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History

This part of our website is devoted to useful information and articles. Download as many as you wish! We hope that you find them useful.

Many of the informative historical items here have been collated from articles and supplements published in "The Engineer" or "Engineering" periodicals since the 1850's. Public domain copies of these periodicals are available at Graces Guide

Please note that Instructions for our products can be found in the product description . 

GER 1903 Works, Stratford
GREAT EASTERN WORKS AT STRATFORD. The Great Eastern Railway Company's works adjoin the station at Stratford. It is the nearest railway works the metropolis, and therefore much the easiest of access to members of the conference, who will no doubt find much to interest them. The enterprise of Mr. Holden and his assistants is well known, and the engines turned out from these works are of the highest quality. Among the latest productions may be mentioned the huge decapod, as everyone calls it, which w..
GNR 1864 Steam Tender (Sturrock)
STURROCK’S LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND TENDERS. (1864) This controversial invention was the subject of much acrimony and discussion at the time. The tenders were converted into ordinary usage at a later date. ”The main object of this invention, by Archibald Sturrock, Locomotive Superintendent of the Great Northern Railway Doncaster, is to utilise the adhesion derived from the weight of the tender as a power to propel the train in addition to that of the engine proper instead of the engine, as u..
GNR 1867 Express Engine
GREAT NORTHERN EXPRESS ENGINES, CONSTRUCTED BY MESSRS. JOHN FOWLER AND CO., ENGINEERS, LEEDS. In the accompanying engraving we give a side elevation and sectional plan of one of the engines recently supplied to the Great Northern Railway Company, by Messrs, J. Fowler and Co., Leeds, which arc specially designed for running the heavy express trains on that line of railway. These engines have recently completed the journey from King's Cross to Peterborough, a distance of seventy- seven miles, in one ho..
GNR 1868 Express Engine
These early engines show the distinctive style brought by P. Stirling from the G&SWR. "Our two page engraving this week comprises a longitudinal section and half sectional plan of one of the fine passenger locomotives used for working the express traffic on the Great Northern Railway from Manchester and Leeds to London. Other views of this engine are also given on the present and opposite pages. The engine has inside cylinders 17 in. in diameter, with 2ft. stroke, and a single pair of driving wh..
GNR 1868 Goods engine
This early engine shows the distinctive style brought by P. Stirling from the G&SWR. "GOODS ENGINES FOR THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY. These engines were constructed by Messrs. John Fowler and Co., at their works, Leeds, from the design of P. Stirling, Esq., of Doncaster, engineer to the company. The cylinders are 17in. diameter, with a. stroke of 24in. The six coupled wheels are 5ft. lin. diameter. The total wheel base of the engine is 15ft. 6in. The boiler and fire-box casing are mad..
GNR 1870 Kings Cross Roof
NEW ROOF OF PASSENGER STATION, GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY, KING'S CROSS. MR. RICHARD JOHNSON, M. INST. C.E., ENGINEER-IN-CHIEF. The following is an abstract of a paper read by Mr. R. M. Bancroft before the Civil and Mechanical Engineers’ Society, at a meeting held on the 8th of December, 1869. The Great Northern passenger terminal station at King's Cross was opened to public traffic in 185*2, and its roof constructed during the two previous years, and was at the time a work which created..
GNR 1871 Express Engine
Reported in both "Engineering" and "The Engineer" The famous Stirling Single, an example of which is preserved at the National Railway Museum. "EXPRESS LOCOMOTIVE; G. N. R. The Great Northern Railway is so noted for its heavy and fast passenger trains that the engines employed to work those trains have a special interest for locomotive engineers. The express tralfic of the Great Northern line necessiitates the running of trains consisting of from 15 to 26 carriages from Kin..
GNR 1871 Goods Engine
By 1871 The distinctive Stirling style had developed into a readily recognisable austere outline. The simple cab has a rear cutout. Pipework and springs are kept out of sight. "GOODS LOCOMOTIVE. We are enabled this week, by the courtesy of Mr. Patrick Stirling, to lay before our readers engravings illustrating the latest type of six-coupled goods locomotive introduced on the Great Northern Railway for working the heavy coal traffic on that line. The engine, which was constructed at Doncaster, w..
GNR 1875 Carriage Cleaning Device
On Tuesday morning, last week some private experiments took place near the running sheds of the Great Northern Railway, King’s-cross, with some machinery just erected there for cleaning railway carriages by mechanical means invented by the Earl of Caithness. The invention consists essentially of two large vertical brushes driven by a little steam engine; a number of dirty carriages making up a train of any length is passed slowly between these revolving brushes; water is thrown upon the side of eac..
GNR 1882 Open Goods Wagon, 9 ton
"550 NINE-TON GOODS WAGONS -- GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY. The Great Northern Railway Company invites tenders for 550 goods wagons. The accompanying engraving illustrates their construction. The following is a copy of the specification. The general arrangement of the wagon is shown in the engravings above. The body to be 15ft. long by 7ft 6in. wide outside, and 3ft. deep inside exclusive of  ½ in. coping iron; to be carried on four wheels, 3ft. 2 ½ in. diameter at centre of tread, plac..
GNR 1892 Express Engine
EXPRESS LOCOMOTIVE, GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY It is not to be supposed that the Great Northern express traffic is worked entirely by the outside-cylinder engines, which have already been illustrated in our pages, albeit Mr, Stirling’s engines with 8ft. drivers have earned a worldwide reputation. For many years inside-cylinder engines have played an important part on the line, and Mr. Stirling has found it worthwhile to perpetuate this type. Our supplement this week illustrates, through the courtesy of..
GNR 1892 The Great Northern Works, Doncaster
This is a first hand account of a visit to the Great Northern Railway (GNR)  works at Doncaster in 1892. It contains many items of interest to GNR enthusiasts including plans, photographs and descriptions of the rolling stock. Due to the size of this document it is split into several parts to minimise server load.   "THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY WORKS, DONCASTER. THE Great Northern, as we now know it, dates from 1844, when the railway mania was at its height. several projects for effec..
GNR 1900 Express Engine
MR. IVATT’S NEWEST GREAT NORTHERN ENGINES. By CHARLES Rous-MARTEN. It has fallen to my lot to describe in these columns several important improvements effected or new departures taken by .Mr. H. A. Ivatt since he assumed the locomotive superintendency of the Great Northern Railway on the lamented death of his eminent predecessor, Mr. Patrick Stirling, in 1K96. I have set forth successively how, beginning with the re-building of the late Mr. Stirling’s famous single-wheelers, in such sort..
GNR 1900 Leeds Branch (Hunslet Railway)
THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY NEW BRANCH LINE AND GOODS STATION AT LEEDS.  (1900) It was in the session of 1893 that this branch line, which we shall proceed to describe and illustrate in the present and some succeeding articles, received the sanction of Parliament under the title of the "Hunslet Railway". In the following year, however, by virtue of the additional powers conferred upon the Great Northern Line, arrangements were entered into which ultimately caused it to become the proper..
GNR 1900 Nottingham Extension
GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY NEW RAILWAY AT NOTTINGHAM.(1900)  By R. F. Bennett, Construction Department, G.N.R.    Some important works have been recently completed by the Great Northern Railway Company at Nottingham, by Mr. A. Ross, M. Inst. C.E., chief engineer to the company, a description of which will probably interest our readers. In the year 1892 the Great Central Railway Company then the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway Company applied to Parliament for powers to make ..