After the L&YR had used the DX Goods from the LNWR, John Aspinall had designed the later class 27 as a new standard goods locomotive. It was a relatively simple 0-6-0 with inside cylinders and Joy valve gear. With a driving wheel diameter of 5 ft 1 in or 1,549 mm, they could also be used for passenger trains at speeds of up to 60 mph (97 km/h). Production started in 1889 and continued under George Hughes. Most batches had a cylinder diameter of 18 inches, but a number had also 17.5, 20 or even 20.5 inches. Some had a Belpaire firebox instead of the usual round-topped one. Nearly half of the locomotives didn't get a new-built tender, but a larger used one from withdrawn locomotives.
From 1909, 42 had been built with a superheated boiler which also had 20-inch cylinders and piston valves, which were the first in the UK to receive the Schmidt type superheater. Compared to the saturated variant, they could haul trains which were 10 percent heavier and were 12.5 percent more economical. Additionally to these, 63 saturated locomotives were rebuilt. Five had got superheaters of Horwich types and some even had got a Belpaire firebox. Soon the saturated locomotives were designated class 27 and the superheated ones became class 28.
When production had ended in 1918, a total of 490 had been completed of which 105 had either been superheated or had been built with a superheater. The LMS took over all of them in 1923 and assigned them power class 3F. When British Railways were founded in 1948, 235 had still been operational. Ironically, the last superheated locomotive had been withdrawn in 1957, but the last saturated one only followed five years later. Only former No. 1300 was preserved and is now running on the East Lancashire Railway, carrying BR number 52322.
