Great Eastern Railway designed A. J. Hill 'N7' class 0-6-2 tank No. 69614. Built in December 1923 as LNER No. 992E and withdrawn in December 1960.

Seen here in 1957 at Liverpool Street as station pilot in the lovely GER deep blue livery and polished brightwork. Crews were given bonus payments for the exra work needed to keep the pilots in such sparkling condition. A 'J69' 0-6-0 also in GER livery No 68619 is closer to the bufferstops. This tradition continued well into the 1980s with immaculately presented '08' class diesels carrying out the same role.

© Steve Armitage Archive