Sir William Stanier's

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...

(LMS) Class 4P 2-Cylinder 2-6-4T was a class of 206

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

built between 1935 and 1943. They were based on his LMS 3-Cylinder 2-6-4T.

Numbering

The LMS numbered them 2425–94, and then 2537–672, BR adding 40000 to their numbers to make them 42425–94, and then 42537–672. The LMS classified them 4P, BR 4MT. They were the basis for the

LMS Fairburn 2-6-4T The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Fairburn Tank 2-6-4T is a class of steam locomotive. They were designed by Charles E. Fairburn for the LMS. 277 of these locomotives were built between 1945 and 1951, numbered in the range 42050� ...

Accidents and incidents

: *On 15 August 1953, locomotive No. 42474 was hauling a passenger train which collided with an

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...

that overran signals at Irk Valley Junction,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. The junction is on a viaduct, and one of the carriages of the electric multiple unit plunged into the River Irk. Ten people were killed and 58 were injured.

Film use

No 2429 had a starring role as Celia Johnson's branch line engine in the 1945 film '' Brief Encounter'', which was made at Carnforth station during the winter of 1944–45. The BR numberplate (42429) was sold at a BR auction held in the old Refreshment Room at Southport Chapel Street station.

Withdrawal

The first withdrawal was in 1960, with the last in 1967. None have been preserved (though the original of the 3-Cylinder 2-6-4T version, number 2500, is preserved at the National Railway Museum, and two examples of the nearly identical

are also still in existence).

Models

Hornby Model Railways Hornby Railways is a British model railways manufacturing company. Its roots date back to 1901 in Liverpool, when founder Frank Hornby received a patent for his Meccano construction toy. The first clockwork train was produced in 1920. In 1938, ...

has released Stanier's 4MT as a 00 Gauge ready-to-run model. Two versions are to be released; one in LMS Black, the other in BR Black (early and late). A pre-war O gauge model of this locomotive was produced by Marklin for

Bassett-Lowke Bassett-Lowke was an English toy manufacturing company based in Northampton. Founded by Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke in 1898 or 1899, the company specialized in model railways, boats and ships, and construction sets. Bassett-Lowke started as a m ...

models in 1937; this continued in UK production by Winteringham until 1957. This model has been reproduced in O gauge by

ACE Trains An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

in 2009; both LMS and BR black versions have been manufactured.

References

* 4 Stanier 2-6-4T (2-cyl) 2-6-4T locomotives NBL locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1935 Scrapped locomotives Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain {{UK-steam-loco-stub Passenger locomotives