LMS Ivatt Class 2 46443

LMS Ivatt Class 2 46443
46443 at Kidderminster (June 2011)
Built By	BR Crewe Works
Configuration	2-6-0
BR rating	2MT
Status	Out of service
Loco Number	46443
History
Built	1950
Designed By	George Ivatt
Type	Ivatt Class 2
1967	Arrived on SVR
2011	Withdrawn for overhaul
Technical
Length	53ft 1¾"
Weight	47t 2cwt
Tractive effort	18,510 lb
Pressure	200 lb/sq in
Steam Locomotives

46443 is an LMS Ivatt Class 2, a mixed traffic locomotive designed by H.G. (George) Ivatt for work on secondary and branch line duties. It is a 2-6-0 'Mogul', rated 2MT by BR following nationalisation. Locomotives of this class were often referred to as a "Mickey Mouse". The first 20 were built by the LMS, with a further 108 including 46443 completed by BR after nationalisation. The design of the BR Standard class 2 2-6-0 closely followed the Ivatt Class 2 design.

Contents

46443 in service

46443 was built at BR's Crewe works at a recorded cost of £8,734 and entered traffic in February 1950. It was based at Derby for the first 11 years where it worked local passenger services to Burton, Nottingham and Birmingham as well as acting as station pilot. On 16 May 1953 it worked a Stephenson Locomotive Society Special which traversed colliery and minor lines in the Nottinghamshire area. In the same year it was recorded working a local passenger service at Nottingham. In April 1959 it was recorded on station pilot duties. At the end of 1960 it had recorded a total mileage of 259,262 miles.

In November 1961 46443 moved to Saltley, where duties were limited to infrequent rush hour journeys, acting as carriage sidings pilot and occasional local trip work on the Longbridge branch. Its last overhaul was carried out after it was involved in a collision with a BRCW Type 2 Diesel.

The increasing introduction of diesels saw a final move to Newton Heath (near Manchester) in October 1966. The following month 46443 was declared surplus to requirements and stored in serviceable condition at the disused local depot at Bury. It was formally withdrawn at the end of March 1967.

46443 in preservation

46443 was purchased from BR by Richard Willcox immediately after withdrawal. BR agreed to the locomotive moving to the SVR in steam, with a final week being spent on shed pilot duties to assess the steaming capabilities. The move from Newton Heath to Bridgnorth via Crewe, Stafford, Bescot, Dudley, Stourbridge and Kidderminster took place on 22 April 1967, with 46443 becoming the second engine to arrive on the Severn Valley Railway.

46443 saw use on the SVR in the early gala events before the official opening of the SVR. On 27 September 1969, 46443 and 3205 together with a number of other items of SVR rolling stock were piloted by a BR Class 47 from Bewdley to Tyseley to take part in an open day there. The route taken was via Stourport, Worcester, Honeybourne, Long Marston and Stratford-upon-Avon. 46443 and 3205 had both originally arrived on the SVR facing south, but 46443 returned from the open day facing north, becoming the only locomotive to be turned to face in a different direction before the SVR opened in May 1970.

46443 was one of the locomotives used on the opening weekend in May 1970. SVR(H) bought the locomotive from Richard Willcox in 1972. It was taken out of service in early 1973 after the right trailing axle box caught fire. Repairs lasted until the following year, with the locomotive re-entering revenue earning service on 19 May 1974. In 1975 it was repainted red for filming purposes (see below), later becoming LMS 6443 in summer 1977 and continuing in use until being withdrawn at the end of 1979 due to the poor condition of the flue tubes. It had covered more than 29,000 miles on around 600 steaming days, more than any other SVR locomotive in the same period.

After spending the next few years in storage, SVR(H) announced in late 1983 that the locomotive had been sold as part of the deal that brought 45690 Leander to the SVR, and that the locomotive would move to Loughborough after repairs to the boiler had been carried out. However the move did not take place, and a fund was launched to 'buy back' the locomotive, during which time it gained the nickname 'The Peoples Engine'. A part of the successful fund-raising entailed the sale of T-shirts emblazoned with the phrase "46443 The Peoples Engine". Part of the proceeds of the summer 1984 SVRA raffle were also earmarked to help the fund (the rest being used to fund better washing facilities for working volunteers). It is now owned by the SVR 46443 Fund, having been re-acquired in Autumn 1984. Following completion of the boiler repairs and an overhaul to main line condition, the locomotive re-entered service in October 1984.

Although only a Class 2 locomotive, 46443 has fully earned a place in the list of SVR locomotives that have worked on the main line. During the 1985 GWR 150 celebrations 46443 hauled a number of Bristol-Portishead shuttles. In July 1987, 46443 was asked to punch well above her weight when sent to Wales to replace Class 4MT 75069 on the BR Cardigan Bay Express service. On arrival, the BR footplate crews expressed the opinion that they would be "creeping around with three coaches at 20 mph!'. The first on-time arrival at Barmouth brought forth the comment "She steams quite well, doesn't she!". An early return to Machynlleth gave rise to "She isn't a bad little engine, is she!". Within two days, "I'd take ten to Pwllheli with her anytime!".

Date	Tour name	Route	Notes	Web	SVR News
02 Jun 1985	GW150 Portishead Shuttles	Bristol Temple Meads - Portishead return			79-2
21 Jul 1985	GW150 Portishead Shuttles	Bristol Temple Meads - Portishead return			77-38
15 Sep 1985	GW150 Portishead Shuttles	Bristol Temple Meads - Portishead return	Spent total of 3 weeks in Bristol	SBJ	79-26
22 Sep 1985	Wapping Wharf Steam Shuttles	Bristol Temple Meads - Bristol Harbour (Wapping Wharf)		SBJ
27 Jul 1987	Cardigan Bay Express	Machynlleth - Barmouth + return x2	46443 first trip		85-11
28 Jul 1987	Cardigan Bay Express	Machynlleth - Barmouth + return x2
29 Jul 1987	Cardigan Bay Express	Machynlleth - Barmouth + return x2
05 Aug 1987	Cardigan Bay Express	Machynlleth - Barmouth + return x2			86-42
10 Aug 1987	Cardigan Bay Express	Machynlleth - Barmouth + return x2			86-36
12 Aug 1987	Cardigan Bay Express	Machynlleth - Barmouth + return x2		SBJ
24 Aug 1987	Cardigan Bay Express	Machynlleth - Barmouth + return x2			86-43
25 Aug 1987	Cardigan Bay Express	Machynlleth - Barmouth + return x2			86-40
26 Sep 1987		Bham Moor St - Dorridge Shuttles, also Bham -Stratford	Last day of the old Moor Street Station		87-34
For further information on sources and references, see The Severn Valley Railway on the main line

In addition to these main line appearances, service continued on the SVR until 1991, when 46443 failed with burst small tubes while on hire to the Llangollen Railway.

Following a full re-tube and other repairs, 46443 returned to service in summer 1993. On 16 August 2004, the locomotive was involved in a collision with a van on Fishermen's Crossing. The SVR was later cleared of any blame for the accident. 46443 was prematurely withdrawn from service after the 1998 Autumn Steam Gala weekend, once again suffering from issues with boiler tubes.

46443 returned to service once more in time for the 2001 Santa Special services. As well as working lighter passenger services, it was regularly used on 'driving school' footplate experiences and 'Obbo trips'. It completed a full 'ten year ticket', although shortly after gaining an extension it suffered a steam leak due to a corroded superheater header and was finally withdrawn in October 2011 having covered 145,997 miles in preservation.

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  46443 with a special, September 2009

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  46443 on Eardington Bank, March 2010

• 

  46443 on Eardington Bank, May 2011

In April 2012 46443 was shunted into The Engine House where it remains on display in awaiting its next overhaul. 46443 features on the pub sign of The Railwayman's Arms at Bridgnorth.

46443 in film and television

46443 has appeared in a number of film and TV productions and commercials filmed on the SVR.

In the early 1970s, 46443 appeared in commercials for History of Railways Magazine (1971) and Walls' Ice Cream (1972), both filmed at Bridgnorth. It was also one of a number of locomotives which appeared in a documentary on railway accidents entitled "Rail Crash" filmed at various locations on the SVR and shown on Horizon (BBC 1972).

During 1975 46443 and classmate 46521 were painted red and cosmetically disguised as Austrian locomotives for filming The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976).

• 

  46521 (nearer) and 46443 as Austrian locos (David Cooke)

Scenes for Hanover Street (1979) were filmed with 46443 in the same red livery, although these do not appear to have been used in the final release. Immediately afterwards, the locomotive was renumbered as Midland Railway 643 for The Thirty Nine Steps (1978), filmed in March of that year. Around the same time, the locomotive was also filmed for a Nat King Cole LP commercial. Two shots from The Thirty Nine Steps, including 643 emerging from Arley Station Bridge (below), were later re-used in The Elephant Man (1980).

• 

  643 emerging from Arley Station Bridge

In summer 1977 the locomotive finally lost its 'Seven Per Cent red' livery, being repainted in LMS livery as 6443. It then appeared in A Man Called Intrepid (1979), the scenes being filmed at night at Bewdley station and Bewdley Tunnel.

See also

• List of Locomotives on the SVR
• The Severn Valley Railway on the main line
• SVR-based locomotives visiting other events
• Locomotives running under different identities

Links

• LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0 on Wikipedia