| Power Classification | 4P |
| Introduced | D49/1 1927 – 1929
D49/2 1928 – 1935 |
| Designer | Greseley |
| Company | LNER |
| Weight – Loco | D49/1 66t 0cwt
D49/2 64t 10cwt D49/4 62t 0cwt |
| Tender | 52t 0cwt |
| Driving Wheels | 6ft 8ins |
| Boiler Pressure | 180psi superheated |
| Cylinders | D49/1 & D49/2 Three – 17in x 26in
D49/4 Inside 20in x 26in |
| Tractive Effort | D49/1 & D49/2 21,555lbf
D49/4 19,890lbf |
| Valve Gear | D49/1 Walschaert with derived motion (piston valve)
D49/2 Lenz rotary cam (poppet valve) D49/4 Stephenson (piston valve) |
Immediately after Grouping in 1923, Gresley’s initial passenger locomotive priority was that of building up the A1 pacific numbers for use on the fastest and heaviest express services. The immediate demand for these engines was met by 1925, and Gresley started to design a new locomotive for intermediate express duties. The new locomotive had to replace aging North Eastern Railway (NER) and North British Railway (NBR) locomotives, and to supplement the use of existing NER and NBR Atlantics on the various routes that the A1s were restricted from. Hence it had to be powerful for its size, and Gresley chose to use a three-cylinder arrangement using his patented conjugated valve gear. Due to a need for economy, a 4-4-0 wheel arrangement was chosen over a possibly more logical 4-4-2 wheel arrangement. Economic considerations also led to the use of the same boiler design as that used on the successful J39 0-6-0 goods engine. The design was completed in February 1926, and the first engine number 234 Yorkshire was completed at Darlington in October 1927. The D49 would be the last LNER 4-4-0 design to be built.
A total of 76 D49s in three main variants were built between 1927 and 1935.
| D49/1 | This class covered the first thirty-six engines built in 1927-1929 and were named after Counties and they were known as the Shire class. Apart from 62726 and 62727 they were fitted with Walscaert valve gear with piston valves. |
| D49/2 | In 1929 two engines (62726-62727) were fitted with Lenz rotary cam poppet valves. Further engines built in 1932-1935 were similarly equipped and those engines were named after fox Hunts. The two Shires had their names changed in 1932, 62751-62775 had larger valves than the others and they were originally classified as D49/4 |
| D49/3 | 62720-62725 were built with Lenz oscillating cam poppet valves and were originally classed as D49/3. From 1938 onwards these were all converted to piston valve engines and classed as D49/1 |
| D49/4 | 62768 was rebuilt by Thompson in 1942 with two inside cylinders of the D11 pattern. This was the only engine to be converted and it was withdrawn prematurely in 1952 after sustaining collision damage. |
All three variants shared the same boiler design, and all were fitted with Ross pop safety valves as standard. The boilers were built by Cowlairs, Robert Stephenson & Co, or at Darlington. All had long lives, with the Darlington boilers averaging about 20 years, and the others averaging just under 19 years. Although they could be swapped with J39 boilers, this rarely happened. There were two notable exceptions which spent over thirteen years on J39s. Otherwise, the only exchanges were late in the lives of the D49s, when boilers were often transferred to J39s which were still in service.
A distinctive feature on the D49/1 piston valve engines, were the rectangular boxes fitted on the running boards just behind the smokebox. These boxes were sheet metal covers that housed the top of the expansion link in the outside valve motion which extended above the footplate line. These boxes were often confused for toolboxes.
In 1949 62763 and 62764 were fitted experimentally with Reidinger rotary valve gear.
Engines were fitted with GCR 4,000 gallon, NER 4,125 gallon and 4,200 gallon tenders.
The bulk of the D49s were allocated to the Scottish and North East (NE) areas. The Scottish Area received twenty-four D49/1s and one D49/3. Most were allocated to St. Margaret’s, Dundee, and Eastfield, with smaller numbers allocated to Perth and Haymarket. With the exception of transfers from Eastfield to Carlisle during the 1930s, Scottish allocations rarely changed.
In 1939, the Scottish Area D49s were allocated to-
| Carlisle | 4 |
| Dundee | 5 |
| Eastfield | 4 |
| Haymarket | 2 |
| Perth | 2 |
| St Margarets | 1 |
| Thornton | 1 |
These D49s were used for main line passenger trains. Usually they hauled express services, but they were also seen on some semi-fast and stopping services as well. They would often be used alongside (or replacing) NBR C11 Atlantics and D11 ‘Directors’. The St. Margaret’s and Carlisle D49s worked the Waverley Route, and acquired a good reputation on this difficult route.
By 1939, most of the A3 and V2 route restrictions had been lifted and these locomotives had displaced the D49s from their express passenger role. During the Second World War, the Scottish D49s were often allocated to goods workings even though they were not particularly suited to this work. After the War, the D49s were used on stopping passenger services on the main line. The D49 had a relatively high axle loading which restricted them from many of the branch lines.
The D49s tended not to be particularly popular locomotives with the Scottish Area engine crews. This was mainly due to the poor ride, and the draughty cabs. Although it was vehemently denied by Gresley, Scottish crews widely thought that the D49s were built to replace the NBR C11 Atlantics.
The NE Area D49s were initially allocated to York and Neville Hill. Duties during this period included main line services to Newcastle, and cross-country services to Hull, Sheffield, Grantham, and Lincoln. They were also recorded hauling excursion services to King’s Cross.
The advent of the D49/2 Hunts displaced the D49/3s to Botanic Gardens (Hull).
At the end of 1933, the NE Area D49s were allocated to-
| Botanical Gardens | 7 |
| Heaton | 2 |
| Leeds Neville Hill | 9 |
| York | 10 |
The Botanic Gardens D49s included two brand new D49/2s. These were the first brand new locomotives that the LNER allocated to this shed. During the 1930s, the D49s typically hauled seven to ten coach trains on moderate length (50-100 mile) journeys. The D49s were ideally suited to these duties, and they found plenty of such work in the NE Area.
The NE Area had a major re-allocation of D49s in 1939. By September 1939, the D49/2s were allocated to-
| Botanic Gardens | 4 |
| Gateshead | 8 |
| Leeds Neville Hill | 15 |
| Scarborough | 5 |
| York | 10 |
All eleven NE Area D49/1s were allocated to Botanic Gardens. Allocations remained virtually constant until after Nationalisation in 1948. Wartime conditions resulted in less services that suited the D49’s abilities. Instead they were often called upon to haul heavy 350-400 ton trains, but they managed this with only a loss of a minute or two on their moderate length journeys.
British Railways (BR) quickly started to build large numbers of the Thompson B1 4-6-0s which tended to displace the D49s to less important duties. Allocations during this period included Pickering, Blaydon, and Selby. Some of the D49s in the Selby and Scarborough areas were even used to haul coal after 1955.
By the mid-1950s, the introduction of diesel multiple units and diesel locomotives reduced the available duties even further. Planned withdrawals in both regions started in September 1957. The last withdrawal was 62712 Morayshire in July 1961.
Number in Service.
| Built | Withdrawals | No. in Service | ||||||
| BR Numbers | Qty | D
49/1 |
D
49/2 |
D
49/3 |
D
49/4 |
Total |
||
| 1927 | 62700 & 62702-06 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
||||
| 1928 | 62701 & 62707-25 |
20 |
15 | 5 |
26 |
|||
| 1929 | 62726-62735 |
10 |
8 | 2 |
36 |
|||
| 1932 | 62736-62745 |
10 |
10 |
46 |
||||
| 1933 | 62746-62750 |
5 |
5 |
51 |
||||
| 1934 | 62751-62770 |
20 |
20 |
71 |
||||
| 1935 | 62771-62775 |
5 |
5 |
76 |
||||
| 1938 | 62720-25 | 5 |
-5 |
|||||
| 1942 | 62768 | -1 |
1 |
|||||
| 1947 | 34 | 41 | 0 | 1 |
76 |
|||
| 1948-51 | 34 | 41 | 1 |
76 |
||||
| 1952 |
1 |
34 | 41 | 0 |
75 |
|||
| 1953 | 34 | 41 |
75 |
|||||
| 1954 | 34 | 41 |
75 |
|||||
| 1955 | 34 | 41 |
75 |
|||||
| 1956 | 34 | 41 |
75 |
|||||
| 1957 |
7 |
32 | 36 |
68 |
||||
| 1958 |
30 |
22 | 16 |
38 |
||||
| 1959 |
16 |
12 | 10 |
22 |
||||
| 1960 |
7 |
9 | 6 |
15 |
||||
| 1961 |
15 |
0 | 0 |
0 |
||||
Locomotive allocations during British Railways operation
|
Depot as at 1st January |
1948 | 1952 | 1956 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 |
1961 |
| Blaydon | 2 |
2 |
|||||
| Bridlington | 5 |
6 |
|||||
| Carlisle Canal |
5 |
2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
2 |
| Dundee Tay Bridge |
3 |
2 |
2 |
||||
| Gateshead |
11 |
||||||
| Hawick | 1 |
1 |
|||||
| Haymarket |
8 |
6 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
2 |
|
| Thornton Junction |
5 |
5 | 5 | 7 | 7 |
5 |
|
| Hull Botanic Gardens |
17 |
12 | 11 | 15 |
8 |
||
| Hull Dairycoates | 8 |
6 |
|||||
| Leeds Neville Hill |
10 |
4 | 5 |
7 |
|||
| Perth |
1 |
||||||
| Perth South |
2 |
||||||
| Scarborough | 5 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
2 |
||
| Selby | 4 |
1 |
|||||
| Starbeck (Harrogate) |
6 |
15 | 18 | 10 |
6 |
||
| St Margarets |
2 |
5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
5 |
| Stirling | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | |||
| York |
7 |
10 | 4 | 5 |
1 |
||
|
76 |
75 | 75 | 68 | 38 | 22 |
14 |
Accidents and Incidents
- On 3 January 1931, locomotive 2758 (62733) Northumberland was hauling a passenger train that was derailed at Carlisle due to excessive speed through a curve. Three people were killed.
- In November 1952, 62768 was involved in a three engine collision at Dragon Junction near Starbeck. Damage was substantial, and 62768 was withdrawn. The other two locomotives were also D49s and both remained in service, with 62768’s undamaged tender being swapped for 62758’s damaged tender.
- In July 1958, locomotive 62703 Hertfordshire ran into the turntable pit at Bridlington, Yorkshire and rolled onto its side.
Preserved British Steam Locomotives 