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Description
In 1915, the Great Northern Railway's Chief Mechanical Engineer, Nigel Gresley, applied for a patent of his design for a conjugated valve gear on the third cylinder on a locomotive. This design was incorporated into the O2, a three-cylinder version of Gresley's O1 locomotive. The first was built in 1918, and the valve gear which Gresley designed would go on to be used in a variety of standard GNR and later LNER locomotive types such as the A1s, A3s, A4s, K3s, and V2s. 10 were built by North British in March 1919. After the Grouping in 1923, Gresley, who had been appointed as the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the newly established LNER, adopted the O2 as a group standard design, and another 57 would be built at Doncaster. 15 Were built after the grouping, then another batch of 16 from 1932 to 1933, and during World War II, another 3 batches totaling engines 25 would be built, which brought the class total to 67 members.

The O2s were used throughout the former Great Northern and Great Eastern sections of the LNER system, mostly on coal trains in New England. The 1942-43 engines were used on wartime traffic, particularly for the buildup of Anglo-American men and materiel for the D-Day invasion. All 67 engines would survive into BR ownership, though the first withdrawal occurred in May 1948 with number 3921, the first member of the class built, after exactly thirty years of service. 20 Members of the class were refitted with new Thompson standard Type 100A boilers after nationalization, and in 1960, withdrawals began again with the remaining O2s. In 1963, the remainders were scrapped, though 16 were kept in storage until they, too were scrapped. None of the class survives in preservation.

Description
In 1915, the Great Northern Railway's Chief Mechanical Engineer, Nigel Gresley, applied for a patent of his design for a conjugated valve gear on the third cylinder on a locomotive. This design was incorporated into the O2, a three-cylinder version of Gresley's O1 locomotive. The first was built in 1918, and the valve gear which Gresley designed would go on to be used in a variety of standard GNR and later LNER locomotive types such as the A1s, A3s, A4s, K3s, and V2s. 10 were built by North British in March 1919. After the Grouping in 1923, Gresley, who had been appointed as the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the newly established LNER, adopted the O2 as a group standard design, and another 57 would be built at Doncaster. 15 Were built after the grouping, then another batch of 16 from 1932 to 1933, and during World War II, another 3 batches totaling engines 25 would be built, which brought the class total to 67 members.

The O2s were used throughout the former Great Northern and Great Eastern sections of the LNER system, mostly on coal trains in New England. The 1942-43 engines were used on wartime traffic, particularly for the buildup of Anglo-American men and materiel for the D-Day invasion. All 67 engines would survive into BR ownership, though the first withdrawal occurred in May 1948 with number 3921, the first member of the class built, after exactly thirty years of service. 20 Members of the class were refitted with new Thompson standard Type 100A boilers after nationalization, and in 1960, withdrawals began again with the remaining O2s. In 1963, the remainders were scrapped, though 16 were kept in storage until they, too were scrapped. None of the class survives in preservation.