LMS Garratts, & Big Bertha

The London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Garratt was a class of Garratt 2-6-0+0-6-2 steam locomotive designed for heavy freight. A total of 33 were built from 1927, making them the most numerous class of Garratt in Britain. After Grouping the LMS continued the Midland Railway's "small engine policy" of hauling trains using two or three locomotives of moderate power coupled together. This led to most of the Toton (Nottinghamshire)-Brent (London) coal trains being double-headed by 0-6-0 locomotives. It was realised that double heading was uneconomical so a Garratt locomotive was ordered from Beyer, Peacock and Company. However the LMS Derby design office insisted on the fitting of their standard axleboxes to the design. These axleboxes were barely adequate for the LMS Class 4F 0-6-0 locomotives, on which they frequently overheated, and were a major weakness on the LMS Garratts. They were also always heavy on coal and maintenance.
Three locomotives were built in April 1927 and the remaining 30 were built in the period August to November 1930. All were built with straight sided bunkers but from 1931 all except the first two of the 1927 trio were fitted with revolving coal bunkers. These were conical in shape and were revolved and oscillated by means of a small 2-cylinder steam engine. The revolving bunkers prevented coal dust from entering the cab and the oscillation facility made them self-trimming.
The 1927 trio were numbered 4997–4999, and the 1930 batch from 4967 to 4996. They were later renumbered 7967–7999 in the same order to make way for the new Black 5’s . British Railways added 40000 to their numbers.
The roundhouses at Toton MPD had to have extra length Garratt roads to accommodate them. Mostly used for heavy coal trains, they later found other uses as well. Others were allocated to Wellingborough (depot code 45A where 15 locomotives were located in the 1950s) and Hasland near Chesterfield. Trains for Manchester were generally routed along the Hope Valley Line and the Garratts normally came off their trains at the Gowhole freight sidings just south of Chinley. A few would work the Ambergate to Pye Bridge Line using the north curve at Ambergate, but only as far as Rowsley, where the train would be split. This was normal for goods trains because of the danger of couplings breaking on the climb to Peak Forest. In addition, although they had ample tractive effort to climb the gradient, in the days before goods wagon trains had continuous brakes there were problems on the way down into Chinley. On an early attempt, the loco was inspected at Heaton Mersey and it was found that all of its brake blocks had melted.
The class was withdrawn between June 1955 and April 1958. None survived into preservation
I have added over 75 photos of the Garratts
Including this transition photo from LMS to B.R.
47974 (BR number with LMS on cab) unknown location
https://tinyurl.com/y4x85wzy
LMS era start here
https://tinyurl.com/y2affghp
B.R. era
https://tinyurl.com/y4g2towp

Neil

 

In 1919, the Midland Railway built a single 0-10-0 steam locomotive, No 2290 (later LMS (1947) 22290 and BR 58100). It was designed by James Anderson for banking duties on the Lickey Incline in Worcestershire (south of Birmingham), England. It became known as "Big Bertha" by railwaymen and railway enthusiasts.
No 2290 was built at the Derby Works of the Midland Railway in 1919 and was in use up to the year 1956 by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and British Railways (BR). She was numbered 2290 from new and kept this number through most of her LMS life, but was renumbered to 22290 in 1947 to make room for the numbering of a Fairburn 2-6-4T. Only a year later she was renumbered to 58100 by British Railways since adding 40000 to her number (as was done with the majority of LMS engines)
The engine was withdrawn on 19 May 1956 and scrapped by Derby Works in September 1957,[citation needed] having covered 838,856 miles (1,350,008 km) mostly on the Lickey. BR standard class 9F number 92079 took over, acquiring Big Bertha's electric headlight for the duty.
Just 5 photos in this collection, carrying 2 different numbers
2290 'Big Bertha' Bromsgrove 1935
https://tinyurl.com/y233a774
2290 'Big Bertha' ex works unknown location possibly Derby
https://tinyurl.com/y26yzqwf
58100 'Big Bertha' banking a train up Lickey
https://tinyurl.com/y3mezpnr
58100 unknown location
https://tinyurl.com/y4ebsfsx

Neil

 

What I dont understand, given that on occasions up to three bankers could be used on a train, why they didnt build more 'Big Bertha's' - or employ more larger loco's - 8F'S & 9F's when they became available - or built some S&D 7F's for the Lickey?

 

I guess not building another one was because it was so specialised, there would be uneconomic redundancy (OK, why that then allows for 3 Jinties, I don't know).

In terms of banking engines, thinking about Terry Essery's descriptions of banking in Birmingham, it seemed to be a lot of "hurry up and wait", so smaller engines may have sat more efficiently, and then allowed a graded banking requirement (ie 3x Jinties sitting simmering use less coal than the relevant number of 8Fs where the number of engines needed is >1 - although there are lots of pics of three jinties, how often did one or two suffice, leaving capacity for the next train through?). Which then begs the question as to why Big Bertha...

On a complete tangent, imagine BB's boiler, outer cylinders and valve chests and an S&D 7F pony truck...

 

I have read somewhere that there were 2 boilers for Big Bertha to shorten the length of overhauls

Sent from my SM-A105FN using Tapatalk

 

https://railway-photography.smugmug...ocomotives/Fowler-Garratts/Garratts/i-Ls9fnTt = Crewe [as Image 9]

https://railway-photography.smugmug...ocomotives/Fowler-Garratts/Garratts/i-Q7kkJcD = Derby [as Image 14]

https://railway-photography.smugmug...ocomotives/Fowler-Garratts/Garratts/i-gNx9MNc = Derby

https://railway-photography.smugmug...ocomotives/Fowler-Garratts/Garratts/i-6gqRbWM = Crewe Works [as Image 20/21]

https://railway-photography.smugmug...ocomotives/Fowler-Garratts/Garratts/i-PRvJFCf = Wellingborough shed [as Image 70]