THIS outstanding model of an Ivatt Class 4 2-6-0 mogul was shown at the Midlands Model Engineering Exhibition by B Clark. It is a superb piece of craftsmanship. The model is an unusual one, not to be confused with the Class 2 loco for which Martin Evans produced his design which  he named ‘Ivatt’. Mr Clark’s loco is also in 3 1/2in. gauge and is wonderfully finished in BR black livery.

High level running plates, as found on many American locomotives are a feature of the design. At the time many were not enamoured of the appearance, especially those fitted with the double chimney (eventually replaced). They were given several unflattering nicknames such as ‘Mucky Ducks’ and ‘Flying pig’.  Today, this model looks absolutely magnificent.

Just one of the Class survived into preservation, No 43016, on the Severn Valley Railway, after first steaming in 1968.

Ivatt designed the Class 4 for medium freight work, but it also found use on some passenger services. Three were built for the LMS, and a further 159 were built  for BR. The first three engines were numbered 3000–2, and became 43000–2 when renumbered by BR, 40000 was added to the running number to indicate an ex-LMS locomotive. The remainder built by BR, continued the number sequence: 43003 to 43161. Three works built these engines, 75 were completed at Horwich, 50 at Doncaster and 37 at Darlington.

they were used extensively across the system, especially on the London Midland region and on the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway line in East Anglia that had previously been jointly owned by the LMS and LNER, where they were the mainstay locomotive.