Banner
Navigation
loco-info.com
The reference for locomotives and railcars
Navigation
Random
Search
Compare
Settings
London, Midland & Scottish Garratt
go back
Great Britain | 1927
33 produced
No. 4986 with rotating coal bunker
No. 4986 with rotating coal bunker
flickr/Historical Railway Images

The LMS was the only British railway to order greater numbers of large Garratts. Although the Midland Railway's small engine policy had worked for most of the time, they needed much more powerful locomotives when even double-headed 0-6-0 locomotives became overwhelmed by heavy coal trains. They had to haul trains of 1,450 tons with a speed of 25 mph (40 km/h).

Three were built in 1927, followed by 30 more in 1930. Only one year later, 31 were fitted with the Beyer Peacock Patent Self-Trimming Coal Bunker. These cylindrical bunkers were revolved and oscillated by means of a two-cylinder steam engine, conveying the coal to the cab. These also reduced coal dust in the cab, but often got jammed.

One problem was the standard axle bearings designed by Derby, which the LMS insisted on and which turned out to be too weak. Another finding was that these locomotives were heavy on coal, even measured by their huge pulling power. Despite these issues, there were only retired between 1955 and 1958. They were replaced by locomotives like the BR Standard 9F that had a similar pulling power, but could also reach higher speeds with lighter trains.

General
Built1927, 1930
ManufacturerBeyer, Peacock & Co.
Axle config2-6-0+0-6-2 (Double Mogul (Garratt)) 
Gauge4 ft 8 1/2 in (Standard gauge)
Dimensions and Weights
Length87 ft 10 1/2 in
Rigid wheelbase16 ft 6 in
Total wheelbase79 ft
Service weight333,200 lbs
Adhesive weight259,840 lbs
Axle load45,360 lbs
Water capacity5,404 us gal
Fuel capacity15,680 lbs (coal)
Boiler
Grate area44.5 sq ft
Firebox area183 sq ft
Tube heating area1,954 sq ft
Evaporative heating area2,137 sq ft
Superheater area500 sq ft
Total heating area2,637 sq ft
Power Plant
Driver diameter63 in
Boiler pressure190 psi
Expansion typesimple
Cylindersfour, 18 1/2 x 26 in
Power
Power sourcesteam
Estimated power1,500 hp (1,119 kW)
Optimal speed21 mph
Starting effort45,622 lbf
Calculated Values
steam locomotive
freight
tank locomotive
Garratt
last changed: 12/2024
No. 4997 with conventional coal bunker
No. 4997 with conventional coal bunker
flickr/Historical Railway Images
Search
loadding loading...

We use cookies to save the following settings:

  • selected navigation structure
  • selected language
  • preferred units
  • spelling of railway company names

If you refuse the use of cookies, the settings will only be retained for the current session and will be reset to the default values the next time you visit the site.

Display of units

Here you can set the desired unit system for the technical data.

  • Metric: Lengths in meters, weights in tonnes, and volumes in cubic meters
  • Imperial (UK): Lengths in feet/inches, weights in long tons and volumes in imperial gallons
  • Imperial (US): Lengths in feet/inches, weights in pounds, and volumes in US gallons
  • Individual: Depends on the country of origin of each locomotive
Operator names

Here you can set the display of railway company names.

  • Short: Abbreviation or short form of the name
  • Standard: commonly used name, partially translated to English
  • Complete: full name in local language