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LMS Class 2 Ivatt 41313

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Builder	Crewe Works
Introduction Date	May 1952
Withdrawal Date	October 1965
Configuration	2-6-2
Status	In Service (Heritage)
Number Held	41313

London Midland & Scottish Railway Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T

The LMS had various elderly tank engines and the operating department required a new small class 2 locomotive to replace them. Noting that the Great Western Railway 4500 and 4575 Classes of 2-6-2T ('Prairie') had been successful, George Ivatt designed the new engine type incorporating self-emptying ashpans and rocking grates which were labour-saving devices. A tender version, the Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0 was also produced. The LMS classified them as 2P, but BR preferred the classification 2MT.

The class was introduced between 1946 and 1952. They were based on the LMS Stanier 2-6-2T which was, in turn, based on the LMS Fowler 2-6-2T. Ten were built by the LMS before nationalisation in 1948, and were numbered 1200–1209. British Railways added the prefix '4' to their numbers so they became 41200–41209. A further 120 were built by BR, numbers 41210–41329. Most were built at Crewe, including 41272 — the 7000th locomotive to be built there, but the last ten were built at Derby. Fifty engines were fitted with push-pull equipment, these being Nos. 41210–41229, 41270–41289 and 41320–41329.

The last thirty Crewe-built engines, 41290–41319, were allocated to the Southern Region from new. The rest were London Midland Region engines. Some were also allocated to the Western Region of BR in the 1950s and 1960s such as numbers 41202, 41203 and 41249 which were shedded at Bristol Bath Road in 1959. They spent their lives mostly on branch line work.

The design formed the basis for the BR Standard Class 2 2-6-2T (numbers 84000–29), which were built to a slightly smaller loading gauge and so have slanted cab sides. These engines also incorporate a fallplate and fittings common to many BR standard classes, such as the chimneys.

41313

Intended for light duties, the design incorporated labour saving features usually found on larger engines of the time, including hopper ashpans and rocking grates. The side tanks have a capacity of 1,350 gallons, and the bunker, which is sloped inwards to give a clear view to the rear, has a ladder giving access to the coal space, a feature directly influenced by American practice.

One of a batch of twenty engines built at Crewe in 1952, 41313 entered service at Brighton in May 1952 and after a month was reallocated to Exmouth Junction shed, displacing Drummond M7 tanks on local passenger work in the Exeter area. In April 1953 she moved to Three Bridges shed in West Sussex, but was there for only a matter of weeks before transfer to Faversham, Kent.

In November 1959 41313 was sent to Eastleigh Works for a general repair and was subsequently reallocated to Barnstaple. In 1963 she returned to Brighton where work included passenger turns to Horsham and Guildford, shunting, parcels trains, and hauling the ‘Lancing Belle’ workmen’s train to Lancing Carriage Works. In May 1964 she was sent to her final BR home, Eastleigh, and was withdrawn in June 1965.

Sold to Woodham Brothers scrap merchants in February 1966, 41313 was towed to their yard at Barry Docks, South Wales, where it was to stay until purchase by the Ivatt Trust in 1975. Moved to the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, Quainton Road, it was initially intended that 41313 would act as a source of spare parts for sister engine 41298, also owned by the trust. It was eventually decided that the engine should be restored to working order, the trustees choosing the Isle of Wight Steam Railway as a suitable location for their three Ivatt locomotives’ future operation. 41313 was moved to Havenstreet in August 2006 where some conservation work was carried out before she was placed in store pending overhaul.

In 2014 41313 underwent an extensive overhaul at the East Somerset Railway. She returned to steam in 2017 and has since been regular performer at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.