Gorton Works

Gorton Works — universally known as 'the Tank' from the overhead water tanks that distinguished the site — was the principal locomotive manufacturing establishment of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway and its successor the Great Central Railway, operating from 1848 on a 30-acre site in Gorton, east Manchester, adjacent to and in friendly rivalry with Beyer, Peacock and Co.'s Gorton Foundry. The site occupied a central position in the northern railway geography — close to the MSLR's main line through the Pennines and conveniently placed for the Manchester engineering supply trade — and produced locomotives for the GCR's intensive freight and express passenger operations through the pre-Grouping era's most productive period.

Gorton's golden era was the twenty-two years of John G. Robinson's tenure as GCR CME (1900–1922), during which the works produced one of the most respected locomotive design portfolios of the pre-Grouping period. Robinson's 8K class 2-8-0 heavy freight locomotive of 1911 was adopted by the War Department as the standard military freight locomotive in the First World War, with 521 built — a testament to the design's robustness and the Gorton works' engineering quality that attracted an international military procurement of the very type it had produced. The Director class 4-4-0 was so well regarded that the LNER continued building it new after the 1923 Grouping. When the GCR Grouping gave Robinson the choice of becoming LNER's first CME, he declined on grounds of age and recommended Gresley — a gesture of professional generosity whose consequences proved immense.

Under the LNER Gorton continued as a major works for the former GCR territory, and under British Railways built the EM1 (Class 76) and EM2 (Class 77) electric locomotives for the Manchester–Sheffield Woodhead Route electrification of 1954. Closure came on 31 May 1963 in the Beeching-era rationalisation of British railway engineering. The site is now occupied by light industry; the nearby Barrow Hill Roundhouse preserves the roundhouse locomotive depot tradition from the same East Midlands/South Yorkshire territory that Gorton served.

About

Gorton Works (also known as Gorton Tank or 'The Tank') was the locomotive works of the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway and its successor the Great Central Railway from its foundation in 1848 until closure by British Railways on 31 May 1963. The works occupied a 30-acre site in Gorton, east Manchester, alongside the company's main line and adjacent to Beyer, Peacock & Co.'s rather better-known Gorton Foundry.

Gorton's most celebrated era was under the Great Central, when John G. Robinson (CME 1900–1922) produced one of the most respected locomotive design portfolios of the pre-Grouping era, the 8K heavy-freight 2-8-0 (adopted as the standard ROD wartime engine and built in 521 examples), the Director 4-4-0 and the Lord Faringdon 4-6-0.

Under the LNER, Gorton continued to build new engines including derivatives of the GCR types and several Gresley designs. After 1948 it was the principal works for BR's 1500 V dc Manchester–Sheffield Woodhead Route electrification, building the EM2 (Class 77) electric locomotives in 1953–1954. Gorton closed in May 1963; the works site is now occupied by light industry. The neighbouring Gorton Foundry of Beyer Peacock closed three years later in 1966.

Locomotives built here

British Rail Class 76 — BR Class 76 (originally LNER class EM1) Bo-Bo electric — built 1941–53 for Manchester–Sheffield Woodhead route freight. 58 built. Withdrawn 1981 with the Woodhead closure. 26020 (BR 76020) is preserved at the National Railway Museum, York.
GCR 11A Class — Robinson's 1901 GCR 11A class 4-4-0 (LNER D9 "Improved Director") — Robinson's standard GCR 4-4-0 express. Some lasted into BR days. None preserved.
GCR 11B Class — John G. Robinson's 1903 GCR 11B class 4-4-2 "Atlantic" — Robinson's 4-4-2 "Jersey Lily" Atlantics for GCR Marylebone–Manchester expresses. 27 built between 1903 and 1906. The class was visually striking and earned the nickname "Jersey Lilies" after the actress Lillie Langtry. None preserved.
GCR 11D Class — Robinson's 1904 GCR 11D class 4-4-0 — improved version of 11A class.
GCR 8A Class — Robinson's 1899 GCR 8A class 4-6-0 — Robinson's standard heavy goods engine for the GCR's London Extension. The class evolved into a series of Robinson 4-6-0s, of which the LNER B5 "Fish" engines were a notable variant.
GCR 8E Class — Robinson's 1906 GCR 8E class 4-6-0 — variant of Class 8.
GCR Class 1 — Robinson's 1912 GCR Class 1 4-6-0 (LNER B7) — Robinson's larger-boilered 4-6-0. Some lasted into BR days. None preserved.
GCR Class 11D [LNER D7] — Reference to GCR 11D class — see that entry.
GCR Class 11E [LNER D6] — Robinson's 1910 GCR 11E (LNER D6) 4-4-0 — superheated 4-4-0 for GCR expresses.
GCR Class 11F Director — John G. Robinson's inside-cylinder express 4-4-0 for the Great Central Railway, introduced in 1913 to handle the principal expresses on the company's London Extension to Marylebone. Twenty-two were built at Gorton between 1913 and 1922; the design was so admired that the LNER ordered a further twenty-four (the D11/2 sub-class) for the Scottish Area in 1924, the only pre-grouping design ever to be ordered new in numbers by the LNER. The class lasted into the 1960s and one is preserved in the National Collection.
GCR Class 1A — Robinson's 1906 GCR Class 1A 4-6-0 — variant of GCR Class 1.
GCR Class 8C — Robinson's 1903 GCR Class 8C 4-6-0 — variant of the Class 8 "Sir Sam Fay".
GCR Class 8K (LNER O4) — John G. Robinson's heavy-freight 2-8-0 designed for the Great Central Railway in 1911. The class was so successful that the War Department adopted it as the standard ROD locomotive in 1917, with 521 engines built between 1917 and 1919 by Vulcan Foundry, NBL, Kitson, NBR and other contractors for service in France. After 1918 surviving engines dispersed across the LNER (where they became class O4), GWR, LMS and SR, and overseas to Australia and China. One example, No. 63601, is preserved at the heritage Great Central Railway.
GCR Class 9J — Robinson's 1901 GCR 9J class 0-6-0 (LNER J11 "Pom-Pom") — Robinson's standard goods 0-6-0 for the GCR, 174 built. The nickname "Pom-Pom" came from the staccato exhaust note.
GCR Class 9K [LNER C13] — Robinson's 1903 GCR 9K (LNER C13) 4-4-2T suburban tank.
GCR Class 9L [LNER C14] — Robinson's 1907 GCR 9L (LNER C14) 4-4-2T — variant of 9K.
GCR Class 9N [LNER A5] — Robinson's 1911 GCR 9N (LNER A5) 4-6-2T "Pacific tank" — Robinson's substantial suburban tank engine. 44 built (29 by GCR, 15 by Gresley for the LNER). None preserved.
GCR Class 9P [LNER B3] — Robinson's 1917 GCR 9P (LNER B3) 4-6-0 — Robinson's flagship express 4-6-0, the "Lord Faringdon" class. Four-cylinder. None preserved.
GCR Class 9Q [LNER B7] — Reference to GCR Class 1 (B7) — see that entry.
GNR J13 — Patrick Stirling's 1888 GNR J13 (LNER J52) 0-6-0ST shunting class — the standard GNR shunting engine, built at Doncaster from 1888 onwards. Became a London suburban line workhorse and many lasted into BR days.
LNER B3 Class — Reference to GCR Class 9P / LNER B3 — see that entry.
LNER Thompson B1 Class — Edward Thompson's standardised mixed-traffic 4-6-0 for the LNER, designed in 1942 to a single-class brief that would replace the company's many ageing pre-Grouping 4-6-0s. 410 were built between 1942 and 1952 and they became the LNER's and Eastern Region's general-purpose engine, the LNER equivalent of the LMS Black Five.
MS&LR 9A — Parker's 1889 MS&LR 9A class 0-6-2T — early example of the 0-6-2 tank wheel arrangement that became popular on British railways for mineral and suburban work.
MS&LR Class 6AI — Parker's 1888 MS&LR 6AI class 0-6-0 standard goods engine.
MS&LR Class 8 Compound — Charles Sacré's 1883 Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway 4-4-0 compound class — early British compounds built for the MS&LR's express services. None preserved.
MS&LR D7 Class — Thomas Parker's 1887 Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway D7 class 4-4-0 — the MS&LR's standard express engine of the late 1880s and 1890s.

Location	Gorton, Manchester
Founded	1 January 1848
Closed	31 May 1963
Parent railway company	Great Central Railway