The Great Central Railway

Great Central Railway

The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...

 Class 9Q, classified B7 by the LNER, was a class of 4-6-0

4-6-0

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. This wheel arrangement became the second-most popular...

 mixed traffic locomotives designed by John G. Robinson for fast goods, relief passenger and excursion services. They were a smaller wheeled version of Robinson’s earlier Lord Faringdon express passenger class (LNER Class B3).

History

The GCR built two batches at Gorton locomotive works

Gorton locomotive works

Gorton Locomotive Works, known locally as Gorton Tank was located in Openshaw near Manchester, England and was completed in 1848 by the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway.- History :...

, during 1921 and 1922, and they also ordered batches from Vulcan Foundry

Vulcan Foundry

Vulcan Foundry was a British locomotive builder sited at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire .-History:It was originally opened in 1832 as Charles Tayleur and Company to produce girders for bridges, switches and crossings, and other ironwork following the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway...

 and the Beyer, Peacock and Company

Beyer, Peacock and Company

Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English railway Locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Gorton, Manchester. Founded by Charles Beyer and Richard Peacock, it traded from 1854 until 1966...

. Twenty eight locomotives had been delivered by Grouping

Railways Act 1921

The Railways Act 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which...

 in 1923. The London and North Eastern Railway

London and North Eastern Railway

The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...

 (LNER) ordered a fifth batch of ten locomotives from Gorton works and these were delivered between August 1923 and March 1924. The last batch had reduced boiler mountings and detail differences to the cab to conform to the new LNER loading gauge

Loading gauge

A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...

. These were classified B7/2. The earlier batches were classified B7/1.
Thirty-eight locomotives passed to British Railways in 1948, but withdrawal began soon afterwards. None have been preserved.

Some locomotives surviving in 1949 were renumbered between 61702 and 61713.

Numbering

Year	Maker	GCR Nos.	LNER Nos.	LNER 1942 Nos.	BR Nos.	BR 1949 No.
1921	Gorton	72-3, 78	5072-3, 5078	1360-2	61360-2
1921	Vulcan	36-8, 458-64	5036-8, 5458-64	1363-72	61363-72	61702-3
1921/2	Gorton	465-474	5465-5474	1373-82	61373-82	61704-7
1922	Beyer, Peacock	31-5	5031-5	1373-82	61383-87	61708-9
1923/4	Gorton	475-82 - -	5475-84	1388-97	61388-97	61710-13