From 1869, the Midland Railway had tank locomotives built with two coupled axles and a trailing, two-axle bogie for the London suburban routes. The first six came from Beyer, Peacock & Co. in 1869 and are known as class 690. 20 more came in 1870 from Dübs, which were almost identical in construction and were designated class 780.
No. 781 as built
Locomotive Magazine, October 1903
They had a double frame that also served as a water tank. All locomotives initially had a condensing apparatus, which was later mostly removed. Johnson later rebuilt it with a new boiler and cab. In the 1923 grouping, all came to the LMS except for one, which had been retired in 1921. Their decommissioning took place between 1924 and 1935.