The GCR Class 8F was a class of ten

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 1906 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 ...

to the design of John G. Robinson for working fast goods and fish trains. 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 'B4'.

Design

These engines were very similar to two locomotives of an earlier 4-6-0 type the GCR had (the GCR Class 8C, later LNER class B1) except that they had smaller driving wheels. 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.

LNER ownership

The ten locomotives were renumbered by the LNER by adding 5000 to their GCR numbers; and classified as B4.

Modifications

Between 1925 and 1928 the whole class received superheated boilers, but six received 10-inch piston valves and 21-inch cylinders giving rise to two LNER sub-classes B4/1 and B4/2. The LNER had 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.

Allocation and work

The class were originally used on fish trains between the port of

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...

and London and Manchester although they were also found to be successful passenger locomotives. No. 1097 was also chosen to haul the special train at the inauguration ceremony for the new port of

Immingham Immingham is a town and civil parish in North East Lincolnshire, England, on the south-west bank of the Humber, Humber Estuary, northwest of Grimsby. It was relatively unpopulated until the early 1900s, when the Great Central Railway began de ...

in 1906, and was named ‘''Immingham''’ thereafter, giving the name to the whole class. After grouping the class was transferred to Ardsley, South Yorkshire and did much useful work in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

Withdrawal

No.6095 was withdrawn in 1939, but was reinstated three months later due to the outbreak of war and an expected shortage of locomotive power. After a collision at Woodhead in 1944, No.6095 was officially withdrawn. The remaining 9 were renumbered 1481-1489 in order of construction in 1946. They were withdrawn between 1947 and 1950. The last withdrawal, No.(6)1482(GCR No.1097) ''Immingham'' was in 1950, with ''Immingham'' being the last GCR 4-6-0 to be withdrawn.

References

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LNER Class B4/GCR Class 8F
4-6-0 locomotives 2′C n2 locomotives 08C Beyer, Peacock locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1906 Standard-gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain Freight locomotives Great Central Railway 4-6-0s {{England-steam-loco-stub