| GER Class N31 LNER Class J14 | |
| Powertype: | Steam |
| Designer: | James Holden |
| Builder: | Stratford Works |
| Builddate: | 1893–1898 |
| Totalproduction: | 81 (+1 rebuilt from Class 127) |
| Whytetype: | 0-6-0 |
| Uicclass: | C n2 |
| Driverdiameter: | 4feet |
| Wheelbase: | 35feet |
| Length: | 47feet over buffers |
| Fueltype: | Coal |
| Boilerpressure: | 1602NaN2 |
| Firearea: | 18square feet |
| Totalsurface: | 1199.5square feet |
| Cylindercount: | Two, inside |
| Cylindersize: | 17.5x |
| Tractiveeffort: | 169422NaN2 |
| Operator: | GER » LNER |
| Operatorclass: | GER: N31 LNER: J14 |
| Nicknames: | Swifts |
| Withdrawndate: | 1908–1925 |
The GER Class N31 was a class of eighty-two 0-6-0 steam locomotives designed by James Holden for the Great Eastern Railway. Eighteen passed to the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) at the 1923 grouping and received the LNER classification J14.
These goods locomotives had 17.5x cylinders, 4feet driving wheels, and a 160-1NaN-1 boiler. Eighty-one were built at Stratford Works between 1893 and 1898.
| 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 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.
| Year | Quantity in service at start of year | Quantity withdrawn | Locomotive numbers |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 |