W Class 2-2-2, 4-2-2 1862-1867

51-60, 87-90, 284-300

© LCGB Ken Nunn Collection H198

These 31 locomotives were R. Sinclair's outside cylinder 2-2-2 design for express passenger work, and were constructed by four different builders, including Schneider et Cie, between 1862 and 1867.

Five engines were rebuilt in 1872-73 under S.W. Johnson, two of these being reconstructed as 4-2-2s. A further nineteen engines were rebuilt with new boilers under Massey Bromley. As with the Y class 2-4-0s, a variety of cab designs were fitted to the engines, and other details of the design were modified and up-dated over the lives of the engines. No. 54 was cut up in 1874, following the disastrous head-on collision at Norwich, the remainder being withdrawn from service in 1883-1894.