GCR Class 9N explained

Powertype:	Steam
GCR Class 9N LNER Class A5
Designer:	John G. Robinson
Serialnumber:	HL: 3616–3628
Builddate:	1911–1926
Totalproduction:	44
Whytetype:	4-6-2T
Uicclass:	2′C1′ h2t
Leadingdiameter:	3feet
Driverdiameter:	5feet
Trailingdiameter:	3feet
Length:	42feet
Locoweight:	A5/1: 85.9LT A5/2: 90.55LT
Fueltype:	Coal
Fuelcap:	4.15LT
Watercap:	2280impgal
Boilerpressure:	1802NaN2
Cylindercount:	Two, inside
Cylindersize:	20x
Valvegear:	Stephenson
Valvetype:	100NaN0 piston valves
Tractiveeffort:	237501NaN1
Powerclass:	BR: 4P, 3P from May 1953
Axleloadclass:	LNER/BR: Route Availability 5
Withdrawndate:	1942, 1957–1961
Disposition:	All scrapped

The Great Central Railway Class 9N, classified A5 by the LNER, was a class of 4-6-2 tank locomotives designed by John G. Robinson for suburban passenger services. They were fitted with superheaters, piston valves and Stephenson valve gear.

Construction and numbering

The GCR built 21 locomotives at Gorton Works in three batches between 1911 and 1917. They ordered a fourth batch of ten from Gorton, but this was not built until after the 1923 Grouping, under which GCR became part of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). The LNER then ordered a fifth batch of 13 to a modified design, incorporating reduced boiler mountings and detail differences, and these were built by the outside contractors Hawthorn, Leslie & Co. during 1925–26 (works numbers 3616–28).

Year	GCR Nos.	LNER Nos.	LNER 1946 Nos.
1911	165–170, 23–24, 447–448	5165–70, 5023–24, 5447–48	9800–07, –, 9808
1912	449–452, 128–129	5449–5452, 5128–5129	9809–9814
1917	371–374, 411	5371–5374, 5411	9815–9819
1923	3, 6, 7, 30, 45, 46, 88, 154, 156, 158	5003, 5006, 5007, 5030, 5045, 5046, 5088, 5154, 5156, 5158	9820–9829
1925–26	—	1712/19, 1738, 1750/56, 1760/66–68, 1771, 1782/84, 1790	9830–9842

No. 5447 was withdrawn in 1942 because its frames were badly cracked. In 1943, the remaining engines were allocated new numbers in the 9800–42 block, but these were not applied until 1946. Forty-three locomotives passed to British Railways in 1948, and between 1948 and 1951 their numbers were increased by 60000. The class was divided into two parts in December 1948 as follows:

• A5/1, 69800-69829: Built at Gorton to Robinson's design
• A5/2, 69830-69842: Built by Hawthorn, Leslie with modifications by Gresley

None have been preserved.

Table of withdrawals! Year !! Quantity in
service at
start of year !! Quantity
withdrawn !! Locomotive numbers

1942	44	1	align=left	5447
1957	43	2	align=left	69815/33
1958	41	23	align=left	69802/04/07/10–11/18–19/22/24/26/28/30–32/34–42
1959	18	8	align=left	69800/03/05/09/12/16/25/27
1960	10	10	align=left	69801/06/08/13–14/17/20–21/23/29

Modelling

A 7 mm scale kit is available from MSC models.^[1]

In 2023, Sonic Models released a ready-to-run OO scale model in GCR, LNER, and BR variants.^[2]

Further reading

• Ian Allan ABC of British Railways Locomotives, 1948 edition, part 4, page 55.

External links

• The Robinson A5 (GCR Class 9N) Pacific Tank Locomotives
• Class A5/1 Details at Rail UK
• Class A5/2 Details at Rail UK

Notes and References

1. Web site: MSC models GCR/LNER/BR Robinson A5 4-6-2T . 21 April 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110719225110/http://www.mscmodels.co.uk/products/locos/a5/a5-info.htm . 19 July 2011 . dead .
2. Web site: Rails of Sheffield 'SONIC ANNOUNCE OO ROBINSON LNER CLASS A5' Posted by Oliver Davies on August 11, 2021 . 11 August 2021 .