Birmingham New Street Station

LNWR Locomotives: lnwrbns_pg1956

LNWR 2-2-2-0 Experiment Compound class No 311 'Richard Francis Roberts' is seen on the up face of Platform 2 at the East end of the station in 1903. This class of locomotive numbered thirty in total and although at first glance it might appear to be a conventional 2-4-0 it had no coupling rods between the two 6ft 6in wheels. Each pair of wheels was separately driven by cylinders, the rear set of wheels being driven by two outside high-pressure cylinders and the front axle being driven by a single large inside low-pressure cylinder. The class was the start of Webb's fascination with compounding, the method where steam was used twice to power a locomotive. Built at Crewe in January 1984 No 311 remained in service for 21 years being withdrawn in July 1905, some two years after this photograph was taken.

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