LMS Route: Birmingham New Street to Lichfield

Sutton Coldfield Station: lnwrsc2610a

Close up of image 'lnwrsc2610' showing an unknown LNWR 2-2-2 locomotive being turned on Sutton Coldfield's turntable. The pair of crude buffer stops on the far side of the turntable show that the turntable was only for turning the locomotive as part of releasing it from its train. Having drawn the rake of coaches into the platform the locomotive was de-coupled and drawn forward onto the table and having been turned nearly 360º moved forward along the parallel line that can be seen in image 'lnwrsc2607'. Whilst the perspective is wrong indicating that the painter was not familiar with railways, the top hung smokebox door and tender are clearly of LNWR design. Harry Jack writes, 'What intrigued me about the painting was the engine, which looked as if it might have been intended to be an L&NWR Bloomer, so I went down to Sutton Library in 1981 to try to see the original, thinking it might offer a clue to the mysterious Southern Division livery. As you noticed, it has a Ramsbottom smokebox door, but the dome, splasher, tender, safety valves etc indicate a Southern Division Bloomer. The oval numberplate shows that it was drawn before the renumbering of April 1862, so such an engine wouldn't have had a Ramsbottom smokebox door, then. And a Ramsbottom door wouldn't have had that L-shaped McConnell door handle.'

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