The GCR Class 9Q, classified B7 by the

LNER LNER or L.N.E.R. may refer to: *London and North Eastern Railway (1923–1947), a former railway company in the United Kingdom *London North Eastern Railway (2018–), a train operating company in the United Kingdom * Liquid neutral earthing resi ...

, was a class of

4-6-0 A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abs ...

mixed traffic locomotives designed by

John G. Robinson John George Robinson CBE, (30 July 1856 – 7 December 1943) was an English railway engineer, and was chief mechanical engineer of the Great Central Railway from 1900 to 1922. Early life Born at Newcastle upon Tyne, the second son of Matthew Robi ...

for fast goods, relief passenger and excursion services on 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 ...

. They were a smaller wheeled version of Robinson's earlier Class 9P "''Lord Faringdon''" express passenger class (LNER Class B3).

History

GCR locomotives

The GCR built two batches at Gorton locomotive works, during 1921 and 1922, and they also ordered batches from

Vulcan Foundry The Vulcan Foundry Limited was an English locomotive builder sited at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire (now Merseyside). History The Vulcan Foundry opened in 1832, as Charles Tayleur and Company to produce girders for bridges, switches, crossi ...

and the

Beyer, Peacock and Company Beyer, Peacock and Company was an English general engineering company and railway locomotive manufacturer with a factory in Openshaw, Manchester. Charles Beyer, Richard Peacock and Henry Robertson founded the company in 1854. The company clo ...

. Twenty eight locomotives had been delivered by

Grouping Grouping generally refers to the creation of one or more groups, or to the groups themselves. More specifically, grouping may refer to: * Shot grouping in shooting sports and other uses of firearms * the use of symbols of grouping in mathemati ...

in 1923. The GCR found that they were rather heavy on coal - this led to their nickname of "Black Pigs" - although not much worse than other 4 cylinder designs of the time. They were also remarkably quick to say that they had only 5ft 8in wheels and often pulled heavy expresses in the early period of their career.

LNER locomotives

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 ...

(LNER) ordered a fifth batch of ten locomotives from Gorton works and these were delivered between August 1923 and March 1924.

Sub-classes

The last batch had reduced boiler mountings and detail differences to the cab to conform to the new LNER

loading gauge A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and k ...

. These were classified B7/2. The earlier batches were classified B7/1. Thirty-eight locomotives passed to

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 1948, but withdrawal began soon afterwards. Some locomotives surviving in 1949 were renumbered between 61702 and 61713 to make more room for Thompson Class B1 locomotives then under construction.

Preservation

None have been preserved.

Numbering

References

* 09Q 4-6-0 locomotives 2′C h4 locomotives Beyer, Peacock locomotives Vulcan Foundry locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1921 Standard-gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain Great Central Railway 4-6-0s {{England-steam-loco-stub