Power Classification	2F
Introduced	1898 – 1925 and 1949 – 1951
Designer	Worsdell
Company	NER
Weight	38t 12cwt
Driving Wheels	4ft 1¼ins
Boiler Pressure	140psi
Cylinders	Inside – 17in x 24in
Tractive Effort	16,760lbf
Valve Gear	Stephenson – (slide valves)

This design of small 0-6-0T is unique in that the engines were constructed over a span of fifty-three years, by three different Railway Companies and during the regime of four different locomotive superintendents. The J72s proved very successful and would eventually be found throughout the LNER system. They were the only class that was allocated to all of the LNER’s major constituent companies.

The North Eastern Railway (NER) class E1 (LNER J72) locomotives were Wilson Worsdell’s continuation of his brother’s (T.W.Worsdell) successful class E (LNER J71) standard shunting locomotive. W. Worsdell disliked his brother’s preference for Joy valve gear and compound expansion. The J71s had neither of these design features, so the new J72s were very similar in design. W. Worsdell increased the cylinder diameter to 17in and stroke to 24in (from 16in x 22in). The wheel diameter was decreased slightly, in line with his preference of smaller wheels for goods and shunting locomotives. These changes actually represented a return to earlier North Eastern Railway (NER) practice under Fletcher. A total of 113 J72s were built in nine batches from 1898 and 1951.

	J71 introduced by T W Worsdell on the NER in 1886
	J72 introduced by W Worsdell on the NER in 1898

The first two batches of ten locomotives each were built in 1898 and 1899. There was then a pause until a batch of twenty were built in 1914 under the tenure of Raven. These locomotives were modified slightly to have heavier frames and longer bunkers with coal rails. Ross pop safety valves were fitted instead of the Ramsbottom valves which were fitted to the first two batches. Some of these changes such as the safety valves, fittings, and coal rails were retro-fitted to the first two batches.

A further batch of ten were built in 1920, primarily to keep the Darlington Works employed during the post-war shortages whilst they waited for materials to build larger locomotives. Twenty-five were also ordered from Armstrong Whitworth & Co at about this time, but they were not delivered until summer 1922. The LNER completed this building period with ten more J72s which they built at Doncaster in 1925. J72s were included in both the 1930 and 1931 build programmes, but these were cancelled due to the Depression and the success of the new Sentinel Y1 0-4-0T engines.

	J72 introduced by W Worsdell on the NER in 1898
	Sentinel Y1 introduced on the LNER in 1925

Thompson’s standardisation plans included an unspecified light shunting locomotive, but listed the J72 for long term withdrawal. A new locomotive had not been added to the standardisation plan by 1946 when Peppercorn became the new CME. He listed the J72 as the new standard light shunting locomotive, and an order was added to the 1946 build programme. This was delayed until after Nationalisation (1948) when fifteen were built at Darlington in 1949. These were followed by five in 1950 and eight in 1951. By this point, the new diesel shunting locomotives were being introduced in force, and no further steam shunters were built.

The J72 shared the same boiler design as the J71. Although they were interchangeable, this did not become common until after Grouping (1923). The original two batches of J72s were originally built with Ramsbottom safety valves which were modified to have Ross pop valves after the 1914 batch was built. The boilers for these twenty engines remained with the engines and they were never used on other locomotives. As with the J71s, the Ross pop valves tended to obscure the cab view when they released steam. Unofficial pieces of piping were initially fitted, and eventually a cover resembling that used on the Ramsbottom valves became an official modification.

A Nu-Way mechanical stoker was fitted to 2331 in May 1939 by Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns. This carried coal from the bottom of the bunker to the firebox using two revolving spirals. Two fans blew the coal from the end of the spirals into the firebox. The fans and spirals were driven by a small steam turbine. The engine re-entered service in July 1939. A thermo pump to automatically control the boiler feed water was fitted two months later. These alterations were intended to allow the locomotive to be operated by one person, and they appear to have been a success. However, the combination of the Second World War and union intervention led to no further locomotive conversions. By all accounts, 2331 continued to use this gear until it was removed at Darlington in 1947.

Although the J72s were eventually found throughout the LNER system, transfers were surprisingly infrequent. Long allocations were common, and at least one locomotive remained at the same shed for its entire life (1746 at York).

The first twenty locomotives were allocated as follows-

Hull	6
West Hartlepool	4
Borough Gardens	3
York	2
Heaton	2
Darlington	1
Tyne Dock	1
Stockton on Tees	1

J72s were tried in Scotland in 1924, but this did not become permanent until 1932-4 when six moved north to replace the Great North of Scotland (GNSR) J90 and J91 0-6-0Ts. These were allocated to Keith (2) and Kittybrewster, Aberdeen (4).

During the late 1930s, a number of transfers were initiated by the closure of the Ferryhill and East Hartlepool sheds. At about this time, attempts were made to reduce the number of different classes allocated to individual sheds. J72s also began to slowly replace the J71s from carriage shunting duties during this period. Changing traffic conditions during the Second World War led to a wide variety of transfers of other locomotive classes, but the J72s remained relative unchanged.

68723 and 68736 were latterly painted in old LNER light-green livery for station pilot work at Newcastle. They carried the NER crest and the new British Railways emblem on the side tanks.

 

Number in Service.

	Built		Withdrawals	No. in Service
	BR Numbers	Quantity
1898	68670-68679	10		10
1899	68680-68689	10		20
1914	68690-68709	20		40
1920	68710-68719	10		50
1922	68720-68744	25		75
1925	68745-68754	10		85
1926-48				85
1949	69001-69015	15		100
1950	69016-69020	5		105
1951	69021-69028	8		113
1952-57				113
1958			5	108
1959			8	100
1960			22	78
1961			44	34
1962			16	18
1963			14	4
1964			2	2
1965				2
1966			1	1
1967			1	0

• 68670-68719 and 69001-69028 were built at Darlington
• 68720-68744 were built by Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd at Newcastle
• 68745-68754 were built at Doncaster
• From 68690 onwards the locomotives built were based on Raven’s improved design which made the bunker larger, the frames deeper, Ross pop safety valves replaced the Ramsbottom type and the wooden buffer beams were replaced by steel ones.
• The locomotives remaining in service after 1963 were Service Departmental engines (69005 & 69023). Locomotive allocations during British Railways operation

 

Locomotive allocations during British Railways operation

Depot as at 1st January	1948	1955	1958	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964
Bidston	4			3
Birkenhead		1
Blaydon		5	5	4	4	1
Borough Gardens	7	8	9
Darlington	2	5	6	8	6	1	2
Eastfield	2	2	2
Gateshead	6	9	10	14	9	6	7	3
Goole			1
Hamilton						3
Heaton	8	9	9	8	5	4	3
Hull Alexandra Dock	8	11	7	7	1
Hull Dairycoates	2	4	6	6	7	4	2
Hull Springhead			2
Keith			1
Kipps				2	2
Kittybrewster	6	6	5	4	3
Leeds Neville Hill	3	2
Middlesborough	7	10	8
Motherwell						1
Normanton		1	2	3	1
Parkhead		1	1	1	1
Scarborough		1	1
St Margarets		1	2	2	2	1
Stockton on Tees			1
Starbeck (Harrogate)			1
Sunderland	5	4	4	3	1
Thornaby			1	10	9	8	1
Thornton Junction		2	1	1	1
Tweedmouth			2	1	1
Tyne Dock	3	5	2	4	3	1
West Auckland	2	6	4	6	7
West Hartlepool	10	8	6	8	8	4	3	1
Wrexham Rhosddu		2	3
York	10	10	11	5	7
	85	113	113	100	78	34	18	4

• The service locomotives (69005 & 69023) were renumbered in 1964 as Departmental 58 & 59, these locomotives were used to de-freeze coal wagons on the Blyth shipping staithes. After one year at Blyth, they were moved to Gateshead where 58 was unsuccessfully used to clean the bogies of diesel locomotives. They were also used to de-ice points in Tyne Yard. After a long period in store, 59 was sold in September 1966 and has been preserved. 58 was withdrawn in October 1967 and was scrapped in January 1968.
• Birkenhead, Bilston and Wrexham Rhosddu were all places on the former Cheshire Lines Committee routes which served Birkenhead, Chester, Knutsford Liverpool, Manchester, Northwich, Southport, Stockport, Warrington, Widnes and Winsford. It was the second-largest joint railway with 143 miles of track which was jointly used by the Great Northern Railway (GNR), the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) and the Midland Railway (MR). On Grouping in 1923 the MR became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), the MS&LR (which had by then become part of the Great Central Railway) and the GNR became part of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). This resulted the allocation of LNER class J72 locomotives to Wrexham Rhosddu, Bidston and Birkenhead.
• Thornaby depot opened on Teeside in 1958 to replace a number of other railway depots in the area – Middlesborough, Stockton on Tees, Newport and Haverton Hill. At this time Thornaby had the largest allocation of any single depot in the country, although Stratford had a larger allocation but shared with 6 sub-sheds.
• Hull Alexadra Dock and Hull Springhead were both part of the former Hull and Barnsley Railway with Springhead housing the locomotive works until 1921 when this was taken over by Darlington. Hull Dairycoates had six roundhouses and one straight shed and could accommodate 150 engines.

	68723 at Newcastel in NER livery in February 1963. It was withdrawn from service in September 1963 and scrapped
	58 (69005) in Heaton (Newcastle0 shed-November 1965

Preservation

• 69023 (69023 & Dept 59)

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