This 2020-published volume in the “Book of…” series from Irwell Press is a detailed record of the Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T tank locomotives built for the London Midland & Scottish Railway. These locomotives were numbered in the series 41200-41329.
The Ivatt Class 2 tanks were one of the last new LMS designs and although intended for secondary duties to replace a variety of ancient pre-grouping specimens, they incorporated all of the refinements developed over the previous decade and honed by Ivatt on his post-war Black Fives. The class was developed at the same time as the 2-6-2 moguls, using the same boiler and sharing as many components as possible.
The book begins with a technical appraisal of the locomotives, describing the design in detail and drawing attention to key features introduced by the class. It then goes on to address the sphere of operation of the class in front line service, looking in turn at each geographical area in which the class was based and regularly operated.
The remaining three-quarters of the book is taken up with a detailed account of every locomotive built, including details of when built, major repairs, boiler exchanges, recorded mileage and depot allocation history. The detailed entries are accompanied by two or more photographs of every locomotive built.
The Book of the Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2Ts is a detailed record of this versatile class of locomotives. Their light axle loading meant that they could go almost anywhere on the system and they certainly did that. From Kent to Cornwall and almost everywhere on their native LMS; the only area where they did not work at all was Scotland. 352 pages. Hardback.