The Great Northern Railway

Great Northern Railway (Great Britain)

The Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity as a constituent of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway....

 (GNR) Class C1 is a type of 4-4-2

4-4-2 (locomotive)

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-2 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...

 steam locomotive

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

. One, ex GNR 251, later LNER 2800, survives in preservation.

Development

The C1 Class, as it was known under both GNR & LNER classifications, was designed by Henry A. Ivatt as an enlarged version of what became the C2 Class. The principle of the design was to produce a powerful, free-steaming engine to haul the fastest and heaviest express trains on the Great Northern. They could thus be seen as the start of the East Coast 'Big Engine' policy. None were ever named.

First engine and improvements

The first engine, No. 251, was introduced in 1902, with eighty more being built at Doncaster Works between 1904 and 1908. Although they suffered from a number of teething troubles, the Atlantics were generally very successful. They were originally fitted with slide valves

D slide valve

The slide valve is a rectilinear valve used to control the admission of steam into, and emission of exhaust from, the cylinder of a steam engine.-Use:...

, but later gained piston valve

Piston valve

A piston valve is a device used to control the motion of a fluid along a tube or pipe by means of the linear motion of a piston within a chamber or cylinder.Examples of piston valves are:...

s, which produced a notable improvement in performance. The Atlantics remained in front-line service for many years, sometimes being called upon to haul trains of over 500 tons.

Later years

They were eventually superseded on the heaviest trains by Gresley A1 Pacifics

LNER Class A1

Class A1 in the London and North Eastern Railway's classification system may refer to any of the following British steam locomotives :* The GNR Class A1 or "Gresley A1", a class of 52 Pacific locomotives designed by Sir Nigel Gresley, including the famous Flying Scotsman * The LNER Thompson Class...

 in the early 1920s. They continued to haul lighter expresses up until 1950, although this did include the Harrogate Pullman for a period during the 1920s and 1930s. They were often called upon to take over trains from failed Pacifics and put up some remarkable performances with loads far in excess of those they were designed to haul. One once took over the Flying Scotsman from a failed A3 at Peterborough

Peterborough

Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...

 and not only made up time but arrived early.

The last trip

Seventeen C1s made it to serve British Railways, albeit for a short time. According to The Railway Magazine

The Railway Magazine

The Railway Magazine is a monthly British railway magazine, aimed at the railway enthusiast market, that has been published in London since July 1897. it has been, for three years running, the railway magazine with the largest circulation in the U.K., having a monthly average sale during 2009 of...

, the last engine in service was BR 62822, ex GNR 294. On November 26, 1950 she hauled a train one way from Kings Cross to Doncaster to mark the end of the C1s. Among the many on board was the son of H.A. Ivatt, Mr. H.G. Ivatt who received one of the builder's plates. On display at Doncaster was pioneer sister ex GNR 251, already preserved, and a number of modern engines. The return trip to London was hauled by A1 Pacific

LNER Peppercorn Class A1

The London and North Eastern Railway Peppercorn Class A1 is a type of express passenger steam locomotive. Forty-nine original Peppercorn Class A1s were built to the design of Arthur Peppercorn during the early British Railways era, but all were scrapped with the discontinuation of steam,...

 60123 named, suitably enough, H.A. Ivatt.

The first becomes the last, No. 251

Pioneer 251, LNER 62822, had been saved for the national collection even before the last one was withdrawn from revenue service in 1950. Restored to GNR livery, she is the only C1 to survive. She joined preserved sister GNR 990 "Henry Oakley" on two weekends of trips entitled Plant Centenarian, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Doncaster Works

Doncaster Works

Doncaster railway works is in the town of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England.Always referred to as "the Plant", it was established by the Great Northern Railway in 1853, replacing the previous works in Boston and Peterborough...

. On the 20th the two engines, 990 leading, hauled the train from Kings Cross to Doncaster carrying nearly 500. Class A4 Silver Link brought the train back to London. A similar trip a week later operated from Kings Cross to Leeds with a stop at Doncaster, with the GNR veterans again hauling one leg of the trip. No. 251 steamed poorly on these trips, because the superheater had been removed although the boiler flues had not been replaced with small tubes to compensate. Further trips followed, the last being on 12 September 1954, but it was not until March 1957 that the locomotive was placed in York museum. Still part of the National Railway Museum

National Railway Museum

The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...

 in York, she is now at Bressingham Steam Museum.