Henry Ivatt

Born	16 September 1851
Died	25 October 1923
Nationality	Irish
Employer	London and North Western Railway, Crewe (apprentice from 1868); Great Southern and Western Railway, Inchicore, Ireland (Locomotive Superintendent 1886–1895); Great Northern Railway, Doncaster (Locomotive Engineer 1896–1911)

Henry Alfred Ivatt (1851–1923) was an Irish-born British locomotive engineer who served as Locomotive Engineer of the Great Northern Railway at Doncaster from 1896 until his retirement in 1911, introducing the Atlantic wheel arrangement to Britain and developing the large-boilered 4-4-2 that gave the GNR its definitive Edwardian express locomotive type and directly shaped the thinking of his successor Nigel Gresley.

Born at Wentworth Woodhouse, near Cambridge on 16 September 1851, Ivatt was apprenticed at Crewe Works under John Ramsbottom in 1868 and moved to Ireland in 1874, rising to become Locomotive Superintendent of the Great Southern and Western Railway at Inchicore, Dublin in 1886. He was appointed Locomotive Engineer of the Great Northern Railway at Doncaster in 1896, succeeding Patrick Stirling whose celebrated 8 ft single-driver engines had served the GNR well but were increasingly strained by the growing weight of Anglo-Scottish express trains.

Ivatt's first response was the C2 'Klondike' 4-4-2 Atlantic of 1898 — Britain's first Atlantic, with a wide firebox spanning the rear coupled wheels that gave exceptional steaming capacity. The larger-boilered C1 'Large Atlantic' of 1902 further developed the type, with a 5 ft 6 in diameter boiler that was enormous by British standards and which gave the class its reputation as one of the finest fast steamers of the Edwardian era. The C1s worked the GNR's Anglo-Scottish expresses for two decades, and Gresley's early development work at Doncaster was deeply influenced by their characteristics. D.E. Marsh's LBSCR H1 Atlantic was a direct cousin of the C1, built to Brighton's loading gauge.

Ivatt retired in 1911 and was succeeded by Gresley, who developed the Pacific from Ivatt's Atlantic foundation. He died at Putney on 25 October 1923. His son, H.G. Ivatt, later became CME of the LMS in 1945.

Biography

Henry Alfred Ivatt (1851–1923) was an Irish-born locomotive engineer who served as Locomotive Engineer of the Great Northern Railway at Doncaster from 1896 until his retirement in 1911. He is best known for introducing the Atlantic to Britain, the small-boilered C2 in 1898 and the much larger-boilered C1 in 1902, and as the immediate predecessor and influence on Nigel Gresley.

Ivatt was born at Wentworth Woodhouse, near Cambridge on 16 September 1851 and apprenticed at the LNWR Crewe Works under John Ramsbottom from 1868. He moved to the Great Southern and Western Railway of Ireland in 1874, succeeding Alexander McDonnell as Locomotive Superintendent at Inchicore in 1886.

His move to Doncaster in 1896 was on the resignation of Patrick Stirling, whose celebrated 8-foot 4-2-2 singles were giving way to demands for greater haulage power. The small-boilered 'Klondike' C2 of 1898 was Britain's first Atlantic; the Large Atlantic C1 of 1902, with a 5 ft 6 in diameter boiler, was an exceptional fast steamer that worked the Anglo-Scottish expresses for two decades and remained on secondary services well into the LNER era.

Ivatt was succeeded by Gresley in 1911. He retired to Haywards Heath, Sussex and died at Putney on 25 October 1923. His son George Ivatt later became CME of the LMS in 1946.

Locomotives designed

BR 10800 — BR 10800 — single English Electric/Hawthorn Leslie diesel-mechanical mainline locomotive, built 1949 as a Bo-Bo. Used on the LMR for trials; never entered regular service. Sold to Brush in 1962 and used as the test-bed for the development of what would become the Class 47 "Hawk" engine. Not preserved.
GNR C2 Small Atlantic ("Klondike") — Henry Ivatt's small-boilered Atlantic of 1898, the first 4-4-2 wheel arrangement in Britain. Twenty-two were built at Doncaster between 1898 and 1903 with the colloquial name "Klondike" reflecting the contemporary gold rush. The class was the immediate precursor of Ivatt's Large Atlantic (the C1 of 1902) and worked the principal GNR East Coast expresses for two decades. One survives in preservation: No. 990 Henry Oakley, the first British Atlantic, in the National Collection at York.
GNR Class C1 (small boiler Atlantic) — Henry Ivatt's 1898 GNR C1 (small boiler) Atlantic — Britain's first 4-4-2 "Atlantic" type, built at Doncaster. Pioneered the use of large-grate Atlantics for British express work; led directly to Ivatt's later large-boiler C1 of 1902. The prototype, 990 "Henry Oakley", is preserved at the National Railway Museum.
GNR J52 0-6-0ST — Henry Ivatt's 0-6-0 saddle tank for the Great Northern Railway, designed in 1897 as a development of Patrick Stirling's earlier J13 saddle tanks. The class was the GNR's standard yard shunting and trip-working tank engine and continued in LNER and BR service until the late 1950s. 80 were built and one, 1247 (later 68846), has survived in preservation as part of the National Collection.
LMS 10000 / 10001 — H. G. Ivatt's 1947 LMS 10000 and 10001 — the first British mainline diesel-electric locomotives. Co-Co, 1600 hp, English Electric. Built at Derby and Crewe respectively. Worked LMS expresses (often paired) until withdrawal in the early 1960s. Neither preserved (a notable absence).
LMS 1831 — Earliest LMS diesel-electric shunter prototype, 1832 (1932 build). Single locomotive. Predecessor to the LMS 0-6-0DE class that became BR Class 08. Not preserved.
LMS Ivatt 10000/10001 — Britain's first main-line diesel locomotives. Designed by H. G. Ivatt for the LMS in collaboration with English Electric, 10000 was outshopped from Derby Works in December 1947, three weeks before nationalisation, with sister 10001 following in July 1948 under British Railways. Working singly or as a pair, they handled expresses including the Royal Scot, were transferred to the Southern Region in 1953 for comparison with Bulleid's 10201/10202/10203, and returned to the London Midland Region in 1955. Their English Electric 16SVT prime mover went on to power Classes 20, 31, 37, 40, and 50. Both were scrapped in 1968; a new-build replica is under construction by the Ivatt Diesel Re-creation Society.
LNER J6 Class — Ivatt's 1911 GNR J22 class 0-6-0 (LNER J6) — Ivatt's standard goods 0-6-0. 110 built. None preserved.