GNR Class N2

GNR Class N2
LNER Class N2^[1]

Preserved 1744 in Loughborough Down Loop at the Great Central Railway 2012

Type and origin
Power type	Steam
Designer	Nigel Gresley
Builder	N2/1: Doncaster Works (10), North British Locomotive Company (50) N2/2: Beyer, Peacock and Company (12) N2/3: Doncaster Works (6), Yorkshire Engine Company (6) N2/4: Hawthorn Leslie and Company (20), Yorkshire Engine Company (3)
Build date	1920–1929
Total produced	107 (N2/1: 60, N2/2: 12, N2/3: 12, N2/4: 23)

Specifications
Configuration	0-6-2T
UIC class	C1 h2t
Gauge	4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Driver dia.	5 ft 8 in (1.727 m)
Trailing dia.	3 ft 8 in (1.118 m)
Wheelbase	23 ft 9 in (7.24 m)
Length	N2/1, /2, /3: 37 ft 10 ³⁄₄ in (11.55 m) N2/4: 37 feet 11 ³⁄₄ inches (11.576 m)
Axle load	19.00–20.00 long tons (19.30–20.32 t; 21.28–22.40 short tons)
Adhesive weight	55.75–56.90 long tons (56.64–57.81 t; 62.44–63.73 short tons)
Loco weight	70.25–71.45 long tons (71.38–72.60 t; 78.68–80.02 short tons)
Fuel type	Coal
Fuel capacity	4.00 long tons (4.06 t; 4.48 short tons)
Water cap	2,000 imp gal (9,100 l; 2,400 US gal)
Firebox: • Firegrate area	19.00 sq ft (1.765 m²)
Boiler	LNER diagram 7
Boiler pressure	170 psi (1.2 MPa)
Cylinders	Two, inside
Cylinder size	19 in × 26 in (483 mm × 660 mm)
Valve gear	Stephenson
Valve type	8-inch (203 mm) piston valves

Performance figures
Tractive effort	19,945 lbf (88.72 kN)

Career
Operators	Great Northern Railway London and North Eastern Railway British Railways
Class	GNR/LNER: N2
Power class	LNER: 2 BR: 3MT
Axle load class	LNER/BR: Route availability 6
Disposition	One preserved, remainder scrapped

The Great Northern Railway (GNR) Class N2 is an 0-6-2T side tank steam locomotive designed by Nigel Gresley and introduced in 1920. Further batches were built by the London and North Eastern Railway from 1925. They had superheaters and piston valves driven by Stephenson valve gear.

Some locomotives were fitted with condensing apparatus for working on the Metropolitan Railway Widened Lines between King's Cross and Moorgate.

In service

The N2s were designed for suburban passenger operations, and worked most of the duties out of King's Cross and Moorgate, often hauling one or two quad-art sets of articulated suburban coaches. These ran to places such as New Barnet and Gordon Hill on the Hertford loop. They also hauled some empty coaching stock trains between King's Cross and Ferme Park carriage sidings.

They were also a common sight in and around Glasgow and Edinburgh operating suburban services, mainly on what is today known as the North Clyde Line.

Sub-classes

Class N2/1 built 1920-21, GNR locos with condensing apparatus
Class N2/2 built 1925, LNER locos without condensing apparatus; vacuum brake, for Scotland
Class N2/3 built 1925 & 1928-29, LNER locos without condensing apparatus; air brake
Class N2/4 built 1928-29, LNER locos with condensing apparatus

British Railways numbers were: 69490-69596.

Accidents and incidents

Main article: Potters Bar rail accidents

On 10 February 1946, locomotive No. 2679 was derailed at Potters Bar, Hertfordshire due to a signalman's error. The wreckage fouled signal cables, giving a false clear signal to an express passenger train, which ran into the wreckage. A third passenger train travelling in the opposite direction then ran into the wreckage. Two people were killed.^[2]

Preservation

One, No. 4744 (BR No. 69523) survived into preservation and now resides at the Great Central Railway. It is owned by the Gresley Society, and has appeared in both LNER Black and GNR Apple Green while in preservation. Restored in 2009, the engine is painted as GNR No. 1744, and is usually based at the GCR when not visiting other railways. The engine re-visited Kings Cross on Tuesday 5 April 2016 for the unveiling of a statue of Sir Nigel Gresley, the engine in question was moved to and from Bounds Green behind a diesel.

Models

The N2 was the basis of the Hornby Dublo 0-6-2T tank engine, which ironically was offered in the liveries of all the 'Big Four' companies - despite being clearly one of the LNER N2s fitted with condensing gear for use on the London Underground. Mainline also produced models of the N2 in the 1980s, theirs depicting engines No. 4744 in LNER Black and No. 9522 in LNER Apple Green (9522 was the only N2 to wear this livery, which was applied in 1946).

Hornby currently owns the toolings for the N2, and released a model of engine 69563 as part of the R2981 London Olympics 1948 set including two British Railways (ex-LNER) 60-foot (18 m) teak coaches, 3rd class composite 1435 and 3rd Brake 24387. The set, while receiving a generally good review, was criticised for Hornby's use of a 'rather tired tooling', and that the real 69563 had been a Scottish engine which had not been fitted with the condensing gear - which the model had. The choice of rolling stock was also criticised as an N2 would not be used to haul mainline stock on suburban duties - most likely this was only seen if an N2 was on station pilot duties, and was removing such stock from King's Cross.

Hornby also produced models of the N2 up until 2005 using the original Mainline tooling in GNR Apple Green as locomotive No. 1763, among others. These models were painted in a slightly darker shade of green than that used on the Mainline model of 9522 in 1983.

In fiction

The Thomas & Friends character, Ryan, is based on a GNR N2.

References

↑ Boddy et al. 1977, pp. 58, 75–77.
↑ Hoole 1982, pp. 36–37.

Boddy, M. G.; Brown, W. A.; Fry, E. V.; Hennigan, W.; Hoole, Ken; Manners, F.; Neve, E.; Platt, E. N. T.; Proud, P.; Yeadon, W. B. (March 1977). Fry, E. V., ed. Locomotives of the L.N.E.R., Part 9A: Tank Engines—Classes L1 to N19. Kenilworth: RCTS. ISBN 0-901115-40-1.
Hoole, Ken (1982). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 3. Redruth: Atlantic Books. ISBN 0-906899-05-2.
Ian Allan ABC of British Railways Locomotives, 1948 edition, part 4, page 54.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to GNR Class N2.

LNER Encyclopedia

London and North Eastern Railway locomotives

Pre-grouping railway designs:

Great Central:	A5 B1/B18 B2/B19 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 C4 C5 C13 C14 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9 D10 D11 D12 E2 E3 E8 F1 F2 G3 J8 J9 J10 J11 J12 J13 J58 J59 J60 J61 J62 J63 L1/L3 M1 N4 N5 N6 O4 O5 Q4 S1 X4 Y2

Great Eastern:	B12 D13 D14 D15 D16 E4 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 G4 J14 J15 J16 J17 J18 J19 J20 J65 J66 J67 J68 J69 J70 N7 Y4 Y5 Y6 Z4/J92

Great North of Scotland:	D38 D39 D40 D41 D42 D43 D44 D45 D46 D47 D48 G10 J90 J91 Z4 Z5

Great Northern:	A1 C1 C2 C12 D1 D2 D3 D4 E1 G1 G2 J1 J2 J3 J4 J5 J6 J7 J50 J51 J52 J53 J54 J55 J56 J57 K1 K2 K3 N1 N2 O1 O2 Q1 Q2 Q3 R1

North British:	C10 C11 C15 C16 D25 D26 D27 D28 D29 D30 D31 D32 D33 D34 D35 D36 D50 D51 E7 G7 G8 G9 J31 J32 J33 J34 J35 J36 J37 J81 J82 J83 J84 J85 J86 J88 N14 N15 Y9 Y10

North Eastern:	A2 A6 A7 B13 B14 B15 B16 C6 C7 C8 D17/1 D17/2 D18 D19 D20 D21 D22 D23 E5 E6 F8 G5 G6 H1 J21 J22 J24 J25 J26 J27 J71 J72 J73 J74 J76 J77 J78 J79 N8 N9 N10 Q5 Q6 Q7 T1 X1 X2 X3 Y7 Y8 EB1 EE1 EF1 ES1

North Eastern (ex Hull & Barnsley)	D24 J23 J28 J75 J80 N11 N12 N13 Q10

LNER designs:

Gresley (1923–1941):	A1 A3 A4 A8 B17 D49 J38 J39 J50 K4 P1 P2 U1 V1 V2 V3 V4 W1 EM1

Thompson (1941–1946):	A1 A2/1 A2/2 A2/3 B1 B2 K1 K5 L1 O1 Q1

Peppercorn (1946–1947):	A1 A2 K1

Other designs:

Proposed designs:

P10 2-8-2T (Nov 1929)
B 4-6-0 (Nov 1936)
? 4-8-2 (1939)
Q 0-8-0 (June 1930)
D 4-4-0 (1943)
? 4-8-4 (Feb 1946)
? 4-8-2 (Feb 1946)
K 2-6-0 (Aug 1947)

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