Midland Railway 115 Class

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.

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 They were progressively superseded by Johnson's and Deeley's compounds and 4-4-0s, but several lasted until 1928.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.

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.

• 673 (formerly 118, National Railway Museum)