Mystery loco

[OldProf]

The current batch of RW3 route loading screens includes a shot of a steam engine with a snowplow attached. I'm hoping that someone here can identify that locomotive for me.

Thanks!

Tom Pallen

[micaelcorleone]

It's the Fowler F4 Steam Loco available as dlc on Steam since June 2012.
I hope this helps.

[johnmckenzie]

And it's a very nice little freight engine indeed, quite a common type (IIRC about 700 were built.)

[scl]

I think also there's a custom soundset available for the 4F on UKTrainsim.

Ken

[evafan002]

And it's a very nice little freight engine indeed, quite a common type (IIRC about 700 were built.)

actually there where about 400 or so 4fs built and you are right they really are pretty little things aren't they?

[Kali]

Nearly 600 plus the marginally different pre-grouping ones. Not a bad bit of standardization when classes were usually 30-40 strong... ( when they started building them anyway ).

[OldProf]

Thanks, everybody!

Tom Pallen

[evafan002]

Nearly 600 plus the marginally different pre-grouping ones. Not a bad bit of standardization when classes were usually 30-40 strong... ( when they started building them anyway ).

True i thought i was forgetting some in the total somewhere. But yeah i agree the degree of standardisation was impressive but they kept building them long after the point when it would have been better to start building a new design I mean they were only replaced as the standard goods engine after the introduction of the stanier 8f which meant that to keep up with the increase in train weights they were constantly doubleheaded and even then that was not enough quite often

[Kali]

Blame the Midland, they didn't believe in big engines! ( cept the Lickey banker ). Worse than not building something bigger, was they kept building them even with a major design fault.

[evafan002]

Blame the Midland, they didn't believe in big engines! ( cept the Lickey banker ). Worse than not building something bigger, was they kept building them even with a major design fault.

I hear that but to be fair according to one of the heads of the drawing office during the last days of the lms going off a book i recently read it wasnt so much the midland itself as it was the design team at derby works which being one of the largest in the lms at the time having had rather more influnce than they really should have

[Kali]

Heh, if you want LMS politics, read OS Nock's LMS history...

[evafan002]

Heh, if you want LMS politics, read OS Nock's LMS history...

I will look into getting a copy got the name?

[jacko]

If you search for "A History of the LMS" by O.S. Nock you will find there are three volumes available, I have the set but have not got around to reading them yet.

A History of the LMS London, Midland and Scottish Railway, Volume 1: The First Years 1923-1930

A History of the LMS London, Midland and Scottish Railway, Volume 2: The Record-breaking Thirties, 1931-1939

A History of the LMS London, Midland and Scottish Railway, Volume 3: The War Years and Nationalisation, 1939-48

All three seem to be available quite inexpensively on Amazon UK

[Kali]

That's the ones - they're usually dirt cheap on eBay also ( thankfully, given they're quite slim volumes ).

[Dan]

There has been some good stuff in Backtrack and also elsewhere about the LMS and the Anderson years. Another good book is the Pat Whitehouse/David St Thomas books LMS 150 : The London Midland & Scottish Railway A century and a half of progress. Newton Abbot: David & Charles

For those not familiar the brief version is this:

The LMS was formed out of several companies. Unfortunately ex-Midland men dominated the early LMS years. The Midland had had 'a small engine policy' which favoured running short but fast trains. When a train got long they simply double-headed it. Unfortunately, trains were getting heavier and while other companies such as the LNER were developing bigger engines (ie the Gresley Pacifics) the LMS had nothing bigger than 4-6-0s and even those weren't very good.

The 4F was a Midland design and despite the need for something more powerful, the ex-Midland men simply ordered more of them, despite them having major axle-box issues.

They are nice engines to look at but they were really a c19 design.