loco-info.com
The reference for locomotives and railcars
Navigation
Random
Search
Compare
Settings
Great Northern (UK) class C1 (small boiler) “Klondykes”
London & North Eastern class C2
Great Britain | 1898
22 produced
Locomotive Magazine, July 1898

Shortly before the turn of the century, Henry Ivatt had the task of developing a new locomotive for the increasing loads of the most important express trains. He had to measure himself against the singles from his predecessor Patrick Stirling, who were still considered excellent and very fast, but no longer powerful enough. Here, for the first time in Great Britain, the wheel arrangement 4-4-2 was used, which originally came from the USA and was known there as “Atlantic”. The difference was that the Atlantic was developed in the US from the 4-4-0 “American” to allow for a larger firebox and smoother running, while in the UK it was a 4-2-2 “Single” with an extra coupled axle

No. 990 “Henry Oakley” at the Doncaster Works Open Day, July 2003
No. 990 “Henry Oakley” at the Doncaster Works Open Day, July 2003
Our Phellap

The class also represented a departure from British tradition in other respects, most notably with its externally mounted cylinders. The class was initially only named after the first machine built with the number 990 and later got the designation C1. To distinguish them from the larger boiler design of 1902, the locomotives are generally known simply as “C1 (small boiler)” or “Small Atlantics”. Because of the American influence, they were also nicknamed “Klondykes” after the Klondike Gold Rush. A single example, number 271, was built in 1902 with four small simple acting cylinders.

Schematic drawing
Schematic drawing
Locomotive Magazine, October 1900

A total of 22 pieces were made. The locomotives easily reached 90 mph, which proved difficult in everyday use on routes such as between London and Doncaster. At some speeds, it was often found that the cylinders were too small to implement the boiler's output. This led to unfavorable valve gear settings during operation, which led to high steam consumption.

In 1909, number 988 was the only one equipped with a superheater according to the Schmidt patent. The boiler pressure was reduced from 175 to 160 psi and in return the cylinder diameter was increased from 19 to 20 inches. From 1914 all other machines were converted with the Robinson superheater. From 1923, the machines were listed as class C2 by the LNER. The decommissioning began as early as 1935 and lasted until 1946. Today only number 990, which was built first, still exists, which bears the name “Henry Oakley” after the former managing director of the Great Northern

VariantproductionsuperheatedNo. 271
General
Built1898-19031909, 1914-19251902
ManufacturerDoncaster
Axle config4-4-2 (Atlantic) 
Gauge4 ft 8 1/2 in (Standard gauge)
Dimensions and Weights
Wheelbase26 ft 4 in26 ft 9 in
Rigid wheelbase6 ft 10 in6 ft 10 1/2 in
Total wheelbase48 ft 3 in
Service weight129,941 lbs134,400 lbs131,600 lbs
Adhesive weight69,548 lbs72,128 lbs73,360 lbs
Total weight221,557 lbs226,016 lbs217,840 lbs
Axle load35,750 lbs37,184 lbs38,080 lbs
Water capacity4,407 us gal
Fuel capacity11,200 lbs (coal)
Boiler
Grate area26.8 sq ft24.5 sq ft
Firebox area140 sq ft137 sq ft140.5 sq ft
Tube heating area1,302 sq ft1,027 sq ft1,162.5 sq ft
Evaporative heating area1,442 sq ft1,164 sq ft1,303 sq ft
Superheater area343 sq ft
Total heating area1,442 sq ft1,507 sq ft1,303 sq ft
VariantproductionsuperheatedNo. 271
Power Plant
Driver diameter78 in
Boiler pressure175 psi170 psi175 psi
Expansion typesimple
Cylinderstwo, 18 3/4 x 24 intwo, 20 x 24 infour, 15 x 20 in
Power
Power sourcesteam
Estimated power800 hp (597 kW)1,050 hp (783 kW)775 hp (578 kW)
Optimal speed32 mph38 mph29 mph
Top speed90 mph
Starting effort16,091 lbf17,785 lbf17,163 lbf
Calculated Values
steam locomotive
express
Henry Alfred Ivatt
last changed: 06/2022
loading...

We use cookies to save the following settings:

  • selected navigation structure
  • selected language
  • preferred units
  • spelling of railway company names

If you refuse the use of cookies, the settings will only be retained for the current session and will be reset to the default values the next time you visit the site.

Display of units

Here you can set the desired unit system for the technical data.

  • Metric: Lengths in meters, weights in tonnes, and volumes in cubic meters
  • Imperial (UK): Lengths in feet/inches, weights in long tons and volumes in imperial gallons
  • Imperial (US): Lengths in feet/inches, weights in pounds, and volumes in US gallons
  • Individual: Depends on the country of origin of each locomotive
Operator names

Here you can set the display of railway company names.

  • Short: Abbreviation or short form of the name
  • Standard: commonly used name, partially translated to English
  • Complete: full name in local language