Midland Railway 115 Class
The Midland Railway 115 Class was a series of inside-cylinder 4-2-2 single-driver express passenger locomotives designed by Samuel Waite Johnson and built at Derby Works from 1887, forming part of the celebrated family of Johnson Spinner designs that gave the Midland Railway its reputation for the most beautiful locomotives in Britain. The 115 Class designation covers a specific build batch within the broader 990 Class Spinner family — see the main Midland 990 Class entry for the complete history of the Johnson Spinners, their elegant crimson lake livery, and the preservation of No. 673 at the Midland Railway Centre, Butterley.
The preserved example No. 673 at the Midland Railway Centre is associated with this designation, representing the beauty of the Johnson Spinner tradition in its fully restored crimson lake livery with gold lining and polished brass dome and safety valve.
Design and development
Johnson's Midland singles of 1887–1900 represented the final flowering of the single-driver express engine. With 7 ft 9 in driving wheels, leading 4-wheel bogie, inside cylinders, and Johnson's elegant proportions, the Spinners were exceptionally fast — capable of 90 mph on the level — and remarkably economical thanks to the introduction of steam-sanding, which gave them adhesion at starting and uphill that earlier singles had lacked.
95 were built at Derby Works in successive batches between 1887 and 1900, in several sub-classes (115, 1853, 17 and others) with progressive enlargement of the boiler.
Service and withdrawals
The Spinners worked Midland Railway expresses on the Derby/Leeds–Carlisle and London–Manchester routes through the 1890s and 1900s. They were progressively superseded by Johnson's and Deeley's compounds and 4-4-0s, but several lasted until 1928. MR No. 673 (formerly 118) was preserved by the LMS as a heritage piece, restored to MR crimson lake, and has been displayed at the NRM since the 1960s.
Identification features
4-2-2 with 7 ft 9 in single drivers, leading 4-wheel bogie, inside cylinders, parallel boiler with brass dome and polished safety-valve casing, MR crimson lake livery with black and yellow lining.
Notable locomotives
- 673 (formerly 118, National Railway Museum)
