What was the operator of GCR Class 2 from Aug 1897 to Dec 1922?
GCR Class 2 The GCR Class 2 was derived from a Kitson ( Leeds ) built/Thomas Parker designed prototype 4-4-0 locomotive No . 561 , ( the first single frame locomotive built for the MSLR ) exhibited in Manchester in 1887 . The design lead to the production of a series of express steam locomotives built between 1890 and 1894 for use on the Manchester , Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway , later the Great Central Railway . The last batch of six , built 1894 , had larger bearings for the coupled wheels , coil springs ( instead of leaf springs ) for the driving axle and was classified 2A . When first built , the Class 2s were used on the MSLR main express trains . They regularly hauled the Manchester to Kings Cross expresses to and from Grantham . Early records suggest that they were very economical locomotives during this period . These locomotives were superseded by the Pollitt D6 and Robinson D9 locomotives in 1895 and 1901 respectively , and were reduced to stopping and secondary services . LNER ownership . They passed to the London and North Eastern Railway ( LNER ) in 1923 and both classes were re-classified D7 . During the early years of the LNER ( before 1928 ) , the D7s qualified for the LNERs green passenger locomotive livery . This led to the Immingham D7s acquiring the nickname of Green Bogies By this time , they were already obsolete - withdrawals starting in 1926 and progressed slowly , the last D7 was withdrawn in 1939 with no preserved examples . New locomotive . A Project has now been launched to build a new member of this class ( No . 567 ) to modern engineering standards ( using metric steel and specifications ) for running on the Great Central Railway . It is be a semi-new build locomotive being erected at Ruddington on the GCR Northern section ( GCRN - Great Central Railway , Nottingham - GCRN ) www.gcrn.co.uk . The build , with a potential boiler , cylinder block and tender chassis already found , and the rest costing about £950,000 . However , a review of the proposed boiler , needing some work to be usable . has led the group to actively consider a new-build boiler at a cost of little more than the repair costs ( it being a round top fire box saturated steam boiler ) . The Bogie wheels are identical to those on the Brighton Atlantic Project , however the Bluebell Railway have declined to release the pattern so the group will have to make a new one - other new-build projects based on Kitson design/manufacture may also have useful parts . Design work is well advanced with over 350 drawings having already been created , studied and reviewed for manufacture . New methodology is being considered for casting using Polypatterns created by 3D printing - a considerable cost saving . Investigations undertaken when creating the design for the new frames showed that these locomotives were structurally weak at the front end - photos show damage caused by heavy shunts . The majority of their service life , these engines would have spent coupled to their trains via the tender - for use on preserved lines , the locomotive needs to be able to run Smokebox to train . The GCR567 design team will utilise the later Kitson & Co ( 1892 ) build for the frames - these later engines being built with slightly deeper frames but the GCR567 team still needs to address the weakness - by creating a new front Dragbox and Doubler plates ( additional plates added to re-enforce weak areas of the frames and in this case to carry the Cylinder Block - the latter will seen from the outside , however this and other modern updates to improve ease of maintenance , and should not detract from the visual re-creation of this Victorian Locomotive .