7F  49395 – 49454  0-8-0  LNWR  G2 Class (2024)

The LNWR, at Crewe, built the first eight-coupled goods engine intended for service in Britain in 1892 (the small Barry Railway in South Wales had earlier purchased some second hand 0-8-0s originally intended for Scandinavia). By 1922 the LNWR had the largest fleet of 0-8-0s in the country, having ceased to build 0-6-0s as early as 1902.

The G2, together with a relatively short lived 0-8-4 tank version which immediately followed, were the last locomotives to be built anywhere with Joy valve gear, which worked off the movement of the connecting rods, rather than from eccentrics, and it resulted in a distinctive wheezin’ exhaust sound. Both the LNW and Lancashire & Yorkshire railways persisted with this gear to the end of their existences, but it was rarely employed in new construction elsewhere after 1900.

The history of the LNWR 0-8-0s is fairly complicated, but can be summarised as follows.

• The prototype 0-8-0 engine was built by Webb in 1892. It was an 0-8-0 simple engine numbered 2524, and later was rebuilt as a D class engine; later becoming 49011.
• Webb’s A class was built between 1893 and 1900. These engines were three-cylinder compounds and one hundred and ten engines were built. They were all later rebuilt to C, C1 and D classes.
• Between1901 and 1904 Webb built one hundred and seventy four-cylinder compound engines. These were known as the B class.
• Many of the A class engines were rebuilt as two-cylinder simples by Whale between 1904 and 1906. In this form they were known as the C class. They were fitted with larger boilers. Some engines (8968-9001) kept the original small boilers when they were rebuilt in 1909 and they were classified C1; they were all withdrawn between 1927 and 1933.
• The D class were A class engines which were rebuilt by Whale in 1906-1909 as two-cylinder simples with larger boilers. When these engines were latter fitted with G1 superheated boilers they gained the nickname Super D – a name by which all of the LNWR 0-8-0s were latter known.
• Between 1904 and 1907 twenty-six B class four-cylinder compounds were rebuilt as 2-8-0 compounds by Whale. They retained their small boilers and were called the E class. Some were later rebuilt as 0-8-0 simples between 1917 and 1925, the rest being scrapped as 2-8-0s.
• The G class was introduced by Whale and Bowen Cooke and were built from 1910-1912. These were two-cylinder simple engines with larger 160psi non-superheated boilers.
• In 1912 49145 was fitted with a superheated 160psi boiler and this became the first G1 class engine. One hundred and eighty more were built by Bowen Cooke between 1912 and 1918, and most of the earlier engines were also included in this class as they were superheated.
• Beames introduced the G2 class in 1921-1922. These were fitted with 175psi boilers and were classified 7F. Many G1 engines were rebuilt with these higher pressure boilers from 1936 onwards and became known as the G2A class.

	G1 class
	G2A class
	G2 class

Considering the complicated history of the class, the engines which came into BR stock all presented the same general appearance. The only noticeable difference was that many engines of both varieties were fitted with Belpaire fireboxes. There was some interchanging of boilers causing several G2A engines to be reclassified as G1.

There was eventually a total of 572 engines (including the G class) of which 502 came into BR stock (the first engine was withdrawn in 1921 due to a boiler explosion). They were the LNWRs principal type of heavy freight traffic engine, and the only LNWR type to survive in any great numberinto BR days. They were unusual in that (along with other ex LNWR classes) they were never carried BR style number plates on the front of the smokebox.

The ‘G2s’ were the only LNWR 0-8-0s which were never rebuilt to some other class, and none were ever painted in lined livery.

The LNWR used a lowest available number numbering system, meaning that numbers were somewhat haphazard. After the grouping in 1923, the LMS renumbered the G2 class 9395-9454 in order of build date. All were inherited by British Railways upon nationalisation in 1948. BR added 40000 to their numbers so that they became 49395-49454.

Number in Service.

Allocation of locomotives in service as at 1st of January

Preservation

• 49395 (LNWR 485, LMS 9395 & BR 49395)

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