LMS Route: Rugby to Tamworth

Trent Valley Lineside - Cathiron: lnwr_cath1143

A pair of unidentified LMS 5P4F 2-6-0 'Crabs' are seen at the head of a down excursion train comprised on ex-L&YR coaching stock resplendent in two-tone brown livery circa 1928. Designed by George Hughes the LMS's first Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) the 'Hughes Crab' or 'Horwich Mogul' was a class of mixed traffic 2-6-0 steam locomotives built between 1926 and 1932. It was their unusual appearance which created their nickname as the their large highly-angled cylinders at work were seen as being reminiscent of crabs scuttling about.

The use of the high-angled cylinders was the result of Hughes' desire to keep the boiler pressure down to 180 pounds per square inch (psi) to reduce wear and tear compared to 225 psi and higher - adopted by many other railways. Consequently to deliver the traction required larger cylinders were required which to be accommodated with Britain's's restricted loading gauge had to be angled upwards.

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