Midland Railway

The Midland Railway was the great competitive innovator of Victorian British railways — the company that abolished second class and offered third-class passengers padded seats and covered coaches, that built the magnificent Gothic extravaganza of St Pancras station and the Midland Grand Hotel, that drove the Settle and Carlisle line through the highest and most inhospitable terrain of any British main-line railway, and that pursued its rivals with a commercial aggression that shaped the entire British railway industry. Formed in 1844 from the Midland Counties, Birmingham and Derby Junction, and North Midland railways, the Midland grew into a trunk network from St Pancras to Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield, Manchester, Leeds, and ultimately to Carlisle and Glasgow over the celebrated Settle and Carlisle line opened in 1876 at enormous expense.

The Midland's locomotive engineering at Derby Works operated under the 'small engine policy' — a preference for relatively small, well-proportioned locomotives operated in multiples where necessary rather than the large express engines favoured by rivals. This philosophy produced the Spinner class 4-2-2 single-driver express engines under Samuel Waite Johnson — among the most elegant British locomotives ever built, in the company's celebrated crimson lake livery — and the Midland Compound 4-4-0 developed by Johnson and Richard Deeley, the most successful compound locomotive design in British history. Matthew Kirtley's earlier tenure is credited with the invention of the brick arch in the firebox, enabling coal burning in place of coke — one of the most practically significant locomotive engineering innovations of the Victorian era.

At the 1923 Grouping the Midland became the dominant constituent of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, contributing Derby Works, the crimson lake tradition, and the small-engine philosophy that persisted until Stanier's arrival from the GWR in 1932. The Midland Railway Centre at Butterley and the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway preserve the Midland heritage in its Derbyshire home territory.

About

The Midland Railway was a British pre-grouping railway formed on 10 May 1844 by the amalgamation of the Midland Counties, the Birmingham & Derby Junction, and the North Midland railways. It ran a trunk network from St Pancras (from 1868) and London King's Cross (from 1858 to 1868) to the East Midlands, Sheffield, Manchester, Leeds and ultimately to Carlisle and Glasgow over the celebrated Settle & Carlisle line of 1876.

Locomotive engineering was carried out at Derby Works under successive Locomotive Superintendents, Matthew Kirtley (1844–1873), Samuel Waite Johnson (1873–1903), Richard Deeley (1903–1909) and Henry Fowler (1909–1922). The 'small engine policy' was a Midland house principle: rather than building large express engines, the company preferred two smaller locomotives double-heading the heavier trains. The crimson lake livery and meticulous lining-out gave Midland engines a distinctive identity.

Johnson's Spinner Class 4-2-2 single (1887) was perhaps the most elegant British express engine of its time. The Midland Compound 4-4-0 (initially Smith's design under Johnson, developed by Deeley) was the most successful British compound design and continued in production by the LMS into 1932.

At Grouping on 1 January 1923 the Midland became the dominant constituent of the LMS, and the small-engine policy persisted into the early LMS years until Stanier arrived from the GWR in 1932. Derby Works continued in service into BR days; Litchurch Lane Carriage Works survives today as Alstom's UK manufacturing centre.

Locomotives owned

6 Class — Samuel W. Johnson's 1875 Midland Railway 0-4-4T suburban class, built at Derby for MR London suburban services and outer-suburban passenger work.
LMS Fowler Class 4F — The LMS's standard heavy goods 0-6-0, derived from Sir Henry Fowler's 1911 Midland Railway Class 4 design and built in massive numbers under both Midland Railway and LMS ownership. By 1941 some 772 engines had been built across the MR and LMS works and contracted private builders. The 4F was the workhorse of LMS goods traffic throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Four are preserved.
Midland 990 Class — Johnson's 1899 Midland Railway 990 class 4-2-2 — the last and largest of Johnson's celebrated single-driver expresses, with the new Belpaire firebox replacing the round-top of the earlier 115/118 series. 10 built between 1900 and 1903. Worked Midland Railway expresses on the Settle & Carlisle and Manchester routes; the last MR singles in service. None preserved.
Midland 990 Class Spinner — Reference to Midland 990 class — see that entry.
Midland Compound 4-4-0 (1000 Class) — The Midland Railway's celebrated 4-cylinder compound 4-4-0, designed in 1902 by Samuel Johnson and developed by Richard Deeley and Henry Fowler. The class was the most successful application of compound expansion to a British express engine, and the design was carried over to the LMS after Grouping. 195 were built between 1902 and 1932 (40 by the Midland, 155 by the LMS), and the original prototype 1000 has been preserved.
Midland Railway 1000 Class — Johnson's / Deeley's 1902 Midland Railway 1000 class 4-4-0 "Compound" — Britain's most famous compound express engines. Johnson designed the original three-cylinder compound prototype in 1901; Deeley refined the design and 45 were built between 1902 and 1909, with the LMS continuing construction (as the "Standard Compounds") until 1932 — eventually 240 in total. The engines were exceptionally fast and economical and worked Midland and LMS expresses for half a century. MR No. 1000 is preserved at the National Railway Museum, restored to MR crimson lake.
Midland Railway 115 Class — Johnson's 1889 Midland Railway 115 class 4-2-2 "Spinner" single-driver express — the celebrated MR singles, the last great British single-drivers and arguably the most beautiful express engines of the 19th century. 95 built between 1887 and 1900; the leading example, MR No. 118 (later 673), is preserved at the NRM York.
Midland Railway 240 Class — Matthew Kirtley's 1867 Midland Railway 2-4-0 passenger class, the standard MR mid-Victorian express type, built at Derby Works.
Midland Railway 2441 Class — Fowler's 1899 MR 2441 class 0-6-0T — Midland Railway shunting tank, evolved into the LMS Class 3F "Jinties".
Midland Railway 3835 Class — Fowler's 1911 Midland Railway 3835 class 0-6-0 (LMS 4F class) — the MR's standard heavy goods 0-6-0, 192 built between 1911 and 1922; the LMS continued construction (as Standard 4F) and 580 had been built by 1941. The standard British Class 4F goods engine. Two preserved: 4027 (working at the Midland Railway, Butterley) and 43924 (Keighley & Worth Valley Railway).
Midland Railway 483 Class — Johnson's 1896 Midland Railway 483 class 4-4-0 — Johnson's larger-boilered 4-4-0s for MR Carlisle and Manchester expresses. Some lasted into BR days as Class 2P after rebuilding by Fowler.
Midland Railway 6 wheel tank — Johnson's 1877 Midland Railway 0-6-0T standard shunting tank, built at Derby.
Midland Railway J Class — Johnson's 1890 Midland Railway J class 0-6-0 goods, built at Derby — Johnson's standard MR goods engine, hundreds built between 1875 and 1908 in successive batches with progressive enlargement.

Founded	10 May 1844
Dissolved	1 January 1923
Country	England and Scotland
Headquarters	Derby