Great Northern Railway

The Great Northern Railway was the southern partner of the East Coast Main Line partnership, operating from King's Cross to Doncaster, York, and through East Anglia and the East Midlands — the route that carried the Anglo-Scottish expresses and the Flying Scotsman service that became one of the most celebrated named trains in the world. Incorporated in 1846 and opening its main line in stages from 1848 to 1852, the GNR established Doncaster Works as its locomotive manufacturing centre — 'The Plant' — which became one of the most celebrated railway engineering establishments in Britain.

The GNR's locomotive succession produced three of the most historically significant British locomotive designers. Patrick Stirling's celebrated 8-foot Single 4-2-2 — with its great single pair of 8 ft driving wheels and domeless boiler — worked the East Coast expresses for thirty years with a grace and speed that made it the most admired British locomotive of the 1870s and 1880s. Henry Ivatt introduced the Atlantic wheel arrangement to Britain in 1898, his large-boilered C1 Atlantic of 1902 being one of the finest fast steamers of the Edwardian era. Nigel Gresley succeeded Ivatt in 1911 and developed the A1 Pacific — completed just before the 1923 Grouping — that became the foundation of the LNER's entire express locomotive tradition through Mallard and beyond.

The GNR was the senior partner in the East Coast Conference joint working arrangement with the North Eastern Railway and North British Railway for through Anglo-Scottish services. At the 1923 Grouping it became part of the London and North Eastern Railway, which inherited Doncaster Works, the King's Cross route, and the Gresley design legacy that produced Mallard and the A4 Pacifics.

About

The Great Northern Railway (GNR) was a British pre-grouping railway incorporated by the London & York Railway Act of 26 June 1846 and renamed the GNR in 1847. Its system ran from King's Cross to York and Doncaster (with a branch to Edinburgh under the East Coast joint working) and through East Anglia and the East Midlands to Lincolnshire and the South Yorkshire coalfield.

Locomotive engineering was carried out at Doncaster Works (the 'Plant', founded 1853) under successive Locomotive Superintendents, Edward Bury, Patrick Stirling (1866–1895), Henry Ivatt (1896–1911) and Nigel Gresley (1911–1922). Stirling's celebrated 8-foot Single worked the East Coast expresses for thirty years; Ivatt introduced the Atlantic to Britain in 1898 with his small-boilered C2 'Klondike', and the Large Atlantic C1 of 1902 was an exceptional fast steamer; Gresley's A1 Pacific of 1922 (the 'Flying Scotsman' class) entered traffic just before Grouping.

The GNR was the senior partner in the East Coast Conference, a long-running joint working agreement with the North Eastern and North British for through Anglo-Scottish services. At Grouping on 1 January 1923 the GNR became part of the LNER, whose East Coast Pacifics, Gresley's A1, A3, A4 and Peppercorn's post-war A1, were direct continuations of the GNR's express tradition.

Locomotives owned

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.
GNR K2 Class — Gresley's 1912 GNR K2 class 2-6-0 — Gresley's first 2-6-0 design, built at Doncaster for GNR mixed traffic. 75 built (10 GNR, 65 LNER). Many lasted into BR days. None preserved.
GNR Large Boiler Single — Sturrock's later 1850s GNR 2-2-2 express engines with enlarged boilers, the predecessors of Stirling's famous singles.
GNR No.1 — Archibald Sturrock's 1848 4-2-2 "Single" express engine for the Great Northern Railway, one of a small early group built by E. B. Wilson of Leeds. Distinct from the much later Stirling Single of 1870.
GNR Small Boiler Single — Sturrock's early 1850s GNR 2-2-2 express engines with relatively small parallel boilers, the GNR's standard express type before the introduction of the larger-boilered singles in the late 1850s.
GNR Stirling Single — Patrick Stirling's celebrated outside-cylinder 4-2-2 express engine for the Great Northern Railway. Fifty-three were built at Doncaster between 1870 and 1895 with 8 ft 1 in single driving wheels, among the largest ever fitted to a British locomotive. The class worked the principal East Coast expresses for nearly thirty years and is famous for its role in the Race to the North in August 1895. The prototype No. 1 of 1870 is preserved at the National Railway Museum, York.
LNER Class A1 (Gresley original) — Sir Nigel Gresley's first three-cylinder Pacific design for the Great Northern Railway in 1922, just before the 1923 Grouping. Fifty-two engines were built between 1922 and 1925 at Doncaster and the North British Locomotive Company. From 1928 the class was progressively rebuilt to A3 standard with higher boiler pressure and improved valve gear; the original A1 form was extinct by 1948. The most famous member, No. 4472 Flying Scotsman, was rebuilt to A3 in 1947 and is now preserved at the National Railway Museum.
LNER K3 2-6-0 — Sir Nigel Gresley's three-cylinder 2-6-0 mixed-traffic engine for the Great Northern Railway and (later) LNER, designed in 1920 as a more powerful development of the earlier K2. The K3 was distinguished by its very large 6 ft diameter boiler, the biggest fitted to any British 2-6-0, and was used principally for fast fitted freight and heavy summer Saturday passenger relief work. 193 were built between 1920 and 1937 and none survived into preservation.
LNER N2 Class — A Gresley-developed 0-6-2 condenser-fitted suburban tank for the LNER, designed in 1920 for the heavy passenger services into and out of King's Cross including Hertford North and Hatfield. 107 were built between 1920 and 1929 by the North British Locomotive Company, Yorkshire Engine Company, and Doncaster Works. One has survived in preservation: 1744 (later 69523) at the Great Central Railway.

Founded	26 June 1846
Dissolved	1 January 1923
Country	England
Headquarters	King's Cross Station, London