 The design also necessitated the addition of a step to the footplate, as the boiler backhead was lower than the fall-plate that connected the tender and cab floors.The new batch incorporated a new set of footsteps beneath the front buffer beam, modified slide-bars and the dome was redesigned to incorporate the regulator to ease access during routine maintenance.The N class was used to haul services over most of the SECR network and became a familiar sight on the difficult cross-country route between and , on which the steep gradients had taxed the company's 4-4-0 and 0-6-0 designs.