Time Capsules - Old Photographs from the past

Alexandra Dock at Hull in the 1950s

A wonderful picture for railway enthusiasts like me, showing ten parked shunting engines, including ex-North Eastern Railway LNER Class J72 0-6-0T 68753 and 68747. total of 14 of these engines were allocated to Alexandra Dock.

These locomotives were Wilson Worsdell's continuation of his brother's (T.W.Worsdell) successful Class E (LNER J71) standard shunting locomotive. Wilson disliked his brother's preference for Joy valve gear and compound expansion. The J71s had neither of these design features, so the new J72s were very similar in design. W. Worsdell increased the cylinder diameter to 17in and stroke to 24in (from 16in x 22in). The wheel diameter was decreased slightly, in line with his preference of smaller wheels for goods and shunting locomotives. These changes actually represented a return to earlier North Eastern Railway (NER) practice under Fletcher. A total of 113 J72s were built in nine batches from 1898 and 1951. This large separation in time (53 years) between the construction of the first and last J72s, is probably a record for a British steam locomotive class. The J72s proved very successful and would eventually be found throughout the LNER system. They were the only class that was allocated to all of the LNER's major constituent companies.

Although the class remained intact until 1958, withdrawals were then rapid, with large reductions in the class size in 1960 and 1961. The last J72 was withdrawn from regular service in 1964.

None of the NER or LNER J72s survive into preservation, although one of the BR-built locomotives, No. 69023 (Departmental No. 59) does.

Photo © The Step Back Through Time Collection
Text courtesy of Peter Langsdale