The

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...

115 Class was the third of four classes of 4-2-2

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 ...

, nicknamed "Spinners", designed by

Samuel Waite Johnson Samuel Waite Johnson (14 October 1831 – 14 January 1912) was an English railway engineer, and was Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Midland Railway from 1873 to 1903. He was born in Bramley, Yorkshire and educated at Leeds Grammar ...

. A total of 15 of the class were built between 1896 and 1899. They were capable of reaching speeds of up to 90 miles per hour (145 km/h).. One engine, No. 673, is preserved in the

National Collection The UK National Collection is a collection of around 280 historic rolling stock, rail vehicles (predominantly of British origin). The majority of the collection is kept at four national museums: * National Railway Museum, York * National Railwa ...

Classes of Midland Railway 4-2-2 locomotives

Single-driver locomotives had been superseded in the late 19th century as loads increased, but were then reintroduced when steam sanding allowed better adhesion. Five similar classes were built, with slight enlargements each time, and details as follows:

Construction history

The fifteen locomotives in the 115 class were built in two batches, both at

Derby Works The Derby Works comprised a number of British manufacturing facilities designing and building locomotives and rolling stock in Derby, England. The first of these was a group of three maintenance sheds opened around 1840 behind Derby station. Th ...

Service history

It was quite common for engines of this class to pull a typical Midland express weighing , which suited the Class 115 perfectly. Given a dry rail they could maintain a tight schedule with . Speeds up to 90 mph were not uncommon, and the sight of their large, spinning driving wheels with no visible

connecting rods A connecting rod, also called a 'con rod', is the part of a piston engine which connects the piston to the crankshaft. Together with the crank, the connecting rod converts the reciprocating motion of the piston into the rotation of the cranksha ...

, like a

spinning wheel A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from fibres. It was fundamental to the cotton textile industry prior to the Industrial Revolution. It laid the foundations for later machinery such as the spinning jenny and spinning f ...

, earned them the nickname "Spinners". Due to the Midland's practice of building low powered locomotives and relying on

double-heading In railroad terminology, double heading indicates the use of two locomotives at the front of a train, each operated individually by its own crew. The practice of triple-heading involves the use of three locomotives. The practice of multi-headin ...

to cope with heavier trains, many enjoyed working lives of up to 30 years. They made ideal pilot engines for the later Johnson/Deeley 4-4-0 classes.

Renumbering

In the Midland Railway 1907 renumbering scheme, they were assigned numbers 670–684. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

most were placed in store, but were then pressed into service afterwards as pilots on the

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

trains. Twelve locomotives survived to the 1923 grouping, keeping their Midland Railway numbers in LMS service. Nevertheless, by 1927 only three of the class remained, with the last engine, 673 (formerly 118) being withdrawn in 1928 and subsequently preserved.

Preservation

No. 673 is the sole survivor of its class. It was steamed around 1976–1980 when it took part in the Rainhill Trials 150th cavalcade but is currently a static exhibit in the

National Railway Museum The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant r ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

Gallery

Midland Railway No. 116; A Jubilee Year Record-Maker. The Engineering Magazine, XV-1, April 1898, New York, p. 97 – With caption.jpg, Caption: "A

Jubilee Year A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of ...

Record-Maker. Midland Railway No. 116."
In 1897, no 116 (shown here in photographic grey) reached a speed of 90 mph while under full load, at that time the highest recorded speed in the UK. Charles Rous-Marten:
Notable Speed-Trials of British Locomotives.
In ''The Engineering Magazine'', vol. XV, no. 1, April 1898, New York, p. 97. MR 4-2-2 673, Rocket 150, Rainhill, May 1980 Slides184 (9859805644) – edited.jpg, Preserved No 673 in Midland Railway crimson lake livery at the '' Rocket 150'' celebration in Rainhill in May 1980. Hugh llewelyn 115 (6241296834).jpg, Model of No 117. Note the differences to No 673, both in construction (smokebox door, handrail) and livery (base of smokebox red lined with yellow; boiler bands picked out in yellow; springs red lined with yellow; wheel spokes red; different lining on tender sides; number,

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

and MR initials in different locations.

References

* *Herring, Peter (2000) ''Classic British Steam Locomotives'', Enderby: Abbeydale, * * 0115 4-2-2 locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1896 Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain {{UK-steam-loco-stub Passenger locomotives