The Great Northern Railway Class H2 and H3 (classified K1 and K2 by the LNER) was a class of

2-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. ...

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

designed for mixed-traffic work. The class was created as a locomotive which could haul heavier goods trains at speeds of up to 40 mph. The class were later developed into the more powerful H4 ( LNER K3) class. After formation of the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...

, the type became known as class K1 and K2 and was adopted as an LNER standard design. They got the nickname "Ragtimers" because of their lively nature when running at speed and their use of Walschaerts valve gear which was uncommon on the GNR at the time.

Construction

The ten K1s were built at the GNR's Doncaster Works in 1912–1913, to the design of

Nigel Gresley Sir Herbert Nigel Gresley (19 June 1876 – 5 April 1941) was a British railway engineer. He was one of Britain's most famous steam locomotive engineers, who rose to become Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London and North Eastern Rai ...

. Five batches of K2s, also to the design of Gresley, were built at Doncaster, the

North British Locomotive Company The North British Locomotive Company (NBL, NB Loco or North British) was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp, Stewart and Company (Atlas Works), Neilson, Reid and Company (Hyde Park Wor ...

, and Kitson and Company between 1914 and 1921. These were the first design to incorporate Gresley's patented double swing link pony truck design.

Use

They were excellent mixed-traffic locomotives, but began to be displaced by the larger and stronger K3s. They were moved to former Great Eastern and North British lines to supplement existing engines. Twenty K2s were fitted with Westinghouse pumps so they could pull passenger trains from Liverpool Street on the Colchester and Cambridge lines.

Rebuilding

No. 4635 was rebuilt from K1 to K2 in 1920. No. 4631 was rebuilt in 1921. No further K1s were rebuilt until 1931, when a shortage of K1 boilers necessitated rebuilds. The remaining eight were rebuilt between 1931 and 1937, making the K1 class extinct.

Numbering

The K1s were numbered 1630–1639 by the GNR, and became LNER 4630-4639. The K2s were numbered 1640–1704 by the GNR, and became LNER 4640-4704. In the LNER's 1946 renumbering programme, the K2s were renumbered 1720–1794, and they later became

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

61720–61794.

Names

None of the K1s were named. However, some of the K2s based in Scotland received names in 1933–34.

Withdrawal

All K2s were withdrawn and scrapped between 1955 and 1962.

Notes

References

External links

LNER encyclopedia

BR database entry
{{LNER Locomotives H3 2-6-0 locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1912 Railway locomotives introduced in 1914 NBL locomotives Kitson locomotives Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain Scrapped locomotives Mixed traffic locomotives