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London North Western
Railway:
Midland
Railway:
Stratford
Midland Junction Railway
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LMS Route: Rugby to Wolverhampton
LMS Route: Birmingham-Soho-Perry Barr-Birmingham
Winson Green Station: lnwrwg2270b
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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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