LMS Fowler Class 3F

Introduction

Design of this class was based on rebuilds by Henry Fowler of the Midland Railway 2441 Class introduced in 1899 by Samuel Waite Johnson. These rebuilds featured a Belpaire firebox and improved cab. 422 Jinties were built between 1924 and 1931; this class was just one of the Midland designs used on an ongoing basis by the LMS. The locomotives were built by the ex-L&YR Horwich Works and the private firms Bagnall's, Beardmores, Hunslet, North British and the Vulcan Foundry.

Details

When new, they were numbered 7100–7149, 16400–16764. Numbers 7150–7156 were added when the LMS absorbed the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway locomotives in 1930. In the 1934 LMS renumbering scheme, the locomotives were assigned the series 7260–7681. On the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 they were initially chosen as the standard shunting locomotive for the War Department, but later the more modern Hunslet "Austerity" 0-6-0ST was chosen in preference. Nevertheless, eight were dispatched to France before its fall in 1940, and only five returned in 1948. Two, 7456 and 7553, were converted to the 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) Irish broad gauge in 1944 and 1945 for use on Northern Counties Committee lines in Northern Ireland, becoming the NCC Class Y, and numbered 18 and 19. A total of 412 thus entered British Railways stock in 1948, rising to 417 by the end of the year.

British Railways numbers were the LMS numbers prefixed with '4'. Numbers 47477, 47478, 47479, 47480, 47481, 47655 and 47681 were fitted for push-pull train working.

The first withdrawals started in 1959 and by 1964 half had been withdrawn. The final five survived until 1967, with a further one, 47445 continuing with the National Coal Board.

Preservation

Due to their large numbers, late withdrawals and renowned performances, nine of these engines (plus a spare set of frames and a boiler from 47564) have been preserved. They are most suited to a further working life and many were restored within years of leaving the scrap heap. Today only 47445 and 47564 have never steamed beyond their old BR days, though the latter isn't technically a preserved locomotive. Their locations and conditions are as follows: Their current number is highlighted in Bold

One member of the class has operated on the main line in preservation. This was 7298/47298, which took part during the Rainhill celebrations in 1980 when it hauled a number of Steamport residents from the museum in Southport to Rainhill and also took part in the cavalcade. Today owned by Ian Riley it is currently undergoing an overhaul for a possible main line comeback.

In fiction

An engine of this type can be seen in the Rev. W. Awdry's The Railway Series book 'The Eight Famous Engines'. The character's name was Jinty, and came from the "Other Railway" (aka British Railways) to help out when the main engines went on a journey to England.

In the videogame Transport Tycoon of Chris Sawyer, the Jinty is offered as the cheapest and most basic engine of the game.

Models

A OO gauge model of the Class 3F was produced by Tri-ang during the 1960s and production continued after the company's acquisition of Hornby Railways. Hornby continue to produce a model for their "Railroad" range.

In the 2000s Bachmann Branchline released a more detailed OO model. In N gauge Graham Farish produced a model as a "GP Tank" in various liveries including some of other railway companies before later tooling an accurate 'Jinty' model. In O gauge and Gauge 1 Bachmann Brassworks produce an example. In O gauge, Connoisseur Models produces an etched brass kit. In HO (3.5 mm) scale Firedrake Productions produced a small run of 20 kits.

Darstaed, a model train company in Great Britain, currently produces O gauge tintype models of the LMS Fowler Class 3F, affectionately referring to them by the nickname of Jinty.

Dapol are currently in the stages of planning and modelling a jinty for the O gauge market, due to be released sometime in 2017/2018