Graham Farish 372-754 LMS Fairburn Tank 2278 LMS Black (Revised) Steam Locomotive- Weathered

The LMS built a succession of 2-6-4 Tank Locomotives and Charles E. Fairburn’s design, built from 1945, was the final iteration before Nationalisation. British Railways continued construction before introducing the Standard 4MT Tank, which owed much of its design to Fairburn’s drawings, and we’re delighted to welcome the return of the Fairburn Tank to the Graham Farish N Scale range. 

Despite the small scale, this large tank locomotive has a real presence thanks to the precision moulded bodyshell that captures the elegant lines of the prototype. Adorned with all manner of separate parts, from the metal handrails and safety valves to the individual tank filler caps and tool rests, all the key features of the real locomotive have been replicated in high definition.  

Additional detailing is found below the running plate with brakes, footsteps, sandboxes and metal wire sandpipes all present, along with moulded springs. A powerful coreless motor provides the drive in this model that boasts separate metal bearings on every driving wheel and electrical pick-up comes via all six driving wheels. The leading pony wheelset is sprung for assured track holding, behind which the cylinders and Walschaerts valve gear make an impressive sight, even more so when the locomotive is in motion. The trailing bogie meanwhile is constructed using an authentically detailed bogie frame, and NEM coupling pockets are built into the pony and bogie trucks at the front and rear of the model. 

MODEL FEATURES:  

FAIRBURN TANK HISTORY 

The London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) ‘Fairburn’ 2-6-4 Tank locomotives were designed by Charles E. Fairburn, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the LMS, 1944-1945. 

The locomotive was based on the ‘Stanier’ 2-6-4T, designed by Fairburn’s predecessor Sir William Stanier, which itself was derived from the earlier ‘Fowler’ 2-6-4T engine – designed by Henry Fowler. Construction began at Derby in 1945 and by the time building ceased in 1951, 236 locomotives had been built for use on the London Midland region. A further 41 examples were constructed at Brighton Works for use on the non-electrified lines of the British Railways Southern Region. The Fairburn Tank would go on to form the basis of the BR Standard 4MT tank, which too utilised the 2-6-4 wheel configuration.   

The Fairburn Tanks were ideal for powering secondary, stopping and suburban passenger services and were popular with crews and enthusiasts alike. In British Railways service, the tanks were spread far and wide with examples working on suburban services around London, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle and Manchester. Classified 4P by the LMS, BR assigned them to mixed traffic duties at 4MTs. 

The introduction of diesels, diesel multiple units and the widespread closure of lines saw the first withdrawals in 1961, although the last examples remained in traffic until 1967, the penultimate year of steam operation by British Railways. Two locomotives, Nos. 42073 and 42085, survive in preservation on the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway in Cumbria.