The GER Class N31 was a class of eighty-two 0-6-0

0-6-0

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels...

 steam locomotives designed by James Holden

James Holden (engineer)

James Holden was an English locomotive engineer.He is remembered mainly for the "Claud Hamilton" 4-4-0, his pioneering work with oil fuel, and his unique "Decapod".- Biography :...

 for the Great Eastern Railway

Great Eastern Railway

The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...

. Eighteen passed to the London and North Eastern Railway

London and North Eastern Railway

The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...

 (LNER) at the 1923 grouping

Railways Act 1921

The Railways Act 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which...

 and received the LNER classification J14.

History

These goods locomotives had 17.5 by 24 in (444.5 by 609.6 mm) cylinders, 4 in 11 in (1.5 m) driving wheels, and a 160 lbf/in2 boiler. Eighty-one were built at Stratford Works

Stratford Works

Stratford Works was the locomotive-building works of the Great Eastern Railway situated at Stratford, London, England. It was opened in 1847-1848 by the GER's predecessor, the Eastern Counties Railway...

 between 1893 and 1898.

Table of orders and numbers

Year	Order	Quantity	GER Nos.	Notes
1893	N31	1	999
1893	H33	10	979–988
1894	L33	10	989–998
1894	E34	10	969–978
1896	N37	10	959–968
1897	H40	10	949–958
1897	O41	10	602–608, 946–948
1898	G42	10	542–551
1898	K43	10	562–571

In addition, when the Class 127

GER Class 127

The GER Class 127 was a class of a solitary experimental 0-6-0 compound steam locomotive built by the Great Eastern Railway at its Stratford Works in 1888...

locomotive was rebuilt from compound to simple in 1895, it was then included into Class N31.

They were not particularly successful locomotives. Although nicknamed Swifts, they were sluggish locomotives, due to the placement of the valve chests underneath the cylinders.

Withdrawals started in 1908, and by the end of 1922, only eighteen were left in service. The LNER allocated numbers 7000 higher than the locomotives' GER numbers, but withdrawals continued, and by 1925 the class was extinct.

Table of withdrawals

Year	Quantity in service at start of year	Quantity withdrawn	Locomotive numbers
1908	82	1	971
1909	81	18	546, 549, 565, 566, 570, 571, 602, 605, 608, 950, 953–955, 957, 966, 969, 972, 975
1910	63	14	542, 550, 563, 568, 569, 603, 606, 956, 962, 974, 982, 989, 990, 991
1911	49	9	547, 551, 562, 567, 958, 960, 961, 988, 997
1912	40	6	544, 949, 952, 967, 968, 996
1913	34	3	607, 979, 935 (ex-127)
1914	31	3	0545, 0564, 947
1915	28	1	946
1916	27	1	994
1920	26	2	0543, 999
1921	24	1	965
1922	23	5	548, 948, 986, 992, 995
1923	18	6	959, 970, 976, 980, 985, 993
1924	12	5	951, 963, 964, 977, 978
1925	7	7	604, 973, 981, 983, 984, 987, 998

External links

• N31 Class 0-6-0 1891-1898 — Great Eastern Railway Society
• The Class J14 (GER Class N31) 0-6-0 Locomotives — LNER Encyclopedia