Great Central Railway
What was the operator of GCR Class 11E after Nov 1948?
GCR Class 11E The GCR Class 11E was a type of 4-4-0 steam locomotive used by the Great Central Railway for express passenger services . Ten were built in the railways own workshops at Gorton , Manchester during 1913 ; they remained in service until the mid-1950s . History . In the early part of the 20th century , the Great Central Railway ( GCR ) had favoured the 4-4-0 wheel arrangement for express passenger services . They had bought 40 such locomotives to the design of their Locomotive Engineer , John G . Robinson ( Robinson became Chief Mechanical Engineer in 1902 ) , between 1901 and 1904 , and these formed class 11B . These were found to be too small , and subsequently several classes of 4-4-2 and 4-6-0 locomotive were introduced for express passenger trains , with the 4-4-2 type predominating . After the class 1 4-6-0 , which were larger than any of the others , proved disappointing , Robinson decided to reduce the size of these and designed a 4-4-0 which became Class 11E . Ten were built in 1913 , and were immediately successful . Compared to the class 1 4-6-0 , the omission of one coupled axle allowed a longer wheelbase between two adjacent axles of a 4-4-0 than with the 4-6-0 , so the firebox could be positioned between the axles instead of on top of one of them ; thus it could be deeper , giving better draughting which aided steaming . The shorter overall length meant that the boiler tubes were shorter , which also improved draughting . Unusually , outside admission was used for the piston valves of the cylinders . Conventionally , piston valve locomotives had inside admission , whereas outside admission was used with slide valve locomotives . Outside admission gives a shorter exhaust passage , with the consequent advantages of a lower back pressure and sharper blast , but with the disadvantage that the valve spindle glands must be made to withstand much higher pressures and temperatures . Robinson had previously used outside admission for his class 11D rebuilds from class 11B , and the new class 11E used the same cylinder casting as those rebuilds . When further 4-4-0s of similar capability to class 11E were required after World War I , these were given normal cylinders with inside admission for the piston valves , and so were placed in class 11F . Withdrawal occurred between March 1953 and November 1955 . Accidents and incidents . On 27 February 1927 , locomotive No . 5437 Prince George was hauling an express passenger train that was involved in a collision with a light engine at Yorkshire . Numbers and names . The original names were those of directors of the GCR ; Sir Alexander Henderson was the Chairman of the Board , and William Purdon Viccars was Deputy Chairman . At the time , there were twelve members of the GCR Board ; of these , two ( Viscount Cross and Sir Alexander Henderson ) already had locomotives named after them . However , the latters name was removed from class 11B no . 1014 and used on class 11E no . 429 , so one director was not honoured at this stage ; this was rectified the following year when class 1A 4-6-0 no . 439 was named Sutton Nelthorpe . Two locomotives had their names altered subsequently , one of them twice . Sir Alexander Henderson was created Baron Faringdon in 1916 , but his new name was used on a class 9P 4-6-0 , so in 1917 no . 429 was renamed Sir Douglas Haig after the Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force . In turn , Sir Douglas was created Earl Haig in 1919 and his new name used on another class 9P 4-6-0 , so no . 429 was renamed a second time , becoming Prince Henry after the fourth child of King George V . When Charles Stuart-Wortley was raised to the peerage as Baron Stuart of Wortley in 1917 , his name was used on a further class 9P , so no . 437 was renamed Prince George after the fifth child of King George V . After the 1923 Grouping , the LNER increased the GCR numbers by 5000 , this occurring in 1924–5 . Under the 1946 renumbering , they became 2650–9 in the same order . During 1948–50 , British Railways increased these numbers by 60000 .