GCR Class 9P [LNER B3]

The GCR Class 9P, classified LNER B3 after the 1923 Grouping, was Robinson's most powerful express passenger 4-6-0, introduced at Gorton Works in 1910 and representing the culmination of his GCR 4-6-0 express passenger development. The B3s — six locomotives built between 1910 and 1920 — were the Great Central Railway's heaviest and most capable express engines, designed for the principal Anglo-Midlands and Anglo-Northern express services on the London Extension where train weights had grown beyond what the 11B Atlantics could haul comfortably to schedule.

Robinson specified four outside cylinders for the B3 — four-cylinder simple expansion with two cylinders on each side driving the same coupled axle — in contrast to the two-cylinder outside-cylinder arrangement of his earlier 4-6-0s. The four-cylinder layout gave a more even turning moment on the driving axle and smoother power delivery, and the combined cylinder volume produced a substantial tractive effort. The 6 ft 9 in coupled wheels were the same diameter as Robinson's other express types. Walschaerts valve gear was specified, a modern choice that gave precise steam distribution at all speeds.

The six B3s were named after football clubs with Midlands and Northern connections that the GCR served: Earl Haig, Jutland, Valour, Somme, Ypres, and Mons — First World War commemorative names applied in 1920 that reflected the post-war mood of the railway's management. Under the LNER the B3s worked principal former-GCR expresses and were highly regarded for their power and smooth running, but the small class size of six meant they were never able to dominate the GCR's express workings in the way that a larger fleet would have permitted. They were withdrawn in the 1940s, none surviving to preservation.