In the 1910s the Great Central Railway needed new tank locomotives to serve coal traffic between the mining areas of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire and the port at Immingham. Due to the good experiences with the class D of the Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway, which had the wheel arrangement 0-6-4T, this was used as a basis.

It received a larger superheated boiler similar to that of the 4-4-0 class 11E. In order to be able to carry this, a leading axle was added. The result was the class 1B, which was the first standard gauge British 2-6-4T tank locomotive. With a coal capacity of 4.5 tons and 3,000 gallons of water, the supplies were not much smaller than most British tender locomotives. 

In everyday life it turned out that the frame was severely stressed by the position of the inside cylinders. In addition, the braking power was hardly sufficient for use with coal trains in the intended area. Since coal traffic there was ultimately declining, they were used in coal traffic in flatter areas. At the LNER they were first called class L1 and renamed L3 in 1945 due to another locomotive. 19 of the 20 came to British Railways and were withdrawn by 1955.

The Great Central class 9J consisted of 174 0-6-0 freight locomotives designed by John G. Robinson. Production ran from 1901 to 1910 at the GCR's own Gorton Works and four commercial manufacturers. They were nicknamed “Pom-Poms” because of their exhaust sound, which crews said was reminiscent of the quick-firing Maxim cannon of the same name from the end of the 19th century. In practice, they were not only used in freight service, but also in all types of trains, including express trains.

As early as 1909, the first new locomotive was built with the Robinson superheater. Over the next 30 years, many more were retrofitted with it. At the LNER they became the J11, and after various modifications they were divided into J11/1 to J11/5. From 1942 onwards, Thompson equipped some locomotives with piston valves, which then often reached 60 mph (97 km/h). British Railways took over the entire class, which was ultimately phased out by 1962.

Between 1903 and 1905 the Great Central Railway procured a total of 40 class 9K tank locomotives for the suburban routes of London, which were based on the 2-4-2T class 9G tank locomotives and were designed by John G. Robinson. They were created by enlarging the boiler on the 9G and accommodating the extra weight and length by replacing the leadingaq axle with a bogie. They were stationed at London's Marylebone railway station and were distinguished by the fact that they were fitted with appropriate scooping devices for the water troughs introduced at the time to refill water during the journey. A further twelve class 9L locomotives followed in 1907. By widening the water tanks by three inches, they had a larger water capacity and the higher walls of the coal bunker meant that more coal could be carried.

The use in London did not last long, as the electric railcars could run at higher average speeds on competing routes and the steam locomotives therefore had to be more powerful. This led to the introduction of the class 9N with the 4-6-2T wheel arrangement from 1911. The 9K and 9L were subsequently moved to other locations and used, for example, on suburban routes from Manchester or in central England for regional trains. In 1914 and 1915, a 9L and a 9K were each fitted with a boiler with a superheater, but these initially remained one-offs.

9L No. 1120

Locomtive Magazine, July 1907

After the LNER took over operations in 1923, the classes were now designated C13 and C14. After a short time, shorter chimneys were installed to ensure suitability for the loading gauge of the entire LNER network. In addition, the scoops were removed because they weren't really necessary on short-haul routes. Between 1926 and 1935, all locomotives were given a new boiler with a superheater as part of the scheduled boiler replacement. British Railways took over all examples in 1948 and used them unchanged until the mid-1950s. New competition now arose in the form of the new diesel railcars, which soon made them superfluous. Almost all locomotives were scrapped between 1957 and 1959 and one locomotive of each class was used until 1960.

Robinson developed these heavy GCR class 9N tank locomotives for fast suburban traffic. With a driving wheel diameter of 5 feet and 7 inches or 1,702 mm and three coupled axles, they were also able to achieve good acceleration. Otherwise they were state-of-the-art with piston valves and superheaters. Between 1910 and 1917, 21 locomotives were built in GCR's Gorton works.

The second production lot was delayed until after the First World War. In 1923, ten more were built with adjustments by Gresley, including a smaller heating surface. These were now being built by Hawthorn, Leslie & Co. as were the next 13 in 1925 and 1926.

The previous class 9N became the A5 at the LNER. In order to be able to distinguish the first and second series, these became the A5/1 and A5/2. British Railways took over 43 of 44 locomotives. The rest were retired between 1957 and 1960.

No. 1021 "Queen Mary" after the rebuild

Locomotive Magazine, May 1916

One of Robinson's first developments was the class 11B, which was intended to meet the increased demands of new lines. They were similar to the class 9J “Pom-Poms” freight locomotives and were therefore also called “Pom-Pom Bogies”. On some lines they could reach an average of 60 mph (97 km/h). In terms of power, they were soon outperformed by Robinson's newer designs and rebuilt. Only two locomotives received a new saturated boiler and became class 11C. Between 1909 and 1927, all other locomotives were rebuilt with a different boiler, which was delivered directly with a superheater from 1913. The last ones were able to remain in service until 1950.

The class 11E was created by Robinson from the reduction of the 4-6-0 class 1 in size. A driving axle was removed and the overall length of the locomotive was shortened. The distance between the driving axles was increased and a deeper firebox was placed between them. What was special was that the inside cylinders had outside admission. The ten locomotives were named after directors of the GCR. All were taken over by the LNER and withdrawn between 1953 and 1955.

The class 11F of the Great Central was developed by Robinson as the successor to the class 11E, called “Directors Class”. This is why they were also called “Improved Directors Class”. Although they had similar dimensions, changes included the layout of the boiler tubes and piston valves with inside admission. Eleven were built from 1919 for the GCR's London extension between Marylebone and Sheffield.

After the LNER was founded in 1923, Gresley had another 24 built for use in Scotland. These had a smaller loading gauge and were designated D11/2, while the original batch was designated D11/1. All locomotives were withdrawn between September 1958 and January 1962. No. 506 „Butler-Henderson” is the only one that has been preserved. It was operational until the nineties and is located at Barrow Hill Engine Shed near Chesterfield.

The Great Central Railway Class 13 was the last single-driver express locomotive to be built in Britain and one of the last to see regular service. It was developed by Harry Pollitt, who called it Type X4. It had 7 feet 9 inches diameter wheels and had a boiler pressure of 200psi from the factory. Since, despite the sophisticated sanding system that was obligatory on the last singles, there was more power than could be converted into traction, the boiler pressure was soon reduced to 160 psi. 

When Pollitt retired in 1900 and John G. Robinson took over as chief engineer at GCR, the class 13 was just being produced. Anticipating the imminent end of the singles, Robinson reduced the order from ten to six. These locomotives initially ran the important route from Sheffield to London, but were moved to Cheshire in 1903 and replaced by the 4-4-0 Robinson class D4 locomotives. Four examples were fitted with a superheater between 1915 and 1919, but they were all retired between 1923 and 1927.

Robinson developed two 4-6-0 locomotives for the GCR during the First World War, which were the class 9P shown here for express service and class 9Q for mixed service. They received the same boiler that had already been used in classes 1 and 1A. Of the 9P, only No. 1169 “Lord Faringdon” was built in 1917, which also gave the class its name. It wasn't until 1920 that five more followed.

They had four cylinders in one plane. The inner ones had their own Stephenson valve gear and drove the first driving axle. The outer cylinders were controlled by the inner ones via rocker shafts and drove the second driving axle. However, this led to complicated steam paths, poor steam flow and leaks, which was to be changed by Gresley after the LNER took them over.

Four of the class, now known as B3, were rebuilt to B3/2 with Caprotti valve gear in 1929, 1938 and 1939, while those that were not rebuilt became B3/1. A B3/3 followed in 1943, which had been rebuilt into a two-cylinder. Regardless of the modifications, all were withdrawn between 1947 and 1949.