GCR Class 8

The Great Central Railway Class 8, known as the London and North Eastern Railway Class B5 following the 1923 Grouping, was a class of fourteen 4-6-0 steam locomotives designed to haul fast goods trains, in particular fish trains.

Great Central Railway Class 8
Ex-Great Central 'Fish' class 4-6-0 at Mexborough Locomotive Depot. LNER Class B5 No. 1689 was one of the earlier Robinson 4-6-0s, built February 1904, became LNER No. 5186 and was withdrawn in October 1949, six months after this photograph. It looks ready to retire, having been relegated to banking up to Dunford Bridge following exhausting work during the war: here it is still in—extremely dirty—LNER livery.
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerJohn G. Robinson
Builder
Build date1902 (6), 1904 (8)
Total produced14
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte4-6-0
 • UIC2'C
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Leading dia.3 ft 6 in (1.067 m)
Driver dia.6 ft 1 in (1.854 m)
Length60 ft 9+1⁄4 in (18.523 m)[1]
Loco weight64.15 long tons (65.18 t)
Firebox:
 • Firegrate area		23.5 sq ft (2.18 m2)
Boiler:
​
 • Diameter4 ft 6.5 in (1,384 mm) to 4 ft 9 in (1,450 mm)
Boiler pressure180 psi (1.24 MPa)
Heating surface
  • Saturated: 1,795 sq ft (166.8 m2)
  • Superheated:1,338 sq ft (124.3 m2)
[2]
CylindersTwo, outside
Cylinder size19 in × 26 in (483 mm × 660 mm)
Valve gearStephenson
Valve typeSlide valves
Performance figures
Tractive effort19,672 lbf (87.51 kN)
Career
Operators
Class
  • GCR: 8
  • LNER: B5
Numbers
  • GCR: 1067–1072, 180–187
  • LNER: 6067–6072, 5180–5187;
  • later 1678–1682
  • BR: 61678–61682
NicknamesFish engines
Retired1939–1950
DispositionAll scrapped

They were nicknamed "Fish Engines" because of their designed role and due to their frequent use on the fast fish trains heading from Grimsby to places like London. They were passed on into service with British Railways in 1948 and the last locomotive was withdrawn in 1950.

Models

A 1/5 scale, 10.25 in gauge model of number 181 has been made by Andrew Simkins. This model is externally faithful to Robinson's design, but also uses a footwell to conceal most of the driver in the tender. It was showcased and won an award at the Model engineering exhibition in 2003. It has since been seen on several of the 10.25 in gauge railways around Britain.

References
  1. Boddy et al. 1975, p. 30.
  2. Boddy et al. 1975, p. 31.

Bibliography
  • Boddy, M.G.; Brown, W.A.; Fry, E.V.; Hennigan, W.; Hoole, Ken; Manners, F.; Neve, E.; Platt, E.N.T.; Proud, P.; Yeadon, W.B. (March 1975). Locomotives of the L.N.E.R., part 2B: Tender Engines - Classes B1 to B19. Lincoln: RCTS. ISBN 0-901115-73-8. OCLC 655688865.
  • Casserley, H.C.; S.W. Johnson (1974) [1966]. Locomotives at the Grouping 2: London and North Eastern Railway. Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan Limited. pp. 12, 107, 111. ISBN 0-7110-0553-2.
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