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Description
The D49 "Shire" or "Hunt" Class was the only group-standard 4-4-0 design and the last of such wheel arrangement produced by the LNER. The class was designed by Sir Nigel Gresley for intermediate express duties which the A1 Pacifics were too large for, replacing older NBR and NER 4-4-0s. Because of their intended use the design used three cylinders with Gresley's patented conjugated valve gear and used the same boiler as the J39 0-6-0. 76 Members of the class were built at Darlington works between 1927 and 1935 in three versions. There were 23 D49/1s, which had conventional piston valves, 42 D49/2s with rotary cam Lenz poppet valves, and 6 D49/3s, with oscillating Lenz poppet valves, however, these last six were rebuilt as D49/1s in 1938. D49/2 number 365 The Morpeth was rebuilt by Edward Thompson in 1942 with two inside cylinders and reclassified as Class D. The class was named after either Shire Counties (Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Cheshire, etc) or Fox hunts. They were known for rough riding, but these troubles were rectified by 1934 with the addition of 5 inch by 16 inch steel plate springs. Most of the class was allocated to Scotland and the Northeast, with some of the Scotland-based engines performing well on the difficult Waverly route from Edinburgh to Carlisle. By 1939, most of the route restrictions on A1s, A3s, and V2s had been lifted allowing them to be used on lighter services which the D49s were used on. They were then used on stopping mainline services throughout the Second World War and into Nationalization, but their high axle loading restricted them to many branch lines. By the 1950s, diesel locomotives and multiple units took up the last remaining duties for the D49s, and the last one, number 62712 Morayshire was withdrawn in 1961. However, it was privately preserved and resides at the Bo'ness and Kinniel Railway, where it is currently under overhaul.

Description
The D49 "Shire" or "Hunt" Class was the only group-standard 4-4-0 design and the last of such wheel arrangement produced by the LNER. The class was designed by Sir Nigel Gresley for intermediate express duties which the A1 Pacifics were too large for, replacing older NBR and NER 4-4-0s. Because of their intended use the design used three cylinders with Gresley's patented conjugated valve gear and used the same boiler as the J39 0-6-0. 76 Members of the class were built at Darlington works between 1927 and 1935 in three versions. There were 23 D49/1s, which had conventional piston valves, 42 D49/2s with rotary cam Lenz poppet valves, and 6 D49/3s, with oscillating Lenz poppet valves, however, these last six were rebuilt as D49/1s in 1938. D49/2 number 365 The Morpeth was rebuilt by Edward Thompson in 1942 with two inside cylinders and reclassified as Class D. The class was named after either Shire Counties (Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Cheshire, etc) or Fox hunts. They were known for rough riding, but these troubles were rectified by 1934 with the addition of 5 inch by 16 inch steel plate springs. Most of the class was allocated to Scotland and the Northeast, with some of the Scotland-based engines performing well on the difficult Waverly route from Edinburgh to Carlisle. By 1939, most of the route restrictions on A1s, A3s, and V2s had been lifted allowing them to be used on lighter services which the D49s were used on. They were then used on stopping mainline services throughout the Second World War and into Nationalization, but their high axle loading restricted them to many branch lines. By the 1950s, diesel locomotives and multiple units took up the last remaining duties for the D49s, and the last one, number 62712 Morayshire was withdrawn in 1961. However, it was privately preserved and resides at the Bo'ness and Kinniel Railway, where it is currently under overhaul.