GNR Stirling 4-2-2

The Great Northern Railway (GNR) No. 1 class Stirling Single is a class of steam locomotive designed for express passenger work. Designed by Patrick Stirling, they are characterised by a single pair of large (8 ft 1 in) driving wheels which led to the nickname ''"eight-footer"''. Originally the locomotive was designed to haul up to 26 passenger carriages at an average speed of . They could reach speeds of up to 85 mph (137 km/h).

Development

On his arrival at GNR, Stirling set out to standardise the railway's rolling stock. He also borrowed a 'single-wheeler' from the Great Eastern Railway and, in 1868, designed two versions of a arrangement with driving wheels.

The outcome in 1870 was a locomotive with driving wheels with outside cylinders, designed specifically for high-speed expresses between York and London. The British norm at the time were inside cylinders. However, not only were there frequent failures of the cranked axle shafts, with such large driving wheels they would have set the boiler too high. Stirling therefore used outside cylinders, with a four-wheeled bogie for lateral stability at the front end. According to Hamilton Ellis's description, entitled 'Pat Stirling's masterpiece,' the design was a version of a 2-2-2 built by Stirling for the Glasgow and South Western Railway, "considerably enlarged, and provided with a leading bogie."

A total of 53 were built at Doncaster Works between 1870 and 1895, often being built in 'pairs' rather than batches. Stirling modified the class as each member was built, adding details and adjusting features on almost every individual locomotive. As a result, there was hardly any standardisation; "whilst each pair were often identical, other members of the class were merely ‘sister' engines, as in many cases changes were instituted between the building of each successive pair."

1870 Series

The prototype engine, No. 1, was built in 1870 but proved to be a poor steamer that suffered from numerous teething troubles, including troublesome balanced slide valves, a blast pipe that was too high, and a firebox that was too small. Within a few weeks, the blastpipe would be adjusted and made standard for the rest of the class, but it would take another 7 years for her firebox to be enlarged. Other No. 1-specific details included 11 splasher slots instead of 10, slide rods with a fishbelly shape, and a special, X-shaped bogie frame.

The next two locomotives were No. 8, built around December 1870, and No. 33, built on 15 March 1871. Learning from No. 1, they featured a boiler with more boiler tubes and a longer wheelbase to carry a larger firebox. Stirling also incorporated experimental water midfeathers in the fireboxes instead of a conventional brick arch, but these do not seem to have been successful, removed some time later.

However, the new firebox and boiler dimensions proved satisfactory and were applied to the next 24 locomotives. Regardless, Stirling still took the time to experiment with different boiler tube and firebox crown dimensions with individual locomotives.

Following the Newark brake trials of 1875 and the Abbots Ripton rail accident in January 1876, the GNR made Smith's simple, non-automatic vacuum brake standard on all its passenger stock, and Nos. 221 and 94 of 1876 were the first members of the class built with the new brake apparatus that consisted of an arrangement of pipes and ejectors wrapping around the smokebox. These two locomotives were also built with better springing for smoother rides, with the trailing wheel diameter increasing from to . All three features became class standard, and the older locomotives would be progressively updated.

1880 Series

No. 1 was due for an overhaul in 1880, and she was once again the prototype for a large redesign of the class. She left the works with a larger boiler of diameter pitched higher above the rails with a pressure of . Bigger frames were also implemented to support the boiler and deal with frame cracking issues. Nos. 662 and 663 would be the first locomotives in the class built to these specifications in 1881.

1881 also introduced a plain, solid splasher design with the completion of No. 664. She also wore a dummy rear sandbox that spanned across the cab to the splasher. From this point on, new locomotives were built with solid splashers and dummy rear sandboxes, and older locomotives would steadily receive dummy rear sandboxes and have their original splasher slots plated up.

Automatic vacuum brake became the new GNR standard brake gear in 1884, which saw the exhaust pipes moving inside the boiler. No. 772 would be the first member of the class to be outshopped with the new brake, and older locomotives would slowly be converted from Smith's non-automatic brake.

No. 775 debuted thicker steel wheel tyres in 1887, which would become standard for the class. Subsequently, the tyres increased all the wheel diameters by as well as the boiler pitch by . Older locomotives received thicker tyres as their older ones wore out. The new tyres, along with heavier steel rails across the network and improved lubrication with new rolling stock, meant less rolling resistance with heavier trains, but at the cost of less adhesion weight.

Between 1882 and 1891, the 1870 Series engines would be progressively rebuilt to these new dimensions and become part of the 1880 Series.

1894 Series

By 1890, the Stirling Singles were pushed to their limits. Train loads had only been growing with every passing year, and the GNR was transitioning to bogie passenger stock. As Locomotive Superintendent, Stirling refused to permit double heading for the longest time, pursuing a "one engine-one train" policy instead. Unfortunately, Stirling's engines were beginning to lose their punctual reputation, and a Stirling Single reliably hauling over 200 tons would heavily depend on good weather and experienced drivers.

Nevertheless, Stirling was adamant that he could improve his Stirling Singles to handle the ever-increasing train loads—without needing to double head. And so, work began on designing and constructing an enlarged Stirling Single. Unfortunately, the new locomotives would not be ready in time for the 1894 summer timetable, forcing Stirling to bow to double heading and standardise front brake pipes on all GNR locomotives.

No. 1003 was the first member of the new batch outshopped on 19 November 1894, and Nos. 1004-1008 were progressively completed across 1895. These new locomotives featured bigger cylinders, though No. 1008's were as a short-lived experiment. The wheelbase between the driving and trailing wheels was elongated while the boiler shortened to accommodate a bigger firebox. The boiler itself was pitched higher, and the boiler pressure increased to . However, the most notable improvement was a new cab shape with an overhanging roof: "the side sheet of the cab had an 8in. cut-away at waist level, curving upwards and rearwards, leaving the cab roof at the original length proposed." All of these modifications were exclusive to the 1003 Series alone, and no older locomotives would be upgraded to these specs.

Following two accidents in 1895 and 1896, both involving members of this batch, Henry Ivatt (who had recently become Locomotive Engineer in 1895) reduced all the Stirling Singles' adhesion weights. With the 1003 Series, this also included a drop in boiler pressure to .

Ivatt Rebuilds

One of the first things Ivatt did after becoming Locomotive Engineer was to attempt to create a new boiler design for the Stirling Singles that featured a dome and a larger firebox grate. Eight boilers were built, and as experiments, each was quite different. Each boiler was fitted to Nos. 93, 776, 544, 95, 34, 22, 221, and 1007 across 1896 to 1907, when each engine entered the works for overhaul. Ivatt also used these engines as an opportunity to experiment with various other features, such as different cab shapes, cab layouts, and safety valves.

On a more conventional note, Ivatt also built nine "quasi-Stirling" boilers. They were essentially identical to Stirling's original 1880 Series boiler design, except modernised with washout plugs and an upgraded boiler pressure of . No. 1 received one of these boilers in 1925 and has carried it to this day.

As the Stirling smokebox doors wore out, some locomotives received Ivatt doors instead.

No. 548 became the vessel for Ivatt's various spark arrester experiments. Beginning in March 1901, her smokebox was extended so she could receive her first " G.W.R. pattern" spark arrester. No improvements were shown, and a Dugald Drummond-patented arrester took its place in November 1901. However, this actually decreased the locomotive's performance, so it was removed about a month later. No. 548 would be left alone for another year before the GWR arrester was reinstalled. Despite not catching any more sparks than usual and instead causing steaming issues, No. 548 would carry the arrester to withdrawal.

Classification and numbering

For the longest time, the GNR never used any official classification. The Stirling Singles in particular were called Bogie Singles, Bogie Express Locomotives, 8 ft Singles, 8-foot Types, 8-footers, 4-2-2 Singles, and many other names. However, there does not seem to be an official method used to distinguish each design from the other pre-1900.

In 1900, Ivatt introduced an official classification scheme to the GNR, which classified the 1894 Series as class A1, the 1880 Series class A2, and domed locomotives class A3. By this point, all the 1870 Series locomotives had been rebuilt as 1880 Series locomotives.

In 1910, George Frederick Bird published ''The Locomotives of the Great Northern Railway 1847–1910''. Here, Nos. 1-671 (1870-1883) were designated G, Nos. 771-1002 (1884-1893) G2, and Nos. 1003-1008 (1894-1895) G3. Although it does not seem like this was officially used by the GNR, Bird’s system was most likely based on the labels of the drawers that Doncaster Works kept their drawings for each GNR engine in. His classification has been used in other sources, but it does not appear to have been used officially by the GNR. A major flaw in Bird’s work is that he classified Nos. 662-671 as G, claiming they were the same design as the original 1870 Series with boilers. However, Nos. 662-671 were actually the first locomotives to be built with the 1880 Series' bigger boiler and should be given the G2 classification. Whether this is a mistake on Bird’s part or Doncaster Works’ is unknown.

Finally, The Great Northern Railway Society has sorted each of the Stirling Single designs on their website by their respective number series. The 1870 Series is labelled the No. 1 Series, the 1880 Series the 662 Series, and the 1894 Series the 1003 Class.

The GNR did not number its locomotives sequentially, instead using numbers freed up by withdrawing older locomotives. Thus the 1870 series was numbered GNR Nos. 1, 8, 33, 2, 3, 5, 7, 22, 48, 34, 47, 53, 62, 221, 94, 69, 98, 544-549, 60, 550, 93, 95; the 1880 series 662-671, 771-778, and 1001-2; and 1894 series 1003-8.

Performance

These locomotives were able to haul trains at an average of , with a top speed on lighter trains of . When taking part in the 1895 Race to the North, GNR Stirling No. 775 made the from Grantham to York in 1 hour 16 minutes. This translates to an average speed of .

Members of the 1894 series were originally built weighing but following two high-speed derailments in 1895/6 the weight was reduced by 1% to .

Accidents and incidents

*On 21 January 1876, a Stirling Single pulling the Flying Scotsman rear-ended a coal train at Abbots Ripton after a signal, weighed down by snow, failed to warn that the line was blocked. Another express travelling in the opposite direction soon collided with the wreckage, which caused most of the 13 deaths and 59 injuries that occurred.
*On 10 November 1895, an overnight Scottish express hauled by locomotive No. 1006 derailed at St Neots when it encountered a broken rail. One person was killed. The accident report by Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate commented on the abnormally heavy axle loading of the locomotive: nearly 20 tons on the driving axle.
*On 7 March 1896, a passenger train hauled by locomotive No. 1003 was derailed at Little Bytham, Lincolnshire due to the premature removal of a speed restriction after track renewal. Two people were killed.

Withdrawal and preservation

With the arrival of the Ivatt Atlantics after 1898, the class started being displaced from the most prestigious express services, and withdrawals of the 1870 series began in 1899. The last examples of the class were in use on secondary services until 1916.

The first of the class, No. 1 is the only engine to be preserved. It is exhibited at the National Railway Museum, York. It was restored to running order during the 1930s for the fiftieth anniversary of the Race to the North and steamed again during the 1980s.

The locomotive remains in good mechanical condition, though it has not steamed since 1985. It was used recently to act as a centrepiece in York Theatre Royal's performance of The Railway Children play, in which it was seen to move into a stage set of a period station, created initially at the National Railway Museum in 2008-9, and then in the redundant Waterloo International railway station in 2010-11. For the later Toronto and Kings Cross performances, LSWR T3 class No. 563 was used instead.

The locomotive appeared to be in steam for its 'performances' but was not, using fog machine-generated smoke to mimic escaping steam while being shunted during the performance using a British Rail Class 08 shunter that was hidden from the main stage.

Modelling

An 18-inch minimum gauge model of No. 1 was built in 1898, at the Regent Street Polytechnic, from a set of parts supplied by W. G. Bagnall. Amongst the students at Regent Street who worked on the model was Henry Greenly who later became a celebrated miniature locomotive builder and supplied locomotives for the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway. The locomotive was initially sold to Mr. E.F.S. Notter, the Great Northern Railway District Locomotive Superintendent at Kings Cross, who between 1910 and 1914 operated it at Alexander Park (London) and later kept it in King Cross 'Top Shed', the home of the full size Stirling Singles. In 1926 this locomotive was bought by the Fairbourne Miniature Railway and in 1936 it was sold to the Jaywick Miniature Railway, which ran it until 1939. It then passed through the hands of a number of private owners until it was bought by the World of Country Life Museum at Sandy Bay, Exmouth, Devon, in 1986.

Bagnall had earlier in 1893 supplied a similar model (works number 1425) to Lord Downshire of Easthampstead Park, Crowthorne Berkshire. This engine was later preserved by Mr Hoare in the Boys Reading Room at the Training Ship ''Mercury'' at Hamble. It was subsequently sold to a private owner in Southampton in 1946. Its current whereabouts is unknown.

Nuremberg toymaker Georges Carette's range included a 2.5 inch-gauge model of Stirling Single 776, in around 1900. It was marketed in the UK by Bassett-Lowke, appearing in their 1904 catalogue.

An unpowered 5-inch gauge model of a Stirling Single locomotive, engineered by Dennis Hefford, is on display at the entrance to Arch Two of Brighton Toy and Model Museum.

A 1/12 scale model of No. 93, built by 'R Jackson' around 1888, is displayed at Worthing Museum and Art Gallery.

Kitmaster produced an injection moulded plastic kit of the Stirling Single in the 1950s. David Boyle, founder of Dapol Model Railways, recalls seeing the moulds being destroyed in the early 1980s, leading him to purchase the tooling for and reissue the remaining Kitmaster kits.

Aster Hobby introduced Gauge1 live steam model in 1996.

In April 2015, Rapido Trains announced that a forthcoming OO gauge model would be exclusively available from Locomotion Models.

In fiction

*Emily (Thomas & Friends), Emily from ''Thomas & Friends'' is based on this class.

Notes

References

* {{cite book , last=Groves , first=Norman , title=Great Northern Locomotive History: Volume 2 1867-95 The Stirling Era , year=1987 , publisher=Railway Correspondence and Travel Society, RCTS , isbn=0-901115-62-2
* Herring, P., (2000) ''Classic British Steam Locomotives'' Leicester: Abbeydale Press

External links

Stirling Single No 1 at the National Railway Museum

Photo of GNR No. 544 taken around 1900

4-2-2 locomotives
Great Northern Railway (Great Britain) locomotives, A1-3 class
Railway locomotives introduced in 1870
Standard-gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain
Passenger locomotives