Description
Heljan 266216 Beyer Garratt
7973
In LMS Black Livery
OLIVIA'S TRAINS STOCK BOX MAYBE A LITTLE MARKED FROM STORAGE AT OLIVIA'S
History
Following the Midland Railway's small engine policy, the LMS regularly double headed their larger freight trains, with increasing heavy traffic it was soon realised that double heading was uneconomical. Beyer peacock was approached to build a locomotive capable of hauling 1450 tons at 25mph. The LMS Derby design office insisted on (amongst other changes) the fitting of their standard axle boxes. They were barely adequate for the LMS 4F Class on which they frequently overheated and were a major weakness on the LMS Garratts. They were also always heavy coal consumers and maintenance heavy
Three locomotives were built in April 1927 and the remaining 30 were built between August & 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. The revolving bunkers reduced coal dust from entering the cab and the oscillation facility made them self-trimming but reports showed they were still unpopular to drive bunker-first due to dust, and that covers were unsuccessful.
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. Under BR they were assigned a 4 prefix as per other LMS types
Mostly used for heavy coal trains, they later found other uses as well. The class then lasted 25 years, averaging 25,000 miles/year however, the design did not age well- especially during wartime due to lack of maintenance, causing generally poor later opinions. Sadly none were saved for preservation and were scrapped as new BR 9Fs designed to haul 900 tons at 35mph gradually replaced them.
