Mathew Kirtley designs for the Midland Railway : 700 class 0-6-0

The Midland Railway 700 Class was a large class of double framed 0-6-0 freight steam locomotives designed by Matthew Kirtley for the Midland Railway. They were in the power classification 1F.
Six locomotives - nos. 271/9, 1007/31/52/3 - were withdrawn from service between 1903 and 1905.
Fifty more were sold in 1906 to the Italian State Railway, Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), where they formed FS Class 380; they had been ordered by one of the constituents of the FS, the Rete Mediterranea (it).They were meant to fill a gap of valid locomotives after the nationalization of the Italian railways, and therefore were not thought to remain in service for more than a few years; however, some of them remained active into the 1920s.
After the Midland Railway's 1907 renumbering scheme, the numbers were:
2592–2671, 2674–2711 and 2713–2867
Numbers 2672/3 were members of the 480 Class; no. 2712 was a member of the 240 Class, which had been given a number in the wrong series as the result of a clerk's error
78 locomotives of the class were loaned to the War Department during the First World War and were used by the Railway Operating Division of the Royal Engineers for military duties in France. A further three were selected to go but instead were loaned to the London & South Western Railway between December 1917 and February 1920 The locomotives allocated were 2707–11/13–88 of which 2783–85 were sent to the LSWR.The remainder went to France at various dates in 1917 before being returned to the MR in 1919–20. All returned to service with the MR except 2765 which was scrapped at Derby in 1920 having suffered broken frames during its time with the ROD.] One engine, 2717, was cut off in No man's land during the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917 and was subsequently captured by the German army during Operation Michael. The Germans salvaged the engine and utilised it on their military railway in the Brussels area. Recovered after the war, the engine was returned to the MR

2595 Gloucester 24th June 1928


https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/LMSSteam/18441873-MR-Matthew-Kirtley/Mathew-Kirtley-Midland-Railway-700-Class-0-6-0/i-KfTjXKJ

Mathew Kirtley Midland Railway 700 Class 0-6-0 - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years

1005 I believe this to be a 700 class loco



https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/LMSSteam/18441873-MR-Matthew-Kirtley/Mathew-Kirtley-Midland-Railway-700-Class-0-6-0/i-gtCvHBn

Mathew Kirtley Midland Railway 700 Class 0-6-0 - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years

2610


https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/LMSSteam/18441873-MR-Matthew-Kirtley/Mathew-Kirtley-Midland-Railway-700-Class-0-6-0/i-rJrgttG

Mathew Kirtley Midland Railway 700 Class 0-6-0 - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years

2613






https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/LMSSteam/18441873-MR-Matthew-Kirtley/Mathew-Kirtley-Midland-Railway-700-Class-0-6-0/i-hBM6dRP

Mathew Kirtley Midland Railway 700 Class 0-6-0 - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years

2845



https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/LMSSteam/18441873-MR-Matthew-Kirtley/Mathew-Kirtley-Midland-Railway-700-Class-0-6-0/i-SLW6dx9

Mathew Kirtley Midland Railway 700 Class 0-6-0 - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years
2846


https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/LMSSteam/18441873-MR-Matthew-Kirtley/Mathew-Kirtley-Midland-Railway-700-Class-0-6-0/i-Zm93Cx5

Mathew Kirtley Midland Railway 700 Class 0-6-0 - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years
22863


https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/LMSSteam/18441873-MR-Matthew-Kirtley/Mathew-Kirtley-Midland-Railway-700-Class-0-6-0/i-VT6PMjk

Mathew Kirtley Midland Railway 700 Class 0-6-0 - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years

And into the B.R.era


58110 Derby 9th September 1951



https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/LMSSteam/18441873-MR-Matthew-Kirtley/Mathew-Kirtley-Midland-Railway-700-Class-0-6-0/i-HDjwTMB

Mathew Kirtley Midland Railway 700 Class 0-6-0 - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years




https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/LMSSteam/18441873-MR-Matthew-Kirtley/Mathew-Kirtley-Midland-Railway-700-Class-0-6-0/i-T5g9CVt

Mathew Kirtley Midland Railway 700 Class 0-6-0 - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years


Neil

 

2659 Scrapline Derby Works date unknown


https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/LMSSteam/18441873-MR-Matthew-Kirtley/Mathew-Kirtley-Midland-Railway-700-Class-0-6-0/i-cNb2nKj

​

Mathew Kirtley Midland Railway 700 Class 0-6-0 - Railway-Photography
railway-photography.smugmug.com
railway photographs from the last 100 years
Neil

 

Sorry to bump this old thread, but I have a livery question.

My son has picked up an old 00 gauge model of one of these at a recent show. He wants to change it from LMS to Midland livery, specifically 1900-1905 period.

Were these all red in this period, or had the midland moved to a black livery for goods engines?

Thanks in advance

 

According to Hamilton Ellis in "The Trains we loved", Midland goods engines were "plain black". Ellis' book is mainly about the 1900-1922 period.

The red livery for Midland passenger engines dated from the early 1880s, prior to which it had been green.

 

Since writing the above, I have found a further source - "Midland Steam" by WA Tuplin - which says that the Midland goods livery changed from red to black during the Deeley period, i.e. post-1903.

Looking at the photos on the @neildimmer site, I notice this one stated to be 1880s era:

https://railway-photography.smugmug...ley-Midland-Railway-700-Class-0-6-0/i-Pw456VN

The locos are clearly not black. I think No 863 is probably in the older Midland green livery, while the locos in the foreground are in the recently adopted Midland Red.

 

Thanks Bluetrain. Do you have any info on the livery itself, plain black with a crest perhaps?

 

I'm unsure about the crest. Looking at the Midland-era photos within the @neildimmer site and elsewhere, it looks as if some freight engines had a crest on the cab-side but others didn't, so possibly there was a change at some point. In the LMS 1923-27 livery schemes, passenger engines (painted lined red) had a crest on the cab-side but freight engines (painted unlined black) only had the letters LMS.

I'm also unsure whether the Deeley livery changes were made at the same time as the 1907 re-numbering of MR locos. As well as the dropping of red in favour of black for goods engines, those changes introduced smokebox numberplates and introduced the painting of the engine number in large numerals on tender (or tank) sides, in place of the cab-side raised numerals that had been part of the Johnson standard livery.

A Midland Rly expert (which I am not!) would be able to give you more detailed chapter and verse on these issues. Alternatively, there may be more info within the various books written by David Jenkinson and RJ Essery.

P.S: Interesting to google "Midland locomotive green" and see the interpretations of the pre-1883 green livery, such as on this Johnson 2-4-0:

https://collection.sciencemuseumgro...ocomotive-no-1400-painting-painted-photograph