North Eastern Railway. T.W.Worsdell 'F' class 4-4-0 No. 1541. Built at Gateshead in December 1890 as a class 'F1' compound, converted to class 'F' simple in May 1905 and withdrawn in September 1934 as LNER No. 1541.

At a glance, the NER 4-4-0 classes, F, F1, G1, M, M1, Q and Q1 are all similar in appearance. in summary they are a 'family' of locomotives that are undergoing a continuous upgrading as technological developments and operating requirements allow. The earlier locomotives of Thomas Worsdell were built as compounds but were all converted to simple by his younger brother Wilson to minimise maintenance at little detriment to their performance. Here's a gorgeous early 20th century portrait of 1541 at York Station. Walk a couple of hundred yards from this spot to the National Railway Museum where you can see No. 1621 a Worsdell 'M1' 4-4-0 preserved for us and future generations to admire.

© Stephen Barrett Archive-SA Collection