points and turntable are frozen solid!β, said the yard manager, βItβll take too long to thaw them out! Can you two continue?β
βHeh, itβs nae problem!β
The twins quickly took on water and coal before running back to the train. They started with a will and got to the other end of the line in fine style. The mainland diesels looked in disbelief at the twins, who only smiled in return. The Fat Controller, who was on the train, congratulated them, and the two went off for a rest.
After a few hours, all was righted. Centurion was recovered and the mainline engines were let out. Gordon came home the next day as well, and gave his thanks to the twins for βPlaying Tank Engineβ. Centurion quietly went home to the mainland, with a newfound respect for steam engines and their βweird ritualsβ. All the same, she thought sheβd never come back to Sodor. But that proved to be very wrong, indeed.
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In the 1970s, Bob Rush devised a system making sense of all the Furness locomotive classes using L.N.E.R.-style alphanumeric codes (A1, B1, etc.) This system is very useful in bringing clarity to a confusing history. But understand that it is an anachronism. Edward, for instance, would never think of himself as a "K2." The identity he would have known was "Furness 21 class."
These engines comprised two identical pairs, although the second (the A2s) were really just an enlarged version of the first (the A1s). They were made by the great early locomotive workshop Bury, Curtis, and Kennedy, and they were the original F.R. Nos. 1-4.
1 and 2 helped to construct the two short lines that were the beginning of the railway (connecting Kirkby and Lindal to Barrow actually it was originally to St Roa harbor, as James Ramsden had not quite yet gotten a dock built up in Barrow village). 3 and 4 were acquired to help run it, and the four little engines together handled all Furness traffic for six years.
No. 3 carried the first passenger train in August 1846β¦ which was composed of all four coaches that the F.R. then owned. This was a mineral railway, 97.9%. They owned a crap-ton of mineral wagons, four engines, and four coaches. That was it.
^Above are Nos. 3 and 4 respectively. You may recognize No. 3 as βOld Copper-Nob,β who is now preserved in the National Collection at York. (*waits a moment for @pup-canβt-blogβs giggles to die down*)
This pair had long and varied careers. When the 2-2-2Ts started to arrive in 1850, the 0-4-0s were no longer needed for passenger details. In the same decade came larger 0-4-0s from Bury's successors, Fairbairn's (A3 and A4), thus relieving the original engines of the heaviest goods work. The Bury 0-4-0s for a time were based around Lindal Peak, which generally required bankers for goods trains in both directions, but around 1870 specialized tank engines were ordered from Sharp and Stewart's for this purpose (G1). In the end the survivors from the earliest days settled down back at the heart of the whole network, at Barrow Docks.
Nos. 3 and 4 were still shunting there at the end of the century; by 1899, No. 4 had been scrapped but No. 3 was still in her 55th year of service, a contemporary railway expert identifying her as the oldest working engine in the country. Which really surprises me tbh. But that's what was claimed. They were clearly excluding stationary engines, that's for sure. She was put into storage in 1900 and, seven years later, was mounted on a plinth at Barrow Central station.
This sounds like a chill retirement, as things go for vehicles, except that she was also encased in a big glass box (practical for keeping the engine somewhat clean, sure; but which, for sapient engine worldbuilding purposes, promptly makes this sound more like some Kafkaesque nightmare rather than a place of honor).
After suffering bomb damage in World War II (see the station in the aftermath of the Barrow Blitz above, May 1941), No. 3 was then removed from Barrow to the museum at York. Apart from the rare visit to some gala, sheβs been vibing in the Great Hall ever since.
Frankly, after all that bullshit, she deserves it.
What happened to Nos. 1 and 2, though? They were not as lucky as their bigger siblings. No. 1βbrace yourself for thisβNo. 1 had her firebox burnt up. Yes, that thing that happened in the TVS, lampooned in TV Tropes?... yes, that thing. It really happened, for some idiot at Carnforth sheds built up her fire while her boiler was empty. This destroyed her firebox and she was subsequently broken up, this after 22 years of service (which is basically a child, by Furness standards).
Sometime after this, No. 2 was sold to a colliery in Northumberland, and nothing more is known of her fate.
Despite their ridiculous nobs, they were handsome engines and total badasses, thank you very much.
The "Copper-Nobs" were said to be doted upon by Locomotive Superintendent Mason, who succeeded James Ramsden to this post early on and who remained in it almost 50 years, until Pettigrew took over in 1896.
However, Mason's favoritism never extended to, say, fitting them a cab. Also, those big-ass domes? They prevented the attachment of a weatherboard. If you were going to drive or fire one of the Burys, you just had to be prepared to suffer, that's all. Lucky I hear it doesn't rain or snow that often in north of England.
Also, they had no sanding gear... nor footframing by which the bufferbeam could be accessed while the engine was in motion. This meant that if your route lead you through the greasy rails of, say, Whitehaven Tunnel, then the fireman had to ride the entire journey on the bufferbeam. Including through the tunnel.
If you're thinking that riding on the front of an engine through a dark tunnel sounds like a great way to die, welllll... that's another story. It never happened on the Copper-Nobs, though...
As for the driver left to tend to everything himself? He just had to multitask, I guess.
One anecdote from the first era involves an engine based a Moor Row that was summoned to Barrow Works for general repairs. On these occasions, Furness drivers knew to be ready for an exacting inspection. Woe betide you if Superintendent Mason found a smudge of grease anywhere on your engineβincluding in the motion, which was an area that always drew special scrutiny.
This driver, however, passed the inspection with full marks, although perhaps Mason did not indicate this except by casually indicating one of the old Copper-Nobs, which was at the Works that day finishing its own repairs. Mason enquired as to whether it would suit as a temporary engine until the driver's should be released from the shop. The driverβwho perhaps realized this was a test, or perhaps he didn'tβreplied that the engine wouldn't be of much use on his line.
This was a reasonable answer, as the Cleator line was full of steep gradients and the Copper-Nob wasn't getting any younger or stronger... but it was also the wrong answer, and an irate Mason promptly subjected him to a lengthy lecture about what the Copper-Nobs had done for the railway, and what they were still capable of doing.
"The NWR board has the pleasure to announce that, thanks to the generosity of Lord Faringdon & the rest of the Great Central Rly Co. That the North Western has become home to two of the GCR locomotives, '9Q' 4-6-0 No. 462 & '9N' 4-6-2T No. 447. This comes almost a year after the arrival of No. 3, the prototype 4-6-2 locomotive that was purchased last which has proven unsatisfactory on the 'Wild Nor' Wester'. The board expresses hope that, despite high coal consumption, No. 462 will prove a better loco on these duties until another locomotive can be procured. The locomotive, built only last year, has already proven it's on the flat between Vicarstown & Marron, but, like most engines of a similar size, require banking up the incline from the Wellsworth side. Lord Regaby has insisted that this locomotive become the railway's new flagship, with it have received the NWR's blue livery within only a week on the railway! And has even commissioned for this locomotive to be named 'Queen Victoria' in order to provide some elegance to the express. Hopefully, this 'Black Pig', as the GC men have started referring to this class as, will prove that even pigs can more than sluggish!."
No. 462 "Queen Victoria" seen near Crosby with the 10:00am limited from Tidmouth Central - photo credit: W. Middleton
For, you understand, the Caley was beyond the pale. The North British were a queer folk, an outlandish folk, but our allies, and we tolerated them; but the Caley, oh Heavens, no! ... We hear the old fighting ring in the last verse and line of the famous poem that The Cuckoo made when he fired to Joe Dinwiddie at Dumfries on 259, the Stirling 0-4-2:
π΅ 'We left St. Enoch station, our time was eight-sixteen.
The electric light was shining: her beauty there was seen.
We ran our miles so speedily and reached Dumfries at time,
And we beat the Caledonian with the Two-Five-Nine!'
- Tales of the Glasgow and South Western Railway, David L. Smith
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"The real Sou'West, the Sou'West that we knew, had gone years before. James Manson, locomotive superintendent, had retired in 1912. Since then we had one successor who swept all G&SW engines aside as unworthy and another who meddled incompetently with these engines until hardly a one was working at former full strength. I know that they looked well - never had G&SW engines been so artistically painted, but paint does not help when you have to keep time on the Pullman, or climb Glendounce bank. Yes, those final years of the G&SW had not been happy ones. Sick at heart with the Whitelegg regime, I turned with a high hope to this great new idea, this 'Grouping', which promised us light in our darkness."
- Legends of the Glasgow & South Western Railway in LMS days by David L. Smith
Got a new book, got inspired by @mean-scarlet-deceiver doing this with the G&SWR books.
The Author thinks about L&NW exiles on the Sou' West:
"Curiously enough, it was of the L&NW that I thought in our extermity. The L&NW - hardly a railway publication could you open without accounts of the prowess of their engines - George the Fifths, Prince of Wales, Claughtons. And they had hunderds of them! Surely they could spare a few to run our trains more efficiently. I pictured a Claughton on the Pullman, a George the Fifth on the 5.10p. Glasgow to Ayr, a Prince of Wales on the Stranraer Road. A wilder flight of fancy glimpsed a Claughton tearing down fron Dalnaspidal with a 2-4-0 Jumbo as pilot. I did not know, or had forgotten that such locomotives would require a somewhat severe haircut and shave before they could have gone under some of our Scottish bridges."
- Legends of the Glasgow & South Western Railway in LMS days by David L. Smith
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"The NWR board has the pleasure to announce that, thanks to the generosity of Lord Faringdon & the rest of the Great Central Rly Co. That the North Western has become home to two of the GCR locomotives, '9Q' 4-6-0 No. 462 & '9N' 4-6-2T No. 447. This comes almost a year after the arrival of No. 3, the prototype 4-6-2 locomotive that was purchased last which has proven unsatisfactory on the 'Wild Nor' Wester'. The board expresses hope that, despite high coal consumption, No. 462 will prove a better loco on these duties until another locomotive can be procured. The locomotive, built only last year, has already proven it's on the flat between Vicarstown & Marron, but, like most engines of a similar size, require banking up the incline from the Wellsworth side. Lord Regaby has insisted that this locomotive become the railway's new flagship, with it have received the NWR's blue livery within only a week on the railway! And has even commissioned for this locomotive to be named 'Queen Victoria' in order to provide some elegance to the express. Hopefully, this 'Black Pig', as the GC men have started referring to this class as, will prove that even pigs can more than sluggish!."
No. 462 "Queen Victoria" seen near Crosby with the 10:00am limited from Tidmouth Central - photo credit: W. Middleton
