Loco LMS 4F No. 43924

Loco LMS 4F No. 43924 is the last surviving true Midland 4F locomotive. It was built in 1920 by the London Midland Company and has the distinction of being the first loco to be rescued from Barry Scrapyard at the end of steam. It was extensively overhauled and returned to use on the Keighley and Worth Valley (preserved) Railway in 2011. Last run in 1987, it will be heading the railway’s Autumn Steam Gala which takes place between 7-9th October.
In the picture the railwayman on the platform is handing over a token to the engine driver on board the train. The token is a physical object which the driver in charge of the engine is obliged to have, or see, before entering a particular section of single track line. It is usually passed to him encased in a leather pouch with a seriously outsided hooped handle. The token is clearly marked with the name of the section to which it refers and tokens are, and were, used to prevent the risk of serious collision on single lines on the basis that only the engine driver in physical possession of the token is permitted to drive his train on that single line section. There were other systems in operation to ensure there was never more than one train on a single line track, including tablets and staffs.