LMS Route: Rugby to Tamworth

Tamworth Station: lnwr_tam2357

British Railways built Ivatt Class 4MT 2-6-0 No 43003 runs tender first on a Trent Valley local passenger service. The LMS Ivatt Class 4MT 2-6-0 was a class of steam locomotive primarily designed for medium freight work but also to be widely used on secondary passenger services. The LMS and later the London Midland Region of British Railways (LMR) built 162 of this type between 1947 and 1952, but only the first three were built by the LMS before nationalisation in 1948. They were designed by HG Ivatt and classified 4F by the LMS and 4MT by BR. In BR 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 were quickly transferred elsewhere, never to return, because of poor steaming on the line's long and steep gradients. This was before modifications were made to the design which improved steaming notably. Built at Horwich in January 1948, No 43003 was the first of the class to be built under British Railways ownership and it remained in service until September 1967 when it was officially withdrawn from 5B Crewe (South) shed.

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