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LMS Route: Rugby to Wolverhampton

LMS Route: Birmingham-Soho-Perry Barr-Birmingham

Winson Green Station: lnwrwg2270b

Close up showing ex-LMS 2-6-4T 'Fowler' tank locomotive No 42309 entering the station with a local passenger service to New Street station

Close up showing ex-LMS 2-6-4T 'Fowler' tank locomotive No 42309 entering the station with a local passenger service to New Street station. The difference between steam powered trains and DMUs is well demonstrated by the close up images. The DMU set was an integral unit combining both the motive power and the passenger carrying facilities. The tank locomotive was a power unit that required two men to operate and additional men to dispose of the locomotive after each day's work. The cleaning out of the firebox and smokebox was also supplemented by regular boiler washouts to remove the gunge and lime scale that built up over the week. The amount of labour required to operate steam locomotives was not an issue in the days before the First world War but afterwards the cost of labour rose dramatically. In addition, in the post Second World War period, the expansion of the car factories and light industry in general meant that the railways could not compete with jobs that were better paid, cleaner and with hours that were not considered to be anti social.

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