GCR Class 9N

GCR Class 9N
LNER Class A5

A5/1 No. 9828 outside Marylebone station 1947
Type and origin
Power type Steam
Designer John G. Robinson
Builder
Serial number HL: 3616–3628
Build date 1911–1926
Total produced 44
Specifications
Configuration 4-6-2T
UIC class 2′C1′ h2t
Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Leading dia. 3 ft 6 in (1.067 m)
Driver dia. 5 ft 7 in (1.702 m)
Trailing dia. 3 ft 9 in (1.143 m)
Length 42 ft 11 7⁄8 in (13.103 m)
Loco weight A5/1: 85.90 long tons (87.28 t; 96.21 short tons)
A5/2: 90.55 long tons (92.00 t; 101.42 short tons)
Fuel type Coal
Fuel capacity 4.15 long tons (4.22 t; 4.65 short tons)
Water cap 2,280 imp gal (10,400 l; 2,740 US gal)
Boiler pressure 180 psi (1.24 MPa)
Cylinders Two, inside
Cylinder size 20 in × 26 in (508 mm × 660 mm)
Valve gear Stephenson
Valve type 10-inch (254 mm) piston valves
Performance figures
Tractive effort 23,750 lbf (105.6 kN)
Career
Operators
Power class BR: 4P, 3P from May 1953
Axle load class LNER/BR: Route Availability 5
Withdrawn 1942–1961
Disposition All scrapped

The Great Central Railway Class 9N, classified A5 by the LNER, was a class of 4-6-2 tank locomotives designed by John G. Robinson for suburban passenger services. They were fitted with superheaters, piston valves and Stephenson valve gear.

Construction and numbering

The GCR built 21 locomotives at Gorton Works in three batches between 1911 and 1917.[1] They ordered a fourth batch of ten from Gorton, but this was not built until after the 1923 Grouping, under which GCR became part of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway (LNER).[1] The LNER then ordered a fifth batch of 13 to a modified design, incorporating reduced boiler mountings and detail differences, and these were built by the outside contractors Hawthorn, Leslie & Co. during 1925–26 (works numbers 3616–28).[2]

Year GCR Nos. LNER Nos. LNER 1946 Nos.
1911 165–170, 23–24, 447–448 5165–70, 5023–24, 5447–48 9800–07, –, 9808
1912 449–452, 128–129 5449–5452, 5128–5129 9809–9814
1917 371–374, 411 5371–5374, 5411 9815–9819
1923 3, 6, 7, 30, 45,
46, 88, 154, 156, 158 		5003, 5006, 5007, 5030, 5045,
5046, 5088, 5154, 5156, 5158 		9820–9829
1925–26 — 1712/19, 1738, 1750/56,
1760/66–68, 1771,
1782/84, 1790 		9830–9842

No. 5447 was withdrawn in 1942, because the frames were badly cracked.[3] In 1943, the others were allocated new numbers in the 9800–42 block, but these were not applied until 1946.[4] Forty-three locomotives passed to British Railways in 1948, and between 1948 and 1951 their numbers were increased by 60000.[5] The class was divided into two parts in December 1948 as follows:[2]

None have been preserved.

Table of withdrawals[6]
Year Quantity in
service at
start of year 		Quantity
withdrawn 		Locomotive numbers
1942 44 1 5447.
1957 43 2 69815/33.
1958 41 23 69802/04/07/10/11/18/19/22/24/26/28/30–32/34–42.
1959 18 8 69800/03/05/09/12/16/25/27.
1960 10 10 69801/06/08/13/14/17/20/21/23/29.

Modelling

A 7mm scale kit is available from MSC models.[7]

References

Further reading

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