The NBR J Class, were a class of 4-4-0

4-4-0

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels...

 steam

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

 tender locomotive

Tender locomotive

A tender or coal-car is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing the locomotive's fuel and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, so tenders are necessary to keep the locomotive running over long distances. A locomotive...

s designed by William P. Reid

William P. Reid

William Paton Reid was apprenticed to the Cowlairs railway works of the North British Railway in 1879 and was Locomotive Superintendent from 1903-1919. He was awarded a CBE in 1920. He was born, and died, in Glasgow, Scotland...

 for the North British Railway

North British Railway

The North British Railway was a Scottish railway company that was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923.-History:...

. They 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...

 at the 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...

 in 1923. Ten D29s and 25 D30s survived into British Railways ownership in 1948.

Overview

The Original J Class locomotives were based on the NBR K Class

NBR K Class

The NBR K Class is a class of 4-4-0 steam locomotive of the North British Railway. The first batch was designed by Matthew Holmes in 1902 and had 6' 6" driving wheels for express passenger work. Three more batches were designed by William P. Reid with 6' 0" driving wheels for mixed traffic work...

 mixed traffic 4-4-0s. The J Class had 6' 6" driving wheels for express passenger work and a large tender which carried sufficient water to allow passenger trains to run non-stop between Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

 and Carlisle

Carlisle railway station

Carlisle railway station, also known as Carlisle Citadel station, is a railway station whichserves the Cumbrian City of Carlisle, England, and is a major station on the West Coast Main Line, lying south of Glasgow Central, and north of London Euston...

. These locomotives were named after characters in the novels of Sir Walter Scott and naturally became known as "Scotts". Some of the names were later re-used on LNER Peppercorn Class A1

LNER Peppercorn Class A1

The London and North Eastern Railway Peppercorn Class A1 is a type of express passenger steam locomotive. Forty-nine original Peppercorn Class A1s were built to the design of Arthur Peppercorn during the early British Railways era, but all were scrapped with the discontinuation of steam,...

 locomotives.

Builders

Six locomotives were built in 1909 by the North British Locomotive Company

North British Locomotive Company

The North British Locomotive Company was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp Stewart and Company , Neilson, Reid and Company and Dübs and Company , creating the largest locomotive manufacturing company in Europe.Its main factories were...

 and a further ten were built in 1911 by the North British Railway at its Cowlairs railway works

Cowlairs railway works

Cowlairs Locomotive, Carriage and Wagon Works , at Cowlairs in Springburn, an area in the north-east of Glasgow, Scotland, was built in 1841 for the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway and was taken over by the North British Railway in 1865. It was named after the nearby mansion of Cowlairs, with both...

, followed by two further identical locomotives with superheater

Superheater

A superheater is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet steam into dry steam used for power generation or processes. There are three types of superheaters namely: radiant, convection, and separately fired...

s. The NBR always referred to these locomotives as J Class, but the LNER classified the initial 16 locomotives D29, and the two superheated locomotives as D30. A further 25 superheated locomotives were built between 1914 and 1920 and the LNER classified these as D30/2.

Numbers

British Railways numbers were:

• D29, 62401-62413 (with gaps)
• D30, 62417-62442 (62433 missing)

Names

BR numbers and names are listed below:

Class D29 62401 Dandie Dinmont 62402 Redgauntlet 62404 Jeanie Deans 62405 The Fair Maid 62406 Meg Merrilies 62409 Helen MacGregor 62410 Ivanhoe 62411 Lady of Avenel 62412 Dirk Hatteraick 62413 Guy Mannering

Class D30 62417 Hal o' the Wynd 62418 The Pirate 62419 Meg Dods 62420 Dominie Sampson 62421 Laird o' Monkbarns 62422 Caleb Balderstone 62423 Dugald Dalgetty 62424 Claverhouse 62425 Ellangowan 62426 Cuddie Headrigg 62427 Dumbiedykes 62428 The Talisman

Class D30 (continued) 62429 The Abbot 62430 Jingling Geordie 62431 Kenilworth 62432 Quentin Durward 62434 Kettledrummie 62435 Norna 62436 Lord Glenvarloch 62437 Adam Woodcock 62438 Peter Poundtext 62439 Father Ambrose 62440 Wandering Willie 62441 Black Duncan 62442 Simon Glover