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LMS 2-6-2T No 143 stands beneath the parachute water tank near the shed's entrance on 2nd July 1938. Being built by Derby works in November 1935, the locomotive was only three months out of the shops when seen in the above photograph. Despite the poor performance of this class it lasted in service until October 1961 when it was withdrawn from Widnes shed. The scale of scrapping being carried out by BR meant that it lay in store for 18 months before it was scrapped by the Central Wagon Company of Wigan in January 1963. A taper-boiler version of Henry Fowler's 1930 design, the general dimensions were the same with some improvements. They were under-boilered and although improved they were always considered to be indifferent performers. In some ways they were inferior to their predecessors. The cab was of Stanier’s usual excellent design with the coal bunker built higher than the rear cab windows but angled inwards to avoid them, thus giving good visibility when running bunker first. The first 2 lots (71 – 144) were built with number 6 domeless boilers but the rest were built with improved 6A boilers with separate top-feed and steam dome. Both types of boilers were later modified to carry Adams ‘Vortex’ blastpipe in an attempt to improve steaming. The latter locomotives being easily identifiable by the larger diameter chimney. The one hundred and thirty-nine locomotives were numbered by the LMS as No 71 to No 209. After 1948 British Railways renumbered them from No 40071 to No 40209. In a final attempt to improve the class' steaming six locomotives were rebuilt with larger 6B boilers and these were: No 169 in 1940; No 163 in 1941; No 148 and No 203 in 1941; and No 40142 and No 40167 in 1956. The re-boilering was not considered to be cost effective. They were to be found on various duties – stopping train, suburban passenger routes, branch line, empty stock and banking. They are generally considered to be the least successful of Stanier’s standard designs
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