2MT 46400 – 46527 2-6-0 LMS Ivatt – Preserved British Steam Locomotives

46400

Power Classification	2P reclassified 2MT in 1948
Introduced	1946 – 1953
Designer	Ivatt
Company	LMS
Weight – Loco	47t 2cwt
Tender	37t 3cwt
Driving Wheels	5ft 0ins
Boiler Pressure	200psi superheated
Cylinders	Outside – 16in x 24in (46465 onwards 16½in x 24in)
Tractive Effort	17,410lbf (46465 onwards 18,510lbf)
Valve Gear	Walschaert (piston valves)

Elderly 0-6-0s formed the backbone of the low-powered locomotives within the LMS fleet. Stanier had concentrated on introducing larger engines and it was left to Ivatt to introduce a new class of low-powered locomotive.

In 1946, two years before nationalisation, Ivatt introduced two new lightweight designs for cross country and branch line working. The tender engine was the 2MT 46400 class and the tank engine was the 2MT 41200 class.

	Ivatt 2MT 2-6-2T introduced in 1946
	Ivatt – 2MT 2-6-0 as originally built between 1946 and 1953
	Riddles Standard 2MT 78000 class introduced in 1952

The 2-6-0s, with their greater range (3,000 gallons of water and 4 tons of coal compared to the tank design’s 1,350 gallons of water and 3 tons of coal), were well-suited to their task and, following attention to draughting problems by both Derby and Swindon, quickly became a success.

The hundred and twenty eight of the tender engines were built, only twenty of which appeared before nationalisation. The design was later adopted as a BR standard design appearing as the 2MT 78000 class in 1952 whilst members of the 46400 class was still being built. Most of the class was based on the London Midland Region but some were based on the Western, Eastern, North Eastern and Scottish Regions.

46400-46464 carried short LMS style chimneys whilst 46465 onwards had BR tall Parallel type chimneys. 46424 was experimentally fitted with a narrow stove pipe chimney in 1951 and it was nicknamed “The Sprout”.

The original LMS engines had a smaller lower pitched boiler and a lower running plate than the BR built engines.

In 1952 46460 was transferred to work on the St Combs Light Railway in Scotland and it was fitted with a cow-catcher which was previously attached to the LNER F4 engines which had worked on the branch.

Number in Service.

	Built		Withdrawals	No. in Service
	BR Numbers	Quantity

1946	46400-9	10		10
1947	46410-19	10		20
1948	46420-34	15		35
1949	46435-64	30		65
1950	46465-94	30		95
1951	46495-502	8		103
1952	46503-14	12		115
1953	46515-27	13		128
1954-60				128
1961	46407		1	127
1962			12	115
1963			4	111
1964			8	103
1965			21	82
1966			40	42
1967			42	0

	Built		Withdrawals	No. in Service
	BR Numbers	Quantity

1946	46400-9	10		10
1947	46410-19	10		20
1948	46420-34	15		35
1949	46435-64	30		65
1950	46465-94	30		95
1951	46495-502	8		103
1952	46503-14	12		115
1953	46515-27	13		128
1954-60				128
1961	46407		1	127
1962			12	115
1963			4	111
1964			8	103
1965			21	82
1966			40	42
1967			42	0

46400-64 were built at Crewe.
46465-502 were built at Darlington.
46503-27 were built at Swindon.
The last five in service were withdrawn in July 1967 at Buxton. Of these one (46402) had been built at Crewe in 1946.
46494 was built in December 1951 and was only in service until September 1962 when it was withdrawn at March depot.
These locomotives were the cheapest to operate on BR, at 16s 6d (82.5p) a mile in the mid-1960’s – the same as a DMU, which replaced them.

Allocation of locomotives in service as at 1st of January

BR Region	1948	1955	1960	1964	1966	1967

Scottish	0	5	5	18	6	0
Western	0	27	26	17	3	0
Eastern	0	5	5	0	0	0
North Eastern	5	20	27	0	0	0
Midland	13	71	65	76	73	42

	20	128	128	111	82	42

Scottish Region

	1948	1955	1960	1964	1966	1967

Ardrossan				2
Ayr					1
Dumfries				3	1
Dundee Tay Bridge		2	2	1	1
Grangemouth				2
Hurlford				4	1
Keith			1
Kittybrewster		2	1
Motherwell				1	1
Polmadie				1
St Margarets		1	1	2	1
Stranraer				2

	0	5	5	18	6	0

The last 5 of the locomotives built at Crew in 1950 were allocated to the Scottish Region and remained at depots in the region throughout their working lives.
7 Darlington and 5 Crewe built locomotives moved north of the border in the period 1961-1963. Most of these were from depots in Yorkshire bur 2 were from Cambridge and 3 from Tweedmouth.
The remaining engine of the class that worked on the Scottish Region moved from Kettering in 1963.
The last 2 in service were withdrawn in August 1966 from Ayr (46460) and Dundee Tay Bridge (46464).

Western Region

	1948	1955	1960	1964	1966	1967

Brecon		7
Bristol Bath Road		1
Bristol Barrow Road		2
Croes Newydd				3	1
Hereford		1
Oswestry		12	24	8
Machynlleth		1		4	2
St Phillips Marsh		3	2
Shrewsbury				2
Swansea Victoria	2

	2	27	26	17	3	0

All of the 25 locomotives built at Swindon in 1952 and 1953 were initially allocated to the Western Region.
The two allocated to Swansea Victoria were part of the first batch built at Crewe. 46414 transferred to Bank Hall in December 1948 and then remained in Lancashire and Cheshire to be withdrawn in June 1966 from Northwich. 46415 transferred to Bank Hall at the same time as 46414 but then moved on to Huddersfield and after a number of moves in Yorkshire was withdrawn from Goole in October 1962.
Croes Newydd, Oswestry, Machynlleth and Shrewsbury became Midland Region depots in 1963.
Only two engines stayed in the Western region until withdrawn from service. 46507 withdrawn June 1965 from Croes Newydd and 46521 withdrawn in October 1966 from Machynlleth.
46525 which had spent most of its life based at St Phillips Marsh was withdrawn from service at Shrewsbury in December 1964 having only been in service since March 1953.
Bristol Bath Road closed September 1960.
Brecon closed December 1962.

Eastern Region

	1948	1955	1960	1964	1966	1967

Cambridge		3	3
Colchester		2
Parkeston			2

	0	5	5	0	0	0

These locomotives were the first five built at Darlington in 1950.
46466 and 46469 were withdrawn from service at March depot in August 1962 after only being in service since June and July 1951.
The remaining three engines were redeployed in 1961 and 1962 – 46465 to Buxton, 46467 to Hurlford and 46468 to Oban.

North Eastern Region

	1948	1955	1960	1964	1966	1967

Darlington		2	5
Farnley Junction	2
Goole	2	6	5
Leeds Holbeck		4	3
Low Moor			2
Millhouses			2
Northallerton			1
Sheffield Grimesthorpe		2	2
Sowerby Bridge			1
Thornaby			1
Tweedmouth			2
Wakefield	1	2	1
West Auckland		4
York			2

	5	20	27	0	0	0

Farnley Junction, Goole, Leeds Holbeck, Low Moor, Sowerby Bridge and Wakefield were transferred to North Eastern Region ownership from the Midland Region in September 1956.
Apart from the five locomotives working in the region in 1948, which were Crewe built, all of the others were built at Darlington.
Two of the ones built at Crewe in 1946 and allocated to Goole were withdrawn from service in December 1961 (46407 from Goole) and October 1962 (46408 from Malton).
Ten of the 27 locomotives in the North Easter Region in 1960 were transferred to the Scottish Region whilst fourteen were withdrawn from service with most going in 1962. The other three went to Midland Region depots.
Ten of the Eastern Region 1960 allocation were transferred to the Scottish Region

Midland Region

	1948	1955	1960	1964	1966	1967

Agecroft		2	2
Aintree		2	3		4	4
Aston		2	3	2
Bank Hall	2	7			2
Bangor				1
Barrow				2
Bescot		3	4	9	6
Blackpool Central	4
Bolton					6
Bury			5	8
Bushbury				1
Buxton				3	5	6
Carlisle Kingmoor						3
Carlisle Upperby			4	3	5
Carnforth					2	7
Chester				1
Coventry		2
Derby		3	7	5
Hasland		2
Kettering	5	7	5
Kirkby Stephen		7	1
Lancaster		1	3	5	6
Lees Oldham				6
Leicester Midland			1
Lostock hall				2
Mansfield		1	1
Newton Heath	2	6	5	4	7	13
Norwich				3		5
Nottingham		1		6
Nuneaton				2	4
Penrith		3
Rugby			4	2
Saltley				5	6
Skipton		2	2
Stoke		2	2
Speke Junction					6
Tyseley					5
Widnes		5		2
Wigan Springs Branch		4	5		4	2
Willesden		2	3	12
Workington		7	5	3	5	2

	13	71	65	76	73	42

The locomotives allocated to Workington were used to replace the 2F LNWR Webb Cauliflower locomotives that had been introduced in 1880. There were 14 of these old 0-6-0 2F engines at Workington in January 1948 and a further 4 at Penrith. Amongst the duties the 46400 class locomotives based there was to operate on the Workington to Penrith line including hauling that segment of the Lakes Express to Euston. Penrith closed in December 1955.

LNWR Webb Cauliflower

	I took the photographs below on the 14th November 1965 at Workington shed. Workington shed was one of the few that survived until 1968. It closed in January of that year. 46432 remained in service until May 1967 when it was withdrawn whilst based at Wigan Springs Branch
	46485 & 46452. 46485 ended its working life at Buxton in July 1967 whilst 46452 remained at Workington from where it was withdrawn from service in May 1967.
	46491 spent almost its entire lofe based at Workington. Its only other base was Penrith for a year in the mid 1950’s. It was withdrawn from service in May 1967.