The London, Midland and Scottish Railway Fowler Class 7F was a class of 0-8-0 steam locomotives. They were a Midlandised version of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) Class G2 and Class G2A 0-8-0s. They were also classified as Class G3 under the former LNWR system. The class were sometimes known as Baby Austins, or Austin 7s, after a motor car that was becoming popular at the time.

LMS 7F 0-8-0
49592 at Aintree, June 1948.
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderLMS Crewe Works
Build date1929–1932
Total produced175
Specifications
Configuration:
 • Whyte0-8-0
 • UICD h2G
Gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Driver dia.4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
WheelbaseLoco: 18 ft 3 in (5.56 m)
Length56 ft 1 in (17.09 m)
Loco weight60.75 long tons (61.72 t; 68.04 short tons)
Tender weight41.20 long tons (41.86 t; 46.14 short tons)
Total weight101.95 long tons (103.59 t; 114.18 short tons)
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity4 long tons (4.1 t; 4.5 short tons)
Water cap.3,500 imp gal (16,000 L; 4,200 US gal)
Firebox:
 • Grate area23.5 sq ft (2.18 m2)
BoilerLMS type G7¾S
Boiler pressure200 lbf/in2 (1.38 MPa)
Heating surface:
 • Firebox150 sq ft (14 m2)
 • Tubes and flues1,434 sq ft (133.2 m2) later 1,402 sq ft (130.3 m2)
Superheater:
 • Heating area353 sq ft (32.8 m2) to 338 sq ft (31.4 m2)
CylindersTwo
Cylinder size19+12 in × 26 in (495 mm × 660 mm)
Valve gearWalschaerts, piston valves
Performance figures
Tractive effort29,745 lbf (132.31 kN)
Career
Power class7F
Numbers
  • LMS: 9500–9674
  • BR: 49500–49674
Nicknames
  • Baby Austins
  • Austin Sevens
Withdrawn1949–1962
DispositionAll scrapped

Overview

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49560 with a typical freight duty in 1950

It featured a Belpaire firebox and increased boiler pressure over its predecessor but had the same power rating of 7F. Because the design had been done at the old Midland Railway's Derby Works, the drawing office staff insisted on using Midland practice. Among other things this meant that the axle bearings were too small for the loads they had to carry. E.S. Cox, writing in a series of articles in Trains Illustrated c. 1957, suggests that they had a sufficiently modern and effective front end that, for steady slogging, some drivers preferred them to an LMS Stanier Class 8F. However, this also meant that, with bearings comparable to an LMS Fowler Class 4F and already inadequate for the lower powered engine, the bearings broke up rapidly.

Numbering

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Number Lot
Number
Date
built
Crewe Works
serial Nos.
LMS BR
9500–99 49500–99 57 1929 5872–5971
9600–02 49600–02 71 1930 6047–49
9603–19 49603–19 71 1931 6050–66
9620–32 49620–32 81 1931 1–13
9633 49633 81 1932 14
9634–35 49634–35 81 1931 15–16
9636–59 49636–59 81 1932 17–40
9660–74 49660–74 84 1932 41–55

Equipment

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Numbers 9672–74 were fitted with ACFI feedwater heaters when built but these were removed during the Second World War. After the war, five were briefly converted to oil burning.

British Railways

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All members of the class entered British Railways ownership in 1948, but 122 had been withdrawn by the end of 1951; fifty were withdrawn without receiving their BR number. They had a fairly short life, and all were withdrawn and scrapped between 1949 and 1962, some time before the final G2s were withdrawn in 1964.

Accidents and incidents

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Withdrawal

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All engines were withdrawn between 1949 and 1962.

Table of withdrawals
Year Quantity in
service at
start of year
Quantity
withdrawn
Locomotive numbers
1949 175 61 9504/07/12/17–18/21–22/27–28/30/33–34/42/46/49–50/59/65/73/75–77/84/97/99,
9601/04/06/13–14/16/26/29/32–33/39/42/44–46/52/54/56/58/69–70,
49513/25–26/39/51–52/64/81/84, 49607/11/22/30/43/47.
1950 114 37 9514/29, 9619/21,
49500–01/16/19–20/31/35/37/41/43/53/56/61/67/69/74–75/79/83/96,
49605/09/15/28/34–36/41/49/51/53/55/65.
1951 77 24 49502/10/23/40/58/68/71/80/85/87/89–90/93–95,
49610/17/23/25/31/50/60/63/73.
1952 53 6 49506/48/63/91, 49661/71.
1953 47 4 49524, 49600/08/12.
1954 43 2 49503, 49602.
1955 41 3 49554/57/70.
1956 38 6 49532/52, 49603/20/38/66.
1957 32 12 49536/38/45/47/55/60/66, 49648/57/59/64/72.
1958 20 0
1959 20 11 49509/11/15/78/82/86/92/98, 49640/62/67.
1960 9 4 49505/44, 49624/74.
1961 5 4 49618/27/37/68.
1962 1 1 49508.

References

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  1. ^ Hall, Stanley (1990). The Railway Detectives. London: Ian Allan. p. 99. ISBN 0-7110-1929-0.
  2. ^ Earnshaw, Alan (1990). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 6. Penryn: Atlantic Books. p. 28. ISBN 0-906899-37-0.
  • Ian Allan ABC of British Railways Locomotives, summer 1961 edition, part 3, page 52
  • Rowledge, J.W.P. (1975). Engines of the LMS built 1923–51. Oxford: Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-902888-59-5.
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