London & North Western 4ft 6in Tank

This class consisted of 220 2-4-2T tank locomotives built for local passenger trains at Crewe between 1879 and 1898. The designation came from the diameter of the wheels at the centres, while the tires measured four feet and 8½ inches. The class was designed by Webb from the class 2234 of 2-4-0T locomotives by adding a trailing axle and larger supplies. The boiler and wheelbase were still the same. 20 members, like the pictured one, were fitted with a condenser. Since the new class reached a larger number than the original one, the class 2234 was later called “Chopper Tanks” as it looked like a chopped 4ft 6in Tank.

In 1902, six were sold to the Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway and re-gauged to broad gauge. 14 years later, five were sold again to the British Government and again re-gauged to standard gauge. Four others were sold to the Wirral Railway in 1913, followed by one each which were sold to the Cardiff Railway and Cromford and High Peak Railway.

Many of the locomotives still with the LNWR were fitted with push-pull equipment from 1909 and called “Motor Tanks”. As many were withdrawn from this time, only 90 were taken over by the LMS in 1923. There they were assigned power class 1P. More withdrawals started in the following year and the last one was gone in 1936.