The Midland Railway (MR) 3835 Class is a class of 0-6-0 steam locomotive designed for freight work. The first two were introduced in 1911 by Henry Fowler. After the grouping in 1923 they continued to be built up to 1941 by the LMS as the LMS Fowler Class 4F.[1]

Midland Railway 3835 Class "Class 4 Goods"
No. 43965 at work on the ex-Midland Melton Mowbray - Peterborough line
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Henry Fowler Builder Derby Works (142) Armstrong Whitworth (55) Serial number AW: 416–465 (MR 3937–3986) AW: 468–472 (S&DJR 57–61) Build date 1911, 1917–1922 Total produced 197
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 0-6-0  • UIC C h2 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Driver dia. 63 in (1,600 mm) Wheelbase Loco: 8 ft 0 in (2.44 m) + 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) Loco weight 48 long tons 15 cwt (109,200 lb or 49.5 t) Fuel type Coal Boiler G7S Boiler pressure 175 lbf/in2 (1.21 MPa) superheated Superheater Schmidt Cylinders Two, inside Cylinder size 20 in × 26 in (508 mm × 660 mm) Valve gear Stephenson Valve type Piston valves
Performance figures Tractive effort 24,555 lbf (109.23 kN)
Career Operators MR, SDJR, LMS, BR Class MR: 3835 Power class MR: 4 LMS: 4F Number in class MR: 192 SDJR: 5 Numbers LMS: 3835–4026 BR: 43835–44026 Retired 1954–1965 Disposition One preserved, remainder scrapped

History

A total of 197 engines were built. 192 of them were sequentially numbered 3835–4026 for the Midland Railway. After nationalisation in 1948 British Railways added 40000 to their numbers so they became 43835–44026. Five engines were constructed by Armstrong Whitworth for the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway in 1922, numbered 57–61. They were absorbed into LMS stock in 1930, becoming 4557–4561.

Accidents and incidents

• On 19 November 1926, locomotive No. 3980 was one of two hauling a freight train. One of the private owner wagons disintegrated, derailing the train at Parkgate and Rawmarsh, Yorkshire. A signal post was partly brought down, obstructing an adjacent line. The carriages of an express passenger train had their sides ripped open by the signal post. Eleven people were killed.[2]
• On 6 March 1930, locomotive No. 4009 was hauling a ballast train that was in collision with a passenger train at Langwathby station, Cumberland. The passenger train had departed from Culgaith against signals. Two people were killed and four were seriously injured.[3]

Withdrawal

The 197 engines in this class were withdrawn between 1954 and 1965 as follows:

Preservation

One Midland-built 4F, (4)3924 is preserved on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, the first locomotive to leave Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry, South Wales in September 1968.[5][6] Three LMS-built 4Fs have also been preserved.

Models

Bachmann Branchline 3835 Class in OO gauge, which was also adapted into Graham Farish N gauge model.

Hornby introduced a OO gauge model of 3924 in 2022 to celebrate the film "Return of the Railway Children" which featured this locomotive. The model is in a variation of LMS unlined black.

References

• 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.
• Baxter, Bertram (1984). Baxter, David (ed.). British Locomotive Catalogue 1825–1923, Volume 4: Scottish and remaining English Companies in the LMS Group. Ashbourne, Derbyshire: Moorland Publishing Company.
• 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.
• Earnshaw, Alan (1993). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 8. Penryn: Atlantic Books. ISBN 0-906899-52-4.
• Hall, Stanley (1990). The Railway Detectives. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-1929-0.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Midland Railway 3835 Class.

• Class 4F-B Details at Rail UK

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