The GCR Class 8C was a class of a pair of

4-6-0 A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abs ...

locomotives built for the

Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its Great Central Main Line, London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company ...

in 1903–1904 by

Beyer, Peacock and Company Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English general engineering company and railway locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Openshaw, Manchester. Charles Beyer, Richard Peacock and Henry Robertson founded the company in 1854. The company clo ...

. They passed to the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after London, Midland and Scottish Railway, LMS) of the "Big Four (British railway companies), Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It ope ...

at the 1923 grouping and received the classification B1. Following the introduction of Thompson's B1s, they were reclassified B18 in 1943 and both were retired in 1947.

Design

Two were built as a comparison with a two similar 4-4-2 locomotives ( GCR Class 8B, later LNER class C4). The 4-4-2 locomotives were numbered 192 and 194, the 4-6-0s 195 and 196. They were built with a saturated boiler, inside slide valves and

Stephenson valve gear The Stephenson valve gear or Stephenson link or shifting link is a simple design of valve gear that was widely used throughout the world for various kinds of steam engines. It is named after Robert Stephenson but was invented by his employees. ...

, two outside cylinders connected to diameter driving wheels. No. 196 had cylinders, while No. 195 has cylinders. While the 4-4-2 locomotive design was chosen as the superior design, and was repeated in quantity, the basic 8C design was sound and used as the basis of the Class 8F (later LNER Class B4), the main difference being smaller driving wheels of diameter.

Modifications

One (No. 195) had been fitted with a superheated boiler, 10-inch piston valves and 21-inch cylinders in 1912, but the boiler had been exchanged for a saturated one in 1920.

LNER ownership

The two locomotives were renumbered by the LNER by adding 5000 to their GCR numbers; and classified as B1. The LNER designed a new type of superheated boiler (Diagram 16) based on the old design (Diagram 15). These were used on the B1 and B4 class locomotives; no more of this type of boiler was made after 1932, and so to keep the B1 and B4s in service during World War II, some Diagram 15 boilers were modified for use with these locomotives. 5195 received a Diagram 16 boiler in March 1926; while 5196 received its new boiler and had its cylinder diameter increased to 21-inches in April 1927 Their classification was changed to B18 in April 1943 to allow Thompson's B class to be reclassified as B1. They were renumbered 1479 and 1480 in 1946. Withdrawal came in December 1947, and both were scrapped.

References

* 4-6-0 locomotives 08C Beyer, Peacock locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1903 Standard-gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain 2′C n2 locomotives Passenger locomotives Great Central Railway 4-6-0s {{England-steam-loco-stub