Sir William Stanier Sir William Arthur Stanier (27 May 1876 – 27 September 1965) was an English railway engineer, and was chief mechanical engineer of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. Biography Sir William Stanier was born in Swindon, where his f ...

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with London and North Eastern Railway, LNER, Great Western Railway, GWR and Southern Railway (UK), SR. The London, Midland an ...

(LMS) Class 4P 2-Cylinder 2-6-4T was a class of 206

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

built between 1935 and 1943. They were based on his LMS 3-Cylinder 2-6-4T.

Numbering

The LMS numbered them 2425–94, and then 2537–672, BR adding 40000 to their numbers to make them 42425–94, and then 42537–672. The LMS classified them 4P, BR 4MT. They were the basis for the

LMS Fairburn 2-6-4T The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Fairburn Tank 2-6-4T is a class of steam locomotive. They were designed by Charles E. Fairburn for the LMS. 277 of these locomotives were built between 1945 and 1951, numbered in the range 42050� ...

Accidents and incidents

: *On 15 August 1953, locomotive No. 42474 was hauling a passenger train which collided with an

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...

that overran signals at Irk Valley Junction,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. The junction is on a viaduct, and one of the carriages of the electric multiple unit plunged into the

River Irk The River Irk is a river in the historic county of Lancashire in North West England that flows through the northern part of Greater Manchester. It rises to the east of Royton and runs west past Chadderton, Middleton and Blackley before mer ...

. Ten people were killed and 58 were injured.

Film use

No 2429 had a starring role as Celia Johnson's branch line engine in the 1945 film ''

Brief Encounter ''Brief Encounter'' is a 1945 British Romance film#Romantic drama, romantic drama film directed by David Lean from a screenplay by Noël Coward, based on his 1936 one-act play ''Still Life (play), Still Life''. The film stars Celia Johnson and ...

'', which was made at Carnforth station during the winter of 1944–45. The BR numberplate (42429) was sold at a BR auction held in the old Refreshment Room at Southport Chapel Street station.

Withdrawal

The first withdrawal was in 1960, with the last in 1967. None have been preserved (though the original of the 3-Cylinder 2-6-4T version, number 2500, is preserved at the National Railway Museum, and two examples of the nearly identical

are also still in existence).

Models

In 2008,

Hornby Model Railways Hornby Hobbies Limited is a British-owned scale model manufacturing company which has been focused on model railways. Its roots date back to 1901 in Liverpool, when founder Frank Hornby received a patent for his Meccano construction toy. The f ...

released Stanier's 4MT as a

OO gauge OO gauge or OO scale (also, 00 gauge and 00 scale) is the most popular standard gauge model railway standard in the United Kingdom, outside of which it is virtually unknown. OO gauge is one of several 4 mm-scale standards (4 mm to , or 1: ...

ready-to-run model. Two versions were due to be released; one in LMS Black, the other in BR Black (early and late). A pre-war

O gauge O scale (or O gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad sca ...

model of this locomotive was produced by Marklin for

Bassett-Lowke Bassett-Lowke was an English toy manufacturing company based in Northampton. Founded by Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke in 1898 or 1899, the company specialized in model railways, boats and ships, and construction sets. Bassett-Lowke started as a ...

models in 1937; this continued in UK production by Winteringham until 1957. This model has been reproduced in O gauge by

ACE Trains An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

in 2009; both LMS and BR black versions have been manufactured.

Numbering

Accidents and incidents

Film use

Withdrawal

Models

References

Further reading