midland-156

The Midland Railway 156 Class was a series of 2-4-0 express passenger locomotives designed by Matthew Kirtley and built at Derby Works from 1866, representing the Midland Railway's standard express type of the late 1860s and one of the last generations of inside-frame 2-4-0 express locomotives to be built in significant numbers before the 4-4-0 became dominant in British express practice. Kirtley's 2-4-0 design was a sound and capable locomotive for the Midland's principal routes, and the class gave good service on the Derby–Bristol, Derby–Manchester, and other MR main-line services through the 1870s and 1880s before larger locomotives displaced them from the top express duties.

Matthew Kirtley was the Midland Railway's first Locomotive Superintendent, having joined the Midland at its formation in 1844, and his long tenure saw the MR's locomotive fleet develop from the miscellaneous acquisitions of the constituent companies into a coherent and capable fleet suited to the Midland's expanding national network. The 156 Class represents the mature Kirtley 2-4-0 type that formed the backbone of MR express working in the later Kirtley era, and one example, No. 158A, is preserved at the National Railway Museum, York as the sole surviving Kirtley Midland locomotive.