Thursday, 25 December 2014

Lakeside and Haverthwaite railway

The London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Fairburn Tank 2-6-4T steam locomotives are a class of steam locomotive. They were designed by Charles E. Fairburn for the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). 277 of these locomotives were built between 1945–1951, numbered in the range 42050–42186, (4)2187–(4)2299, (4)2673–(4)2699.
 
 
This design was based on the earlier Stanier LMS Stanier 2-6-4T, which was derived from Henry Fowler's LMS Fowler 2-6-4T engine. Fairburn modified the design to have a shorter wheelbase, reduced from 16 ft 6 in (5.03 m) to 15 ft 4 in (4.67 m) allowing curves of 5 chains to be negotiated; to reduce the locomotives mass per unit length the overall weight was reduced by 3 long tons 8 cwt (7,600 lb or 3.5 t).

 
It was also the basis for the later British Rail Standard Class 4 tank. They were used mainly for suburban passenger trains. Forty-one examples of the class were constructed by Brighton railway works for service on the Southern Region of British Railways in 1950 and 1951, replacing earlier designs. The majority of these remained on the Southern Region throughout their working lives.

 
Two of the Brighton-built locomotives, nos. 42073 and 42085, survive in preservation on the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway, though 42085 recently underwent repairs at the Great Central Railway.
In its early days, 2085 carried Caledonian Railway blue livery, complete with an oval brass Caledonian number plate. This attractive livery was popular with the public, but strongly divided opinions in the preservation movement for its inaccuracy. At the same time, 2073 was painted in LNWR blackberry black, which was comparably anachronistic but generated less hostility as it did at least resemble the original livery.

 
The L&HR runs from Haverthwaite at the southern end of the line via Newby Bridge to Lakeside at the southern end of Windermere. Some services are timed to connect with sailings of the diesel excursion vessels or steam vessels on Windermere, sailing from Lakeside to Bowness and Ambleside.
 
Many thanks Wikipedia for the notes. The pictures are mine.

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