Birmingham New Street Station

BR Period Locomotives: lnwrbns_br348

Preserved Midland Railway 4P 4-4-0 Compound No 1000 is seen standing at the East end of Platform 7 with scores of enthusiasts in attendance. The Class were developed from a series of five locomotives, No 263I to No 2635, introduced in 1902 by Samuel Johnson which had had a 3-cylinder compound arrangement based on the Smith system with one inside high-pressure cylinder and two outside low-pressure cylinders. In addition, they were equipped with Smith's starting arrangement, reinforced working and for the first two locomotives, independent control of high-pressure and low-pressure valve gears. From 1905 onwards, Johnson's successor Richard Deeley built an enlarged and simplified version, eliminating all the Smith refinements whilst fitting his own starting arrangement, making the engines simpler to drive.

These locomotives were originally numbered 1000-1029, but in the 1907 renumbering scheme the five Smith/Johnson locomotives became 1000-1004 and the Deeley compounds 1005-1034, ten more of these being added in 1908-9. The original Johnson locomotives were all subsequently renewed as Deeley compounds in 1914, including the now-preserved 1000, which was outshopped with a superheater by the same occasion. As seen above No 1000 was set aside for preservation, in October 1951 when it was withdrawn from Derby shed, and after withdrawal was restored in 1959 close to its 1914 condition being painted in Midland crimson lake livery. In its early preservation years No 1000 was frequently used to run enthusiasts' specials until it was placed in the temporary Clapham Transport museum.

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