LMS Route: Nuneaton to Birmingham New Street

LMS Route: Birmingham New Street to Tamworth

Saltley Shed: mrsalt70

LMS 6P5F 2-6-0 'Crab' No 13063 is seen standing in line with an unidentified class mate in front of Saltley No 3 roundhouse and alongside an unidentified LMS 4F 0-6-0 locomotive on 21st June 1931. The LMS when first established was dominated by senior Midland Railway officers because seniority - that is the number of years a person had been in post - was the method adopted by the LMS to absorb the many staff of equal rank from the amalgamated railway companies that constituted the new and enlarged railway. By chance the Midland had more key personnel of senior years in post than the LNWR, L&Y, Glasgow & South Western, Highland, Staffordshire railways etc. This resulted in many Midland Railway practices being adopted including, as seen above, the Midland practice of painting the locomotive number on the tender.

It is possible that the locomotive is also wearing crimson lake livery rather than the black livery later adopted by mixed traffic engines. The practice of carrying the number on the tender was eventually superceded on LMS Standard classes as it was a very wasteful practice because locomotives being repaired would require a lot longer time in the repair shops than a tender. Having numbers on cab sides meant that fewer tenders were built than locomotives as a percentage of a class would always be in the repair shops for their servicing and for repair. Built in July 1927 by Crewe works, No 13063 was later numbered by the LMS as part of their new numbering scheme as No 2763 later to be re-numbered by British Rail as No 42673 remaining in service until June 1964 when it was withdrawn from Nottingham shed to be scrapped in July 1964 by Crewe works.

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