As part of a 1902 scheme to electrify the suburban railway networks in the Tyneside area, the NER's Chief Mechanical Engineer, Wilson Worsdell, also wished to electrify a 3⁄4-mile (1.2 km), horseshoe-shaped freight line that went from Trafalgar Yard in Manors to Newcastle Quayside Yard.

Passing through three tunnels, this line had gradients as steep as 1:27 (3.70 %) and a number of sharp curves: it presented a formidable challenge for steam traction.

Working conditions inside the tunnels were atrocious because the locomotives had to work exceptionally hard to manage the gradients which meant they produced vast quantities of choking fumes that could not disperse from the tunnels; the sparks they produced were a constant fire risk to the flammable packing materials in the yards.

In 1900, General Electric (GE) and Thomson-Houston designed and built steeplecab-type locomotive for the Milan-Varese railway in Italy, electrified at 650 V DC using the third rail system.

A few years later, the bow collectors originally fitted on their bonnets were removed and a pantograph installed on the roof instead.

Early photographs show the locomotives with "CLASS ELECTRIC 1" painted on the bufferbeams, but this does not appear in official records.