John George Robinson CBE, (30 July 1856 – 7 December 1943) was an English railway engineer, and was

chief mechanical engineer Chief mechanical engineer and locomotive superintendent are titles applied by British, Australian, and New Zealand railway companies to the person ultimately responsible to the board of the company for the building and maintaining of the locomotive ...

of the

Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its Great Central Main Line, London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company ...

from 1900 to 1922.

Early life

Born at Newcastle upon Tyne, the second son of Matthew Robinson, a locomotive engineer, and his wife Jane, Robinson was educated at the Chester Grammar School, and in 1872 commenced an

engineering apprentice An engineering apprenticeship in the United Kingdom is an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering or electrical engineering or aeronautical engineering to train craftsmen, technicians, senior technicians, Incorporated Engineers and Chartered Eng ...

ship with the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

Swindon Works Swindon Works was opened by the Great Western Railway in 1843 in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It served as the principal west England maintenance centre until closed in 1986. History In 1835, Parliament approved the construction of the Great ...

, as a pupil of Joseph Armstrong. In 1878 he became assistant to his father Matthew Robinson at

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, and in 1884 joined the Waterford and Limerick Railway (which became the Waterford, Limerick and Western Railway in 1896) as their locomotive, carriage and wagon assistant superintendent. He was promoted to superintendent the following year.

Great Central Railway

In 1900 Robinson joined the

as locomotive and marine superintendent and in 1902 was appointed chief mechanical engineer. He remained in that post until 1922, when prior to the Great Central's grouping into the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after London, Midland and Scottish Railway, LMS) of the "Big Four (British railway companies), Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It ope ...

he declined the post of chief mechanical engineer of the LNER, choosing instead to step aside for the younger

Nigel Gresley Sir Herbert Nigel Gresley (19 June 1876 – 5 April 1941) was a British railway engineer. He was one of Britain's most famous steam locomotive engineers, who rose to become Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London and North Eastern Rail ...

. Robinson was awarded a CBE in 1920. Robinson's first passenger

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

design for the GCR was Class 11B (LNER Class D9) 4-4-0, of which 40 were built between 1901 and 1904, the last being withdrawn by

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commis ...

in 1950. Robinson followed in 1913 with the larger Class 11E (LNER D10) "Director" Class 4-4-0 locomotive, which was used on GCR express trains from

London Marylebone Marylebone station ( ) is a London station group, Central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the Marylebone area of the City of Westminster. On the National Rail network, it is also known as London Marylebone a ...

to Sheffield Victoria and Manchester London Road. Ten were built, followed by eleven "Improved Director" ( GCR Class 11F, LNER Class D11) locomotives during 1920–1924. Robinson's famous GCR Class 8K

2-8-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. ...

heavy freight locomotive was introduced in 1911 and many more were built for the Railway Operating Division of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

in 1917. Some of these reliable locomotives, of which over 400 were built, remained in service with the LNER and later British Railways until 1966.

Locomotive classes credited to Robinson

Waterford and Limerick Railway

Great Central Railway

Preserved Robinson locomotives

Two Robinson-designed locomotives are preserved in the UK: * 4-4-0 ''Improved Director'' GCR Class 11F No. 506 '' Butler–Henderson'' (Later BR No. 62660), which is preserved at the

National Railway Museum The National Railway Museum (NRM) is a museum in York, England, forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historical ...

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, and currently on display at Barrow Hill Roundhouse, near Chesterfield, Derbyshire * 2-8-0 GCR Class 8K No. 102 (Later BR No. 63601), also owned by the National Railway Museum is on loan to the Great Central Railway (preserved) at

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...

. It is currently (2008) operational and used on demonstration goods trains. Three Robinson-designed locomotives are preserved in Australia * 2-8-0 ROD ROD 1984 (later J & A Brown No. 20) preserved by the Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum * 2-8-0 ROD ROD 2003 (later J & A Brown No. 24) this loco was actually built by the GCR at Gorton Works and is preserved by the Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum * 2-8-0 ROD ROD 2004 (later J & A Brown No. 23) this loco was actually built by the GCR at Gorton Works and is preserved by the Richmond Vale Railway Museum

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

: Robinson, John George by George W. Carpenter

External links

Robinson 2-8-0

John G. Robinson
at www.lner.info

at steamindex.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, John George 1856 births 1943 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Locomotive builders and designers English railway mechanical engineers Great Central Railway people People educated at Chester City Grammar School