GCR Class 1

The GCR Class 1 was a class of steam locomotives designed by John G. Robinson for the Great Central Railway, and introduced to service between December 1912 and 1913. In the 1923 grouping, they all passed to the London and North Eastern Railway who placed them in class B2. Their classification was changed to B19 in 1945, and all had been retired by the end of 1947.

GCR Class 1
LNER Class B2 (later B19)
Nameless No. 1492 (ex 427 City of London) at Sheffield Victoria, 17 July 1947
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerJohn G. Robinson
BuilderGCR Gorton Works
Build dateDecember 1912 – December 1913
Total produced6
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte4-6-0
 • UIC2'Ch2
Gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Leading dia.3 ft 6 in (1.067 m)
Driver dia.6 ft 9 in (2.057 m)
WheelbaseLoco: 28 ft 10 in (8.79 m)
Length63 ft 0 3⁄8 in (19.212 m)[1]
Axle load19 long tons 10 cwt (43,700 lb or 19.8 t)
Adhesive weight57 long tons 10 cwt (128,800 lb or 58.4 t)
Loco weight75 long tons 4 cwt (168,400 lb or 76.4 t)
Tender weight48 long tons 6 cwt (108,200 lb or 49.1 t)
Fuel capacity6 long tons 0 cwt (13,400 lb or 6.1 t)
Water cap4,000 imp gal (18,000 l; 4,800 US gal)
Firebox:
 • Firegrate area		26.5 sq ft (2.46 m2)
Boiler:
​
 • Diameter5 ft 3.5 in (1,613 mm) to 5 ft 6 in (1,680 mm)
Boiler pressure180 psi (1.24 MPa)
Heating surface2,377 sq ft (220.8 m2)[1]
Superheater:
​
 • Heating area440 sq ft (41 m2)[1]
CylindersTwo, inside
Cylinder size21.5 in × 26 in (546 mm × 660 mm)
Valve gearStephenson
Valve type10-inch (250 mm) piston valves
Performance figures
Tractive effort22,700 lbf (101.0 kN)
Career
Operators
Class
  • GCR: 1
  • LNER: B2 (B19 from 1945)
Numbers
  • GCR: 423–428;
  • LNER: 5423–5428 (1490–1493 from 1946)
NicknamesSir Sam Fay class
Withdrawn1944–1947
DispositionAll scrapped

Service

Although commonly believed that they were intended as express passenger locomotives, the Great Central actually classified and used them as mixed traffic locomotives. The minutes of the Locomotive Committee show that they were ordered as a superheated version of the 8F (Immingham) class mixed traffic locomotives. They were described as mixed traffic locomotives in the contemporary Great Central publication 'Per Rail' which promoted the company's goods services. When new, three of the class – 423, 425 and 428 were painted in GCR's standard green passenger livery, while the other three – 424, 426 and 427 were painted in the lined black goods livery; all were green by the end of 1922.[2] Their initial allocations included the 'Pipe trains', the vacuum-brake fitted express goods services between Manchester and London, among the most important services on the Great Central. There is no evidence that they were intended to challenge the contemporary 11E (Director) class 4-4-0s for the generally light express passenger services of the pre-1914 years on the London Extension.

Alleged problems

There is similarly no evidence to support the claims that they had problems in service which led to their alleged demotion from express passenger use. The design of the fire grate and ash pan was very similar to, for example, the later Gresley K3 2-6-0s, and their fireboxes were deep and relatively large for their 26.5 square feet (2.46 m2) grate area. Overheating troubles with axleboxes have been alleged, related to the large force from the inside cylinders. Robinson in fact took care to make the coupled boxes as large as possible, 9 by 9 inches (229 mm × 229 mm) on the two leading axles and 8 by 12 inches (203 mm × 305 mm) on the trailing set. In fact a more likely source of initial trouble was the marine-type big ends fitted to the first five, since the sixth reverted to strap and cotter type.

Numbering
Table of numbers and names[3]
BuiltGCR No.LNER No.LNER 1946 No.NameWithdrawn
December 191242354231490Sir Sam FayApril 1947
January 19134245424—City of LincolnNovember 1945
February 191342554251491City of ManchesterJuly 1947
March 19134265426—City of ChesterDecember 1944
March 191342754271492City of London[lower-alpha 1]November 1947
December 191342854281493City of LiverpoolApril 1947
  1. Name removed in September 1937, and applied to streamlined B17/5 No. 2870

References
  1. Boddy et al. 1975, p. 12.
  2. Boddy et al. 1975, p. 10.
  3. Boddy et al. 1975, p. 15.
  • Per Rail. Kingston-on-Thames: Knapp, Drewett & Sons. 1913. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  • Boddy, M. G.; Brown, W. A.; Fry, E. V.; Hennigan, W.; Hoole, Ken; Manners, F.; Neve, E.; Platt, E. N. T.; Proud, P.; Yeadon, W. B. (March 1975). Fry, E. V. (ed.). Locomotives of the L.N.E.R., Part 2B: Tender Engines—Classes B1 to B19. Lincoln: RCTS. ISBN 0-901115-73-8.
  • Casserley, H.C.; S. W. Johnson (1974) [1966]. Locomotives at the Grouping 2: London and North Eastern Railway. Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan Limited. ISBN 0-7110-0553-2.
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