Gorton locomotive works
Encyclopedia
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
.
were in Newton
near Hyde in Cheshire but were inconveniently situated, cramped and makeshift. In 1845 the railway asked their locomotive superintendent, Richard Peacock
, to find a more suitable site for a locomotive and carriage and wagon works.
The site selected was two and a half miles east of Manchester at the side of the railway line between the Manchester to Guide Bridge. Peacock was responsible for the planning and design of the works, which at the time of completion covered about 20 acres (80,937.2 m²), and eventually growing to 30 acres (121,405.8 m²). By the time the works were completed in 1848 the railway had become the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway.
The original motive power depot
at Gorton, in the form of a roundhouse was unique in that it had two roads instead of the customary one with a pillar in the centre supporting the glazed roof. It was later replaced by a larger facility but was converted to a smithy. The locomotive workshops were adjacent to the roundhouse on its Western side, with the carriage and wagon shops and a paint shop on the other side of the loco shops. A reservoir was constructed adjacent to the nearby Ashton Canal
.
Richard Peacock left the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway in 1854 and with Charles Beyer
founded the Beyer Peacock locomotive company
at Gorton Foundry directly opposite Gorton Works on the Southern side of the railway line. He was replaced by William Grindley Craig
, who served until 1859, and thence by Charles Sacré
until 1886. Between 1871 and 1880 the works was unable to keep pace with new construction and repairs and so Gorton manufactured new parts for locomotives that were constructed or renewed at the Sheffield running shed.
In 1880 Sacré's Carriage and Wagon Superintendent, Thomas Parker
oversaw the construction of new Carriage and wagon shops on the site thereby enabling the original shops to be converted into a new enlarged Erecting shop the following year. Following Sacré's retirement and suicide in 1886, Parker took over as Locomotive Superintendent until his own retirement in 1893. He was responsible for the construction of a new machine shop and stores in 1889, and the enlargement of the motive power depot to accommodate 120 locomotives.
Parker was replaced by Harry Pollitt
who served until 1900. During this time the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway changed its name to the Great Central Railway
following the opening of its London extension to Marylebone station
. Pollitt was superseded by John G. Robinson, as locomotive and marine superintendent in 1900 and who was appointed chief mechanical engineer in 1902.
Under Robinson, new erecting shops were built, and the old erecting shop (the original Carriage and Wagon shops) were converted into machine and fitting shops, and the construction of a new carriage and wagon works at Dukinfield
in 1910 enabled additional locomotive work to be carried out in the former carriage and wagon shops.
Following the merger of the Great Central Railway and other railways in eastern England
and Scotland
to form the London and North Eastern Railway
, as a result of the Railways Act grouping
of 1923, most new locomotive design and construction moved to the larger facilities at Doncaster
and Darlington Works
. Between the 1930s and late 1950s, Gorton works mainly concentrated on the repair and modification of locomotives and the manufacture of parts. Locos were handled from all over the LNER system. British Railways scrapped many locomotives here during the run down of steam in the 1950s and early 1960s during the Beeching era.
. The motive power depot was closed in 1965. A wholesale fruit and veg market (New Smithfield Market),a police motor vehicle garage and a cash & carry warehouse now stands on the site.
Locomotive building began at Gorton under Craig in 1858 with the completion of 0-6-0
No. 6 Archimedes. Over the next sixty years the works constructed many of the MS & LR and GCR locomotives including Parker and Sacre 2-4-0
and 0-6-0
freight classes and several of the Robinson 4-6-0
and 4-4-0
express passenger and mixed traffic classes. The 500th locomotive was GCR Class 11A (LNER Class D6) 4-4-0 No.858.
From 1911, the works constructed 130 of Robinson's GCR Class 8K
(later O4) 2-8-0 heavy freight locomotives. During the First World War
the design was adopted by the War Department's Railway Operating Division
(ROD) for use in continental Europe. Six of the ROD 2-8-0s were built at Gorton in 1918 and 1919, with the remainder of the 521 engines being built by private locomotive manufacturers including 369 from the North British Locomotive Company
in Glasgow.
By the end of Great Central Railway ownership in December 1922, 921 steam locomotives had been built at Gorton. This figure had reached 1006 by 1951, when the last steam locomotive, a LNER Thompson Class B1
4-6-0 61349 was completed.
Following the nationalisation of British Rail
ways (BR) in 1948 Gorton was used for the construction of sixty four electric locomotives or Class 76
and Class 77
, between 1950 and 1954 which were required for the newly electrified Woodhead Line
from Manchester
to Sheffield
.
Openshaw
Openshaw is a ward of the city of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, North West England. It lies about two miles east of Manchester city centre. Historically a part of Lancashire, Openshaw was incorporated into the city of Manchester in 1890. Its name derives from the Old English Opinschawe, which...
near Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and was completed in 1848 by the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway
Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway
The Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway was an early British railway company which opened in stages between 1841 and 1845 between Sheffield and Manchester via Ashton-under-Lyne...
.
History
The original workshops of the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester RailwaySheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway
The Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway was an early British railway company which opened in stages between 1841 and 1845 between Sheffield and Manchester via Ashton-under-Lyne...
were in Newton
Newton, Greater Manchester
Newton is an area of Hyde, in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Originally a separate district in Cheshire, it was incorporated into Hyde in the 1930s, and occupies a narrow strip of land from the River Tame near Newton Hall to Matley, and lies between Hyde and Dukinfield.Newton can be divided...
near Hyde in Cheshire but were inconveniently situated, cramped and makeshift. In 1845 the railway asked their locomotive superintendent, Richard Peacock
Richard Peacock
Richard Peacock was an English engineer, one of the founders of locomotive manufacturer Beyer-Peacock.-Early life and education:...
, to find a more suitable site for a locomotive and carriage and wagon works.
The site selected was two and a half miles east of Manchester at the side of the railway line between the Manchester to Guide Bridge. Peacock was responsible for the planning and design of the works, which at the time of completion covered about 20 acres (80,937.2 m²), and eventually growing to 30 acres (121,405.8 m²). By the time the works were completed in 1848 the railway had become the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway.
The original motive power depot
Motive power depot
Motive power depot, usually abbreviated to MPD, is a name given to places where locomotives are stored when not being used, and also repaired and maintained. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine sheds", or, for short, just sheds. Facilities are provided for refuelling and...
at Gorton, in the form of a roundhouse was unique in that it had two roads instead of the customary one with a pillar in the centre supporting the glazed roof. It was later replaced by a larger facility but was converted to a smithy. The locomotive workshops were adjacent to the roundhouse on its Western side, with the carriage and wagon shops and a paint shop on the other side of the loco shops. A reservoir was constructed adjacent to the nearby Ashton Canal
Ashton Canal
The Ashton Canal is a canal built in Greater Manchester in North West England.-Route:The Ashton leaves the Rochdale Canal at Ducie St. Junction in central Manchester, and climbs for through 18 locks, passing through Ancoats, Holt Town, Bradford-with-Beswick, Clayton, Openshaw, Droylsden,...
.
Richard Peacock left the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway in 1854 and with Charles Beyer
Charles Beyer
Charles Frederick Beyer was a German-British locomotive engineer, co-founder of the firm Beyer-Peacock.-Early life:...
founded the Beyer Peacock locomotive 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...
at Gorton Foundry directly opposite Gorton Works on the Southern side of the railway line. He was replaced by William Grindley Craig
W. G. Craig
William Grindley Craig was chief mechanical engineer of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway from 1854-1859.He was present, as an expert witness, at an enquiry into "The Railway Catastrophe Near Dudley" in 1858 ....
, who served until 1859, and thence by Charles Sacré
Charles Sacre
Charles Reboul Sacré was an English engineer, Engineer and Superintendent of the Locomotive and Stores Department of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway. Samuel Waite Johnson was his assistant between 1859 and 1864...
until 1886. Between 1871 and 1880 the works was unable to keep pace with new construction and repairs and so Gorton manufactured new parts for locomotives that were constructed or renewed at the Sheffield running shed.
In 1880 Sacré's Carriage and Wagon Superintendent, Thomas Parker
Thomas Parker (engineer)
Thomas Parker was chief mechanical engineer of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway from 1886-1893.He was Carriage and Wagon Superintendent at the railway's Gorton works from 1858 and then replaced Charles Reboul Sacre who resigned in 1886...
oversaw the construction of new Carriage and wagon shops on the site thereby enabling the original shops to be converted into a new enlarged Erecting shop the following year. Following Sacré's retirement and suicide in 1886, Parker took over as Locomotive Superintendent until his own retirement in 1893. He was responsible for the construction of a new machine shop and stores in 1889, and the enlargement of the motive power depot to accommodate 120 locomotives.
Parker was replaced by Harry Pollitt
Harry Pollitt (engineer)
Harry Pollitt was Locomotive Engineer of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway from 1894–1897 and its successor, the Great Central Railway, from 1897-1900.-Biography:Pollitt was born on 26 December 1864 at Ashton-under-Lyne...
who served until 1900. During this time the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway changed its name to 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...
following the opening of its London extension to Marylebone station
Marylebone station
Marylebone station , also known as London Marylebone, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. It stands midway between the mainline stations at Euston and Paddington, about 1 mile from each...
. Pollitt was superseded by John G. Robinson, as locomotive and marine superintendent in 1900 and who was appointed chief mechanical engineer in 1902.
Under Robinson, new erecting shops were built, and the old erecting shop (the original Carriage and Wagon shops) were converted into machine and fitting shops, and the construction of a new carriage and wagon works at Dukinfield
Dukinfield
Dukinfield is a small town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies in central Tameside on the south bank of the River Tame, opposite Ashton-under-Lyne, and is east of the city of Manchester...
in 1910 enabled additional locomotive work to be carried out in the former carriage and wagon shops.
Grouping and Nationalisation
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
to form 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...
, as a result of the Railways Act 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...
of 1923, most new locomotive design and construction moved to the larger facilities at Doncaster
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...
and Darlington Works
Darlington Works
Darlington railway works, known in the town as North Road Shops, was built in 1863 by the Stockton and Darlington Railway in the town of Darlington in the north east of England.-NER History:The first new locomotive was built at the works in 1864...
. Between the 1930s and late 1950s, Gorton works mainly concentrated on the repair and modification of locomotives and the manufacture of parts. Locos were handled from all over the LNER system. British Railways scrapped many locomotives here during the run down of steam in the 1950s and early 1960s during the Beeching era.
Closure
The railway works were closed 31 May 1963 following a re-organisation of railway workshops and the work was transferred to DoncasterDoncaster 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...
. The motive power depot was closed in 1965. A wholesale fruit and veg market (New Smithfield Market),a police motor vehicle garage and a cash & carry warehouse now stands on the site.
Locomotive construction at Gorton
0-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels...
No. 6 Archimedes. Over the next sixty years the works constructed many of the MS & LR and GCR locomotives including Parker and Sacre 2-4-0
2-4-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels....
and 0-6-0
0-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels...
freight classes and several of the Robinson 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...
and 4-4-0
4-4-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels...
express passenger and mixed traffic classes. The 500th locomotive was GCR Class 11A (LNER Class D6) 4-4-0 No.858.
From 1911, the works constructed 130 of Robinson's GCR Class 8K
GCR Class 8K
The Great Central Railway Class 8K 2-8-0 is a class of steam locomotive designed for heavy freight. Introduced in 1911, and designed by John G. Robinson, 126 were built for the GCR prior to the First World War...
(later O4) 2-8-0 heavy freight locomotives. During the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the design was adopted by the War Department's Railway Operating Division
Railway Operating Division
The Railway Operating Division was a division of the Royal Engineers formed in 1915 to operate railways in the many theatres of the First World War...
(ROD) for use in continental Europe. Six of the ROD 2-8-0s were built at Gorton in 1918 and 1919, with the remainder of the 521 engines being built by private locomotive manufacturers including 369 from the North British Locomotive Company
North British Locomotive Company
The North British Locomotive Company was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp Stewart and Company , Neilson, Reid and Company and Dübs and Company , creating the largest locomotive manufacturing company in Europe.Its main factories were...
in Glasgow.
By the end of Great Central Railway ownership in December 1922, 921 steam locomotives had been built at Gorton. This figure had reached 1006 by 1951, when the last steam locomotive, a LNER Thompson Class B1
LNER Thompson Class B1
The London and North Eastern Railway Thompson Class B1 is a class of steam locomotive designed for medium mixed traffic work. It was designed by Edward Thompson.- Overview :...
4-6-0 61349 was completed.
Following the nationalisation of British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
ways (BR) in 1948 Gorton was used for the construction of sixty four electric locomotives or Class 76
British Rail Class 76
The British Rail Class 76, also known as Class EM1 , is a class of 1.5 kV DC, Bo-Bo electric locomotive designed for use on the now-closed Woodhead Line in Northern England.-Tommy — the prototype:...
and Class 77
British Rail Class 77
The British Rail Class 77, also known as Class EM2, is a class of 1.5 kV DC, Co-Co electric locomotive. They were built by Metropolitan-Vickers in 1953–1954 for use over the Woodhead Line between Manchester and Sheffield.-Description:...
, between 1950 and 1954 which were required for the newly electrified Woodhead Line
Woodhead Line
The Woodhead Line was a railway line linking Sheffield, Penistone and Manchester in the north of England. A key feature of the route is the passage under the high moorlands of the northern Peak District through the Woodhead Tunnels...
from Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
to Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
.