#1684

GCR Class 1B

Great Britain ·built by Gorton Works· from 1914· class of 20 British 2-6-4T locomotives, later LNER class L1, then L3

what is it?

The GCR Class 1B was a class of 2-6-4T locomotives on the Great Central Railway. They were notable as the first locomotives of the 2-6-4T (or Adriatic) wheel arrangement to be used by a British standard-gauge railway; there had been two narrow-gauge examples on the Leek & Manifold Valley Light Railway since 1904.

who runs it

Great Central Railway London and North Eastern Railway British Rail Eastern Region of British Railways

base stats

built 20made in total

Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.

fun facts

First built 112 years ago, in 1914.
14 m long: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
Served for 41 years (1914–1955).

steam locomotive: Burns coal, wood or oil to boil water; the steam drives pistons that turn the wheels.

spec sheet

built: 1914–1917
in service from: 1914
retired: 1955
status: retired
number built: 20
kind: Steam
traction: steam
origin: Great Britain
builders: Gorton Works
designer: John G. Robinson
operators: Great Central Railway, London and North Eastern Railway, British Rail, Eastern Region of British Railways
top speed: —
power: —
wheel arrangement: 2-6-4
length: 14 m
nicknames: Crabs

From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q5513020, Wikipedia: GCR Class 1B (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.