The Great Central Railway

Great Central Railway

The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...

 Class 9N, classified A5 by the LNER, was a class of 4-6-2

4-6-2

4-6-2, in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle .These locomotives are also known as Pacifics...

 tank locomotive

Tank locomotive

A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of pulling it behind it in a tender. It will most likely also have some kind of bunker to hold the fuel. There are several different types of tank locomotive dependent upon...

s designed by John G. Robinson for suburban passenger services. They were fitted with superheater

Superheater

A superheater is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet steam into dry steam used for power generation or processes. There are three types of superheaters namely: radiant, convection, and separately fired...

s, piston valves and Stephenson valve gear

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 all kinds of steam engine. It is named after Robert Stephenson but was actually invented by his employees....

.

The GCR built three batches between 1911 and 1917. They ordered a fourth batch but this was not built until after Grouping

Railways Act 1921

The Railways Act 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which...

 in 1923. The London and North Eastern Railway

London and North Eastern Railway

The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...

 (LNER) ordered a fifth batch from Hawthorn Leslie and Company

Hawthorn Leslie and Company

R. & W. Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Limited, usually referred to as Hawthorn Leslie, was a shipbuilding and locomotive manufacturer. The Company was founded on Tyneside in 1886 and ceased building ships in 1982.-History:...

 and this was built between 1925 and 1926. The last batch had reduced boiler mountings and detail differences, and was classified A5/2. The earlier batches were then re-classified A5/1.

Numbering

Year	GCR Nos.	LNER Nos.	LNER 1942 Nos.	BR Nos.	Notes
	165–170	5165–5170	9800–9805	69800–69805
	23–24	5023–5024	9806–9807	69806–69807
	447–452	5447–5452	9808–9812	69808–69812	447 withdrawn in 1942
	128–129	5128–5129	9813–9814	69813–69814
	371–374	5371–5374	9815–9818	69815–69818
	411	5411	9819	69819
1923	3, 6, 7, 30, 45, 46, 88, 154, 156, 158	5003, 5006, 5007, 5030, 5045, 5046, 5088, 5154, 5156, 5158	9820–9829	69820–69829
	—		9830–9842	69830–69842

Forty-three locomotives passed to British Railways in 1948 and they were numbered as follows:

• A5/1, 69800-69829
• A5/2, 69830-69842

None have been preserved.

External links

• http://www.lner.info/locos/A/a5.shtml
• http://www.railuk.co.uk/steam/getsteamclass.php?item=A5/1
• http://www.railuk.co.uk/steam/getsteamclass.php?item=A5/2