M&GN Class C

M&GN Class C LNER Classes D52, D53 & D54
M&GN class C 4-4-0, No. 076, at Peterborough North, 1938
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer S. W. Johnson Builder Sharp, Stewart & Co. Beyer, Peacock & Co. Serial number SS: 3988–4013, 4190–6 BP: 4066–72 Build date May 1894–November 1899 Total produced 40
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-4-0 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Leading dia. 3 ft 3+1⁄2 in (1,003 mm) Driver dia. 6 ft 6+1⁄2 in (1,994 mm) Wheelbase 43 ft 4+1⁄4 in (13.214 m) Length 52 ft 9+1⁄2 in (16.091 m) Loco weight D52: 42.9 long tons (43.6 t) D53: 44.35 long tons (45.06 t) D54: 49.9 long tons (50.7 t) Tender weight 33.55 long tons (34.09 t) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 3 long tons (3.0 t) Water cap. 2,953 imp gal (13,420 L) Firebox: ​  • Grate area D52, D53: 17.5 sq ft (1.63 m2) D54: 21 sq ft (2.0 m2) Boiler pressure D52, D53: 160 psi (1,100 kPa)D54: 175 psi (1,210 kPa) Heating surface D52, D53: 1,078 sq ft (100.1 m2) D54: 1,384 sq ft (128.6 m2) Cylinders Two, inside Cylinder size 18+1⁄2 by 26 inches (470 mm × 660 mm) Valve gear Stephenson Valve type slide valves Loco brake Steam Train brakes Vacuum
Performance figures Tractive effort D52, D53: 15,416 lbf (68.57 kN) D54: 16,862 lbf (75.01 kN)
Career Operators Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway London and North Eastern Railway Class M&GN: C; LNER: D52, D53, D54 Axle load class RA 4 Withdrawn November 1936–January 1945 Disposition All but a single boiler scrapped

The M&GN Class C was a class of 4-4-0 steam tender locomotives of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway.

The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GN) was formed in 1893. The M&GN possessed insufficient locomotives to work all of its services, and so a number of locomotives were loaned by the railway's two co-owners, the Great Northern Railway and the Midland Railway (MR). To avoid the necessity for such loans, the MR's Locomotive Superintendent, Samuel Waite Johnson, designed a class of 4-4-0 tender locomotives specifically for use on the M&GN. These had much in common with the MR's 1808 class,^[1] which had first appeared in 1888.^[2] 26 locomotives of the new design were built by Sharp, Stewart & Co. in 1894, with a further seven following in 1896; a final seven were built by Beyer, Peacock & Co. in 1899 bringing the total to 40.^[1] Their numbers on the M&GN were 1–7, 11–14, 17, 18, 36–39, 42–57, 74–80, and they formed M&GN Class C.^[1] Ten more were built to the same design by Beyer, Peacock in 1900, but these were for the MR, where they formed the 2581 class.^[3][4]

As built, the engines had round-topped fireboxes, and the boiler barrel had a maximum diameter of 4 ft 3 in (1.30 m). When boilers became due for replacement, the replacement boilers were of various types, some of which had Belpaire fireboxes, and some were larger, being 4 ft 9 in (1.45 m) diameter.^[5]

When they passed to the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) on 1 October 1936, it was decided to add a zero prefix to their M&GN numbers, to avoid duplication with existing LNER engines, so M&GN no. 1 became LNER no. 01;^[6] but 14 locomotives were withdrawn before the prefix could be applied.^[7] The remaining 26 had their numbers altered between October 1936 and December 1937.^[8]

On the LNER they initially retained the M&GN class C, but this was soon subdivided into C/1, C/2 and C/3 according to boiler design. They were reclassified as D52, D53 and D54 in July 1942:^[3]

• C/1, D52 Round-top firebox
• C/2, D53 Small Belpaire firebox
• C/3, D54 Large Belpaire firebox

When the LNER post-war numbering scheme was prepared, it was based on the locomotive stock on 4 July 1943,^[9] by which time 19 more had been withdrawn, leaving seven:^[8] of these, class D52 nos. 038 & 076 were allotted 2050–1, class D53 nos. 050, 06 & 077 were to become 2052–4, and D54 nos. 055–6 were allotted 2055–6.^[7] However, by the time that the scheme was issued in December that year,^[9] a further four had been withdrawn, leaving just the three D53 in the final list; and before the renumbering actually began in January 1946, all three of those had also been withdrawn, the last in January 1945.^[10]

None of the locomotives were preserved. However, a boiler does survive after being rediscovered in a Maldon timber works factory and there are talks of a static locomotive being built with the boiler.^[11][12]

• Baxter, Bertram (1982). Baxter, David (ed.). Volume 3A: Midland Railway and its constituent companies. British Locomotive Catalogue 1825-1923. Ashbourne: Moorland Publishing.
• Boddy, M.G.; Brown, W.A.; Fry, E.V.; Hennigan, W.; Manners, F.; Neve, E.; Tee, D.F.; Yeadon, W.B. (April 1968). Fry, E.V. (ed.). Part 4: Tender Engines - Classes D25 to E7. Locomotives of the L.N.E.R. Kenilworth: RCTS. ISBN 0-901115-01-0.
• Boddy, M.G.; Fry, E.V.; Hennigan, W.; Proud, P.; Yeadon, W.B. (July 1963). Fry, E.V. (ed.). Part 1: Preliminary Survey. Locomotives of the L.N.E.R. Potters Bar: RCTS.

• The S.W.Johnson D52, D53, & D54 (M&GN Class C) 4-4-0 Class Locomotives LNER Encyclopedia