Midland Railway 1377 Class
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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.
Construction history
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.
| 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
All 185 passed to the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) at the grouping in 1923. Withdrawals started in 1927 and 72 locomotives passed into British Railways ownership in 1948, having 40000 added to their LMS numbers, although 14 were withdrawn before being applied. Withdrawals continued and by 1961 only 11 remained; the last five were withdrawn in September 1965. The class had only lasted so long because the Midland Railway had signed a contract in 1866 to provide shunting engines to Staveley Ironworks for 100 years; at the time the 1Fs were the only locomotives suitable for 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.
| 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
In 1931, the frames of 1831 were used for LMS diesel shunter 1831. This was an experimental diesel (one of the first diesel locomotives on the LMS' network) and was intended for shunting work within railway yards, but it wasn't successful when it was put into service in 1932. The locomotive was later put into storage in 1936 and officially withdrawn from service in September 1939. It was converted to a mobile power unit (an MPU3) in November 1940 and ultimately scrapped in August 1951.
Preservation
One of the Staveley engines, 1418 (renumbered 1708 by the Midland Railway in 1907, and 41708 by British Railways), is preserved at Barrow Hill Engine Shed, previously at the Midland Railway - Butterley, the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, and the Swanage Railway respectively. Sometime during 1994 while visiting the Dean Forest Railway, No. 41708 was renumbered and ran as No. 41720. This change was rectified by 1997. This engine became the inspiration for 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. Barrow Hill began restoring the locomotive to working order in November 2020.
- 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.