Locomotive Magazine, January 1921

Schematical drawing with dimensions

Locomotive Magazine, January 1921

As a replacement for Ivatt's N1, Nigel Gresley developed the N2, which was again a tank locomotive with a 0-6-2T wheel arrangement and a driver diameter of 5 feet 8 inches. They were superheated from the factory and weighed a little more than the N1. Because the valves were mounted on top of the inside cylinders, the boiler had to be mounted relatively high. This necessitated a flat chimney to fit the Metropolitan Line's loading gauge. The first 60 examples were built in 1920 and 1921 and operated in north London, with Kings Cross as their home station. They always had enough to do, as new residential areas were constantly being developed in the north and these were connected via Kings Cross. Typical wagon material consisted of the four-part passenger wagons known as “quad-art”, which were connected via Jakobs bogies and from which one or two sets were usually pulled.

After the British railway administrations were grouped, the LNER had a further 47 units built between 1925 and 1929. These consisted of different versions, some of which did not have condensation devices and had different braking systems. These were used in Scotland on the Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee suburban railways. Speed limits sometimes had to be introduced on winding routes because the engines had a high center of gravity. Over time there have been several conversions in which various forms of superheaters have been installed. All examples built were still in use when British Railways was formed in 1948. Gradually, diesel railcars took over the tasks of the N2, so that they gradually disappeared between 1955 and 1962. One example is still available today and is roadworthy. It has had the GNR's apple-green livery since 2009.