John George Robinson CBE, (30 July 1856 – 7 December 1943) was an English railway engineer, and was

chief mechanical engineer Chief mechanical engineer and locomotive superintendent are titles applied by British, Australian, and New Zealand railway companies to the person ultimately responsible to the board of the company for the building and maintaining of the locomotive ...

of 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 London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the ...

from 1900 to 1922.

Early life

Born at Newcastle upon Tyne, the second son of Matthew Robinson, a locomotive engineer, and his wife Jane, Robinson was educated at the Chester Grammar School, and in 1872 commenced an

engineering apprentice An engineering apprenticeship in the United Kingdom is an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering or electrical engineering or aeronautical engineering to train craftsmen, technicians, senior technicians, Incorporated Engineers and Chartered Engin ...

ship with the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

Swindon Works Swindon railway works was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1843 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It served as the principal west England maintenance centre until closed in 1986. History In 1835 Parliament approved the construction of the ...

, as a pupil of Joseph Armstrong. In 1878 he became assistant to his father Matthew Robinson at

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

, and in 1884 joined the

Waterford and Limerick Railway The Waterford, Limerick and Western Railway (WL&WR), formerly the Waterford and Limerick Railway up to 1896, was at the time it was amalgamated with the Great Southern and Western Railway in 1901 the fourth largest railway in Ireland, with a mai ...

(which became the

Waterford, Limerick and Western Railway The Waterford, Limerick and Western Railway (WL&WR), formerly the Waterford and Limerick Railway up to 1896, was at the time it was amalgamated with the Great Southern and Western Railway in 1901 the fourth largest railway in Ireland, with a mai ...

in 1896) as their locomotive, carriage and wagon assistant superintendent. He was promoted to superintendent the following year.

Great Central Railway

In 1900 Robinson joined the

as locomotive and marine superintendent and in 1902 was appointed chief mechanical engineer. He remained in that post until 1922, when prior to the Great Central's grouping into the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...

he declined the post of chief mechanical engineer of the LNER, choosing instead to step aside for the younger

Nigel Gresley Sir Herbert Nigel Gresley (19 June 1876 – 5 April 1941) was a British railway engineer. He was one of Britain's most famous steam locomotive engineers, who rose to become Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London and North Eastern Rail ...

. Robinson was awarded a CBE in 1920. Robinson's first passenger

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the ...

design for the GCR was Class 11B (LNER Class D9) 4-4-0, of which 40 were built between 1901 and 1904, the last being withdrawn by

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British ...

in 1950. Robinson followed in 1913 with the larger Class 11E (LNER D10) "Director" Class 4-4-0 locomotive, which was used on GCR express trains from

London Marylebone Marylebone station ( ) is a Central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the Marylebone area of the City of Westminster. On the National Rail network it is also known as London Marylebone and is the southern ...

to Sheffield Victoria and Manchester London Road. Ten were built, followed by eleven "Improved Director" (

GCR Class 11F The Great Central Railway Class 11F or Improved Director Class is a class of 4-4-0 steam locomotive designed by John G. Robinson for passenger work. The LNER classified them as Class D11 from 1923. They were based on the earlier GCR Class 1 ...

, LNER Class D11) locomotives during 1920–1924. Robinson's famous GCR Class 8K

2-8-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wh ...

heavy freight locomotive was introduced in 1911 and many more were built for the

Railway Operating Division The Railway Operating Division (ROD) was a division of the Royal Engineers formed in 1915 to operate railways in the many theatres of the First World War. It was largely composed of railway employees and operated both standard gauge and narrow g ...

of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...

in 1917. Some of these reliable locomotives, of which over 400 were built, remained in service with the LNER and later British Railways until 1966.

Locomotive classes credited to Robinson

Waterford and Limerick Railway

Great Central Railway

Preserved Robinson locomotives

Two Robinson-designed locomotives are preserved in the UK: * 4-4-0 ''Improved Director''

No. 506 '' Butler–Henderson'' (Later BR No. 62660), which is preserved at the

National Railway Museum The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, and currently on display at Barrow Hill Roundhouse, near Chesterfield, Derbyshire * 2-8-0 GCR Class 8K No. 102 (Later BR No. 63601), also owned by the National Railway Museum is on loan to the

Great Central Railway (preserved) The Great Central Railway (GCR) is a heritage railway in Leicestershire, named after the company that originally built this stretch of railway. It runs for between the town of Loughborough and a new terminus in the north of Leicester. It has ...

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second large ...

. It is currently (2008) operational and used on demonstration goods trains. Three Robinson-designed locomotives are preserved in Australia * 2-8-0 ROD ROD 1984 (later J & A Brown No. 20) preserved by the

Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum The Dorrigo Steam Railway & Museum in Dorrigo, New South Wales, Australia is a large, privately owned collection of railway vehicles and equipment from the railways of New South Wales, covering both Government and private railways. The collect ...

* 2-8-0 ROD ROD 2003 (later J & A Brown No. 24) this loco was actually built by the GCR at Gorton Works and is preserved by the

* 2-8-0 ROD ROD 2004 (later J & A Brown No. 23) this loco was actually built by the GCR at Gorton Works and is preserved by the Richmond Vale Railway Museum

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

: Robinson, John George by George W. Carpenter

External links

Robinson 2-8-0

John G. Robinson
at www.lner.info * http://www.steamindex.com/people/robinson.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, John George 1856 births 1943 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Locomotive builders and designers English railway mechanical engineers Great Central Railway people People educated at Chester City Grammar School