Midland Railway 1377 Class

The Midland Railway 1377 Class was a class of 185 0-6-0T tank locomotives. They were introduced in 1878 by Samuel W. Johnson, and were almost identical to the 1102 class of 1874; the latter having fully enclosed cabs, while the 1377 class were built without a rear to the cab and only a short cab roof, hence their nickname "half-cabs". They were given the power classification 1F.

Midland Railway 1377 Class
41804 at Staveley Ironworks, August 1963
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerSamuel W. Johnson
Builder
Build date1878–1892
Total produced185
Specifications
Configuration:
 • Whyte0-6-0T
 • UICC n2t
Gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Driver dia.4 ft 7 in (1.397 m)
Wheelbase:
 • Axle spacing
(Asymmetrical)
  • 7 ft 4 in (2.235 m) +
  • 7 ft 8 in (2.337 m)
Loco weight39.55 long tons (40.18 t; 44.30 short tons)
Fuel typeCoal
BoilerMR type A
Boiler pressure175 lbf/in2 (1.21 MPa)
CylindersTwo, inside
Cylinder size17 in × 24 in (432 mm × 610 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effort15,005 lbf (66.75 kN) or 16,080 lbf (71.53 kN)
Career
Operators
ClassMR: 1377
Power classBR: 1F
Withdrawn1927–1965
DispositionOne preserved, remainder scrapped

Construction history

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Up to 1891, 185 were built: 165 by Derby Works and the last 20 by the Vulcan Foundry. Originally they were built with type A boilers with round-topped fireboxes, but many later received type G5 boilers with Belpaire fireboxes.

Table of orders and numbers[1]
Original No. 1907 (& LMS) No. Manufacturer Works Nos. Qty Year Notes
1377–1386 1660–1669 Derby Works (order no. 202) 10 1878
1387–1396 1670–1679 Derby Works (order no. 218) 10 1878
1347–1356 1680–1689 Derby Works (order no. 218) 10 1879
1420–1427, 220, 221 1690–1699 Derby Works (order no. 239) 10 1879
1410–1419 1700–1709 Derby Works (order no. 262) 10 1880
1552–1561 1710–1719 Derby Works (order no. 340) 10 1882 Originally built as "1552 Class" variant with cut-down boiler mountings and cab.
210–212, 215, 216,
218, 219, 1397–1399
1720–1729 Derby Works (order no. 414) 10 1883
1677–1686 1730–1739 Derby Works (order no. 496) 10 1884
1090–1092,
1094, 1095
1740–1744 Derby Works (order no. 496) 5 1884
1687–1696 1745–1754 Derby Works (order no. 499) 10 1884
1096–1100 1755–1759 Derby Works (order no. 499) 5 1885
200, 201, 213, 214, 217,
222, 223, 1093, 1101, 1431
1760–1769 Derby Works (order no. 824) 10 1889–90
1843–1847 1770–1774 Derby Works (order no. 854) 10 1890
85–87, 11, 14 1775–1779 Derby Works (order no. 854) 10 1890 Renumbered 1102–1106 in 1891
203, 1848–1852, 1973–1976 1780–1789 Derby Works (order no. 854) 10 1890
1977–1981 1790–1794 Derby Works (order no. 943) 5 1890
880–889 1795–1804 Derby Works (order no. 883) 10 1890
1982–1991 1805–1814 Derby Works (order no. 968) 10 1891 Originally built as "1552 Class" variant with cut-down boiler mountings and cab.
1992, 1107–1115 1815–1824 Derby Works (order no. 991) 10 1891
1993–2012 1825–1844 Vulcan Foundry 1355–1374 20 1892

Service history

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No. 41773, condemned at Derby Locomotive Depot 13 April 1960

All 185 passed to the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) at the grouping in 1923. Withdrawals started in 1927 and by 1948 when the railways were nationalised, 72 locomotives passed into British Railways ownership in 1948 and they allocated numbers 40000 higher than their LMS numbers, although 14 were withdrawn before the new numbers were applied. Withdrawals continued and by 1961 only 11 remained; the last five were withdrawn in September 1965. The class had only lasted as long as it had because the Midland Railway had signed a contract in 1866 to provide shunting engines to Staveley Ironworks for 100 years; the 1Fs, as they were by then, were the only locomotives suitable to perform this duty.

Beyond their work with the Midland Railway, LMS and British Railways, six members of this class - 1666, 1708, 1751, 1788, 1839 and 1890 - were requisitioned by the War Department during World War II between 1940 and 1944, to operate the Melbourne Military Railway (MMR) in South Derbyshire. No. 1839 was replaced by No. 1773 during its time on the MMR.[2]

Table of withdrawals[1]
Year Quantity in
service at
start of year
Quantity
withdrawn
Locomotive numbers Notes
1927 185 1 1791
1928 184 1 1684
1929 183 0
1930 183 13 1673, 1701/07/22–23/37/44/74/84,
1801/21/28/43
1931 170 5 1677, 1729/87, 1800/08
1932 165 53 1663/67/75/80/83/85/87–88/97–98,
1703/09/15–16/19/21/28/31–32/35–36/41/50/56–58,
1760/62/64–65/71/76/83/86/90/92/97–98,
1806–07/09/12–13/15/17/19–20/22–23/31/34/37/40
1831 rebuilt as diesel shunter
1933 112 15 1662/78/89/93,
1704–05/33/61/72/75/82/89,
1825/36/41
10 reinstated: 1756/62/71/97,
1807/13/15/17/19–20
1934 107 3 1679/92, 1766
1935 104 5 1669/91/94, 1717/46
1936 99 3 1696, 1730, 1817
1937 96 4 1665, 1796, 1819/30
1938 92 5 1670, 1740/99, 1807/27
1939 87 2 1743, 1832
1940–5 85 0
1946 85 6 1681, 1742/51/55/71, 1816
1947 79 7 1700/38/78/85, 1802/10/15
1948 72 8 1668/74, 1714/18/59/62, 1818/42
1949 64 4 1676, 1756/68/88
1950 60 0
1951 60 6 1690, 1781, 41745/67/93, 41824
1952 54 4 41727/94, 41820/29
1953 50 6 41660/64/66/95, 41770/80
1954 44 5 41711/47, 41811/13/33
1955 39 5 41671–72/82, 41713/25
1956 34 8 41686, 41720/77, 41805/14/26/38–39
1957 26 7 41699, 41706/10/48/53/79, 41803
1958 19 2 41724/52
1959 17 4 41661, 41726/95/97
1960 13 2 41754/73
1961 11 0
1962 11 3 41702/49/69
1963 8 1 41739
1964 7 2 41712, 41844
1965 5 5 41708/34/63, 41804/35

Conversion

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In 1932, the frames of 1831 were used for LMS diesel shunter 1831.

Preservation

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41708 at Barrow Hill

One of the Staveley engines, 1418 (renumbered 1708 by the Midland Railway in 1907, and 41708 by British Railways), has survived to preservation at Barrow Hill Engine Shed. Before Barrow Hill this engine was preserved on the Midland Railway - Butterley, the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, and the Swanage Railway respectively. The surviving engine became the inspiration of the Bachmann Branchline OO scale model of the class introduced in 2014. The model, the dispute and the class had an extensive write up in Model Rail during 2014.[3] No. 41708 has been bought by Barrow Hill who took the first steps to return the locomotive to working order in November, 2020. [4]

References

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  1. ^ a b Baxter 1982, pp. 141–146.
  2. ^ Railway Magazine, January/February, 1946, pp. 53-54 - ″The Melbourne Military Railway"
  3. ^ Model Rail no. 200 (September 2014): pp. 16-19
  4. ^ Preserved British Steam Locomotives: 41708 (MR 1418, LMS 1708 and BR 41708)
  • Baxter, Bertram (1982). Baxter, David (ed.). British Locomotive Catalogue 1825–1923. Vol. 3A: Midland Railway and its constituent companies. Ashbourne, Derbyshire: Moorland Publishing Company. ISBN 9780903485524.
  • Casserley, H. C. & Johnston, Stuart W. (1974) [1966]. Locomotives at the Grouping 3: London, Midland and Scottish Railway. Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0554-0.