LMS: Birmingham New Street to Tamworth
LMS: Nuneaton to Birmingham New Street

Water Orton Station: mrwo1751

British Railways built 'Ivatt' 4MT 2-6-0 No 43036 enters Water Orton with a Class A express service on 28th February 1959. Built by Horwich works in June 1949, No 43036 was to remain in service until May 1966 when it was withdrawn from 12D Workington shed to be scrapped. Designed for medium freight work but also widely used on secondary passenger services, the LMS and its successor, the London Midland Region of British Railways, built one hundred and sixty-two locomotives of this class between 1947 and 1952 of which only three were built by the LMS before nationalisation on 1st January 1948. Designed by HG Ivatt, they were classified 4F by the LMS and 4MT by British Railways. In British Railways days they were used extensively across the system, being prevalent on the London Midland region and to a lesser extent elsewhere, notably on the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway, an East Anglian line that had previously been joint owned by the LMS and LNER, where they became the dominant locomotive type. They were also used for a short period on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway but, because of poor steaming on the line's long and steep gradients, were quickly transferred elsewhere, never to return. Subsequent modifications were made to the design after testing at the former GWR testing station at Swindon under the which improved its steaming capability improved notably.

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