LMS Route: Birmingham West Suburban Railway

Bournville Shed: mrb1572

An unidentified ex-MR 2P 4-4-0 483 class locomotive stands in steam inside Bournville shed on 24th Sept 1950. Introduced in 1882 this class of locomotives were designed by Samuel W Johnson and later rebuilt by Henry Fowler from 1909 onwards. On rebuilding, the Stephenson valve gear was retained but the following changes were made:

· 18 in × 26 in cylinders with slide valves were replaced by 20.5 in × 26 in cylinders with piston valves
· 6 ft 6.5 in driving wheels were replaced by 7 ft 0.5 in driving wheels
· a superheater was also fitted.

This design was to form the basis for the later LMS Class 2P 4-4-0 locomotives which reverted to 6 ft 6 inch driving wheels.

John Dews

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