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London, Midland & Scottish Ivatt class 4
British Rail class 4MT
Great Britain | 1947
162 produced
No. 43049 in October 1959 at Birmingham New Street station
No. 43049 in October 1959 at Birmingham New Street station
Ben Brooksbank / LMS Ivatt 2-6-0 at Birmingham New Street

The Ivatt class 4 was a mixed-traffic locomotive designed for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway by their chief mechanical engineer of the same name. Categorized in power class 4, it was used for medium goods and secondary passenger trains. As it was only introduced in 1947, only three were delivered to the LMS. 159 more were built by 1968 directly for British Railways.

A feature were the highly-mounted, straight running boards which gave the locomotive a somewhat American look. Although this may have saved construction costs and facilitated maintenance, it was considered ugly by many British. The first 50 locomotives got double chimneys, these led to poor steaming and were later changed to a regular chimney.

Their main area of operation was the former LMS network. Due to their ungainly appearance in the eyes of the British, they got nicknames like “mucky ducks”, “doodlebugs” or even “flying pigs”. When they were used as the basis of the BR standard class 4 2-6-0, these were somewhat modified to match the aesthetic standards, for example with running boards which were now sloped at the front. The Ivatt locomotives were withdrawn between 1963 and 1968, so some lived longer than the BR standard locomotives.

General
Built1947-1952
ManufacturerHorwich, Doncaster, Darlington
Axle config2-6-0 (Mogul) 
Gauge4 ft 8 1/2 in (Standard gauge)
Dimensions and Weights
Length55 ft 11 in
Service weight132,383 lbs
Adhesive weight113,097 lbs
Total weight222,653 lbs
Axle load37,479 lbs
Water capacity4,203 us gal
Fuel capacity8,960 lbs (coal)
Boiler
Grate area23 sq ft
Firebox area131 sq ft
Tube heating area1,090 sq ft
Evaporative heating area1,221 sq ft
Superheater area231 sq ft
Total heating area1,452 sq ft
Power Plant
Driver diameter63 in
Boiler pressure225 psi
Expansion typesimple
Cylinderstwo, 17 1/2 x 26 in
Power
Power sourcesteam
Estimated power1,130 hp (843 kW)
Optimal speed30 mph
Starting effort24,172 lbf
Calculated Values
steam locomotive
freight
passenger
Henry George Ivatt
last changed: 07/2024
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