Designer	Sir Nigel Gresley
Builder	North British Locomotive Co
Build Date	February 1921
Operators	GNR, LNER, BR
Withdrawn Date	September 1962
Class	N2
Configuration	0-6-2T
Owned By	The Gresley Society

GNR Class N2

The Great Northern Railway (GNR) Class N2 is an 0-6-2T side tank steam locomotive designed by Sir Nigel Gresley and introduced in 1920. Further batches were built by the London and North Eastern Railway from 1925.

The N2s were designed for suburban passenger operations, and worked most of the duties out of King’s Cross and Moorgate, often hauling one or two quad-art sets of articulated suburban coaches. These ran to places such as New Barnet and Gordon Hill on the Hertford loop and hauled some empty coaching stock trains between King’s Cross and Ferme Park carriage sidings.

They were also a common sight in and around Glasgow and Edinburgh operating suburban services, mainly on what is today known as the North Clyde Line.

Sir Nigel Gresley

Sir Nigel Gresley, the designer of the N2 Class, was one of the great engineers of the zenith of steam traction. More than seventy years after his death, his fame continues, not least in the locomotives he designed which can still be seen today, including Mallard, which still holds the world speed record for steam traction, and the immortal Flying Scotsman.

Ex-GNR Class N2 0-6-2T No 1744

Ex-GNR Class N2 0-6-2T No 1744 was built by the North British Locomotive Co. (Works No. 22600) and introduced in February 1921. The locomotive became LNER No. 4744, then 9523 in the 1946 renumbering scheme, and finally BR No. 69523. It was withdrawn from service at New England in September 1962 and purchased by the Gresley Society Trust for preservation in September 1963.

GNR N2 1744 was on loan to the NNR and in service until November 2018. The engine is currently offsite undergoing an extensive overhaul.