The LNER Singles: 2-2-4 and 4-2-2 Locomotives
The LNER used the designation "X" for all of the single-driver locomotives that it inherited. These had 4-2-2 and 2-2-4T wheel arrangements. Three types (X1, X2, and X3) of 2-2-4T tank engines came from the North Eastern Railway (NER) and were used to pull inspection saloons for railway officials. The other type, was that of the X4 4-2-2 tender locomotive that came from the Great Central Railway (GCR).
4-2-2 Tender Locomotives
Although single driver express locomotives fell out of favour long before Grouping (1923), the concept had a short-lived resurgence in the late 19th Century with the invention of steam sanding gear. Six such locomotives were inherited from the GCR.
Class | Builder | Designer | First Built | Last Withdrawal | Comments |
X4 | GCR | Pollitt | 1900 | 1927 |
2-2-4 Tank Locomotives
The LNER also inherited four 2-2-4T tank engines from the NER. All four tanks had complex histories and owed their survival to specialised use hauling inspectors' saloons.
Class | Builder | Designer | First Built | Last Withdrawal | Comments |
X1 | NER | W.Worsdell | 1892 (rebuild) | 1934 | Aerolite |
X2 | NER | W.Worsdell | 1874 | 1937 | G6 rebuild |
X3 | NER | W.Worsdell | 1894 (rebuild) | 1936 |