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For other uses, see Great Central.
Not to be confused with Grand Central Railway. Background Grand Central operate three return trips per day between the north-east of England and the capital city London along the East Coast Main Line

The Great Central Railway (GCR) was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension (See Great Central Main Line). England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The Manchester Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR was formed by amalgamation in 1847 Year 1897 ( MDCCCXCVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Year 1899 ( MDCCCXCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common History In 1864 Sir Edward Watkin took over directorship of the Manchester Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway. History In 1864 Sir Edward Watkin took over directorship of the Manchester Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway. In 1922 it was grouped into the London and North Eastern Railway. Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The Railways Act of 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being The Nowadays, only a small parts of the line in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire are preserved, see Great Central Railway (preserved). Not to be confused with the modern day train operating company Grand Central Railway see Great Central Main Line for full route of original railway

Contents

History

The new GCR

Upon assuming its new title, the GCR main line ran from Manchester London Road Station via Penistone, Sheffield, Brigg and Grimsby to Cleethorpes. Manchester Piccadilly station, known locally as just Piccadilly, is the principal railway station of Manchester in England. Penistone railway station is a Railway station in Penistone, in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England. Sheffield Victoria was the main Sheffield Railway station on the Great Central Railway, between Chesterfield and Penistone. Brigg railway station serves the town of Brigg in North Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby Town railway station serves the town of Grimsby in North East Lincolnshire, England. Cleethorpes railway station is a rail terminus serving the town of Cleethorpes in North East Lincolnshire. A second line left the aforementioned line at Penistone and served Barnsley, Doncaster and Scunthorpe before rejoining the Grimsby line at Barnetby. Barnsley Interchange (formerly Barnsley Exchange Station lies in the centre of the town of Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England. Doncaster railway station serves the town of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, England. Scunthorpe railway station serves the town of Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire, England. Barnetby railway station serves the village of Barnetby-le-Wold in North Lincolnshire. Other lines linked Sheffield to Barnsley (via Chapeltown) and Doncaster (via Rotherham and also a line linking Lincoln and Wrawby Junction. The Chapeltown railway station, originally known as Chapeltown South, is in Chapeltown, a district of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England Rotherham Central railway station is in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. Lincoln railway station serves the city of Lincoln in Lincolnshire, England. Branch lines in north Lincolnshire ran to Barton-upon-Humber and New Holland and served ironstone quarries in the Scunthorpe area. Barton-upon-Humber or Barton is a small town in North Lincolnshire, England located on the south bank of the River Humber, and at the end of New Holland is a small village and Port on the Humber estuary in North Lincolnshire, England. In the Manchester area lines ran to Stalybridge and Glossop. Stalybridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England Glossop is a small Market town within the High Peak borough of Derbyshire, England.

In the 1890's the MS&LR began construction of its "Derbyshire Lines", in effect the first part of its push southwards. Leaving its east - west main line at Beighton Junction, some 5 1/2 miles east of Sheffield, the line headed towards Nottingham, a golden opportunity to tap into the collieries in the north of county before reaching that city. A loop line was built to serve its new Central Station in Chesterfield. Chesterfield Central was a railway station in the town of Chesterfield, Derbyshire. Chesterfield railway station is a medium-sized Railway station, 12 miles (20km south of Sheffield railway station and to the east of Chesterfield,

The "London Extension"

The MS&LR had obtained Parliamentary approval in 1893 for its so-called Extension to London. An Act of Parliament is a Law enacted as Primary legislation by a national or sub-national Parliament. On 1 August 1897 the original name of the railway was changed to become the Great Central Railway. Events 30 BC - Octavian (later known as Augustus enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Year 1897 ( MDCCCXCVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Building work started in 1895: the new line, some 92 miles (147km) in length, opened for coal traffic on 25 July 1898; for passenger traffic on 15 March 1899, and for goods traffic on 11 April 1899. Events 285 - Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar, co-ruler Year 1898 ( MDCCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 44 BC - Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Year 1899 ( MDCCCXCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 491 - Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine Emperor, with the name of Anastasius I. Year 1899 ( MDCCCXCIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

Marylebone station frontage
Marylebone station frontage

The new line was built from Annesley in Nottinghamshire to join the existing Metropolitan Railway (MetR) Extension at Quainton Road, where the line became joint MetR/GCR owned (after 1903), to return to GCR metals at near Finchley Road for the final section to Marylebone. Annesley is a village and Civil parish in the Ashfield district of Nottinghamshire, England, between Hucknall and Kirkby-in-Ashfield Nottinghamshire (abbreviated Notts) is an English county in the East Midlands, which borders South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire The Metropolitan Railway (MetR and the Metropolitan District Railway (District were the first two underground railways to be built in London, creating the world's Quainton Road is a station closed to scheduled passenger services on the freight-only line from Aylesbury to Claydon (LNE Junction and Bicester. Finchley Road tube station is a London Underground station at the corner of Finchley Road and Canfield Gardens in the London Borough of Camden, Marylebone station or London Marylebone station is a National Rail and London Underground station in central London, England. In 1903, the new rails were laid down parallel to the Metropolitan Railway from Harrow to the junction north of Finchley Road, enabling more traffic entering/leaving Marylebone. On 2 April 1906 an "Alternative Route" or "alternative main line", running from Grendon Underwood Junction to Neasden was opened. Events 68 - Galba, Governor of Hispania, names himself legatus senatus populique Romani, breaking the line of Year 1906 ( MCMVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Grendon Underwood is a Village and is also a Civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. Neasden Junction is a railway junction in Neasden, London. This is where the mainline from Marylebone diverges into two main lines the Chiltern The line was joint GCR/GWR between Ashenden Junction and Northolt Junction. The Great Western Railway ( GWR) was a British railway company and a notable example of Civil engineering, linking London with the West Ashenden Junction was where the Great Central Railway left the route between Princes Risborough and Bicester — currently operated by Chiltern Railways South Ruislip is a station served by London Underground and Chiltern Railways in Ruislip in west Greater London. The line was built to increase traffic on the GCR due to capacity constraints on the Metropolitan Extension. It was also built due to various disagreements between the MetR and GCR after the resignation of Sir Edward Watkins from both companies. He resigned due to poor health. Ironically by the time the new line was built, the two companies sorted out their differences.

It was the last complete mainline railway to be built in Britain until section one of High Speed 1 opened in 2003. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. It was also one of the shortest-lived intercity railway lines, Expresses from London to destinations beyond Nottingham were withdrawn in 1960, and the line was completely closed to passenger trains between Aylesbury and Rugby Central in 1966, leaving villages such as Woodford Halse without a railway. InterCity (commonly abbreviated IC on timetables and tickets is the classification applied to certain long-distance Passenger train services in Woodford Halse is a Village in the Daventry district of Northamptonshire in England, and is situated about 10 miles (16 km south-west of A Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) shuttle service ran between Rugby Central and Nottingham (Arkwright Street) until it was also withdrawn in 1969.

Currently Chiltern Railways uses the lines south of Aylesbury for local services into London, and uses the Alternative Route south of Haddenham and the widened lines south of Neasden as the southern part of its intercity main line from Birmingham to London. Chiltern Railways is a train operating company in England. It was formed by the Privatisation of British Rail in 1996 and operates mainline passenger

Other new lines

Joint working

Apart from the three branches in the Liverpool area noted above, the GCR lines proper in the north of England were all east of Manchester. The Wrexham Mold and Connah's Quay Railway (WMCQR was incorporated on 7 August 1862 to build a line from Wrexham to Buckley. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1905 ( MCMV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting The North Wales and Liverpool Railway (NWLR was the name given to the joint committee formed to construct a railway between Bidston, on the Wirral Railway and New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1906 ( MCMVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting The North Lindsey Light Railway was a Railway in North Lincolnshire. Scunthorpe is a town within North Lincolnshire, England. It is the administrative centre of the North Lincolnshire Unitary authority Whitton is an English Village of about 170 inhabitants in North Lincolnshire. Events 800 - Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo III in the Vatican Year 1910 ( MCMX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Nevertheless, GCR trains could run from coast to coast by means of joint working with other railways. The largest of those utilized in this way were those under the Cheshire Lines Committee: the other participants were the Midland Railway and the Great Northern Railway, taking in both Liverpool and Southport. The Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC was the second largest Joint railway in Great Britain The Midland Railway (MR was a Railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed from 1844 to 1922 when it became part of the London Midland and Scottish The Great Northern Railway (GNR was a British railway company established by the London & York Railway Act of 1846 Southport is a seaside town on the Irish Sea coast situated within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in England, UK. Other joint undertakings were (west to east):

Key Officers

For those in position prior to 1899, dates are as served for the MS&LR. The Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJ&AR was a suburban railway which operated a 13 The Oldham Ashton and Guide Bridge Junction Railway was an early British railway company which opened in 1861 connecting Oldham, Ashton and Guide The Macclesfield Bollington and Marple Railway (MB&MR was a railway line 16 km long linking Macclesfield with Marple in east Cheshire, England Hayfield ( is a village and Civil parish in the Borough of High Peak, in the county of Derbyshire, England. South Yorkshire Joint Railway was a committee formed in 1903 between the Great Central Railway (GCR the Great Northern Railway (GNR the Lancashire and Yorkshire The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. The North Eastern Railway (NER unlike many other of the pre-Grouping companies had a relatively compact territory having the district it covered to itself The Sheffield District Railway was a railway line in South Yorkshire with its main line running between Brightside Junction, on the Midland Railway 's Sheffield The West Riding and Grimsby Railway was a joint railway whose main line linked Wakefield with Doncaster, whilst a branch line ran between Adwick and Wakefield lies at the heart of the City of Wakefield, a Metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. Leeds ( is located on the River Aire in West Yorkshire, England

General Managers

Locomotive Engineer

Chief Mechanical Engineer

GCR locomotives

These could generally be divided into those intended for passenger work, especially those used on the London Extension and those for the heavy freight work. Year 1886 ( MDCCCLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1902 ( MCMII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Colonel Sir William Pollitt was general manager of the Manchester Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MSL&R from 1886 to 1902 the final three years being as General Manager Year 1902 ( MCMII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Sir Sam Fay (30 December 1856-30 May 1953 born in Hamble-le-Rice, Hampshire, England, was a highly-regarded manager of the London and South Western Year 1894 ( MDCCCXCIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar Harry Pollitt was Locomotive Engineer of the Manchester Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway from 1893-1897 and its successor the Great Central Railway, from 1897-1900 Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. John George Robinson CBE, ( July 30, 1856 - December 7, 1943) was Chief mechanical engineer of the Great Central Railway

Pollitt's locomotives

Taken over from the MS&LR, mainly of class F2, 2-4-2 tank locomotives, and also classes D5 and D6 4-4-0 locomotives. The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER produced several classes of locomotive mostly to the designs of Nigel Gresley, characterised by a three cylinder layout with a parallel

Robinson locomotives

During Robinson's regime, many of the larger express passenger engines came into being:

Major stations

Wath marshalling yard

The new marshalling yard at Wath-upon-Dearne was opened in November 1907. The Great Central Railway Class 11F or Improved Director Class is a class of 4-4-0 Steam locomotive designed by John G The Great Central Railway (GCR Class 8K 2-8-0 is a class of Steam locomotive designed for heavy freight The Railway Operating Division (ROD was a division of the Royal Engineers formed in 1915 to operate Railways in the many theatres of the First World The Great Central Railway Class S1 was a class of 0-8-4 steam Tank locomotives designed by John G Wath marshalling yard, also known as Wath concentration yard, was a large railway Marshalling yard specifically designed for the concentration of Coal traffic Marylebone station or London Marylebone station is a National Rail and London Underground station in central London, England. Manchester Piccadilly station, known locally as just Piccadilly, is the principal railway station of Manchester in England. Nottingham Victoria railway station was a Great Central Railway and Great Northern Railway railway station in Nottingham, England. Sheffield Victoria was the main Sheffield Railway station on the Great Central Railway, between Chesterfield and Penistone. Leicester Central was a railway station in Leicester. It was situated to the west of the city centre, on Great Central Street which is today just off the Rugby Central was a railway station serving Rugby in Warwickshire on the former Great Central Main Line which opened in 1899 and closed in 1969 Wath-upon-Dearne, also known as Wath-on-Dearne or simply Wath, is a small town on the south side of the Dearne Valley in South Yorkshire, It was designed to cope with coal trains, full and empty; it was worked with electro-pneumatic signalling.

Docks

Grimsby docks

Grimsby was dubbed the "largest fishing port in the world" in the early 20th century; it owed its prosperity to the ownership by the GCR and its forebear, the MS&LR. Grimsby (or archaically Great Grimsby) is a Seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. Coal and timber were also among its biggest cargoes. There were two main docks: the Alexandra Dock (named for Queen Alexandra) and the Royal Dock, the latter completed in 1852. Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Carolina Marie Charlotte Louise Julia 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925 was Queen Consort to Edward VII of the United Kingdom Year 1852 ( MDCCCLII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year The total area of docks was 104. 25 acres (42ha). These docks were linked by the Union Dock

Immingham Dock

This dock [71 acres (29ha)] was mainly concerned with the movement of coal, and was completed in 1912. Immingham Dock was a Port facility with linking Railways opened six miles (10 km downstream from Grimsby by the Great Central Railway (GCR

External links

Historical Study Group


The "Big Four" pre-nationalisation British railway companies
v • d • e

█ Great Western • █ London Midland & Scottish • █ London & North Eastern • █ Southern

GWR constituents: Great Western Railway • Cambrian Railways • Taff Vale Railway
Barry Railway • Rhymney Railway • (Full list)
LNER constituents: Great Central • Great Eastern • Great Northern • Great North of Scotland
Hull & Barnsley • North British • North Eastern • (Full list)
LMS constituents: Caledonian • Furness • Glasgow & South Western • Highland
Lancashire & Yorkshire • London and North Western • Midland • North Staffordshire • (Full list)
SR constituents: London and South Western Railway • London, Brighton and South Coast Railway
South Eastern Railway • London, Chatham and Dover Railway • (Full list)

See also: History of rail transport in Great Britain 1923 - 1947 • List of companies involved in the grouping


See also Rail transport in Great Britain, National Rail, Network Rail This article is about the defunct entity "British Railways" The Great Western Railway ( GWR) was a British railway company and a notable example of Civil engineering, linking London with the West London Midland for the new (2007 railway company The London Midland and Scottish Railway ( LMS) was a British Railway company The The Southern Railway (SR was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. The Great Western Railway ( GWR) was a British railway company and a notable example of Civil engineering, linking London with the West Cambrian Railways owned 230 miles of track over a large area of mid- Wales. History On February 10 1804 a young engineer Richard Trevithick, drove the world's first ever steam locomotive along a track at the Penydarren ironworks near The Barry Railway Company was promoted by interests in coal mining and steel in the South Wales valleys as an alternative to the existing rail service to Cardiff docks in The Rhymney Railway was virtually a single stretch of main line some fifty miles in length by which the Rhymney Valley was connected to the docks at Cardiff in the The Great Western Railway (GWR was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1835 and Nationalised on 1 January 1948. The Great Eastern Railway (GER was a pre-grouping British railway company whose main line linked London Liverpool The Great Northern Railway (GNR was a British railway company established by the London & York Railway Act of 1846 The Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR/GNoSR was one of the smaller British railways before the grouping, operating in the far north-east of Scotland History The Hull and Barnsley Railway (H&BR was opened on 20 July 1885. The North British Railway was a Scottish railway company that was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923 The North Eastern Railway (NER unlike many other of the pre-Grouping companies had a relatively compact territory having the district it covered to itself The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER was formed out of a number of constituent railway companies at the grouping in 1923 The Caledonian Railway was a major Scottish Railway company operating in Scotland The Furness Railway (Furness was a railway company operating in the Furness area of north-west England. The Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR one of the pre- grouping railway companies, served a triangular area of south-west Scotland, between Glasgow The Highland Railway (HR was one of the smaller British railways before the Railways Act 1921; it operated north of Perth railway station in The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR was a major British railway company before the 1923 Grouping. The London and North Western Railway (LNWR L&NWR was a Railway company of the United Kingdom which existed between 1846 and 1922 The Midland Railway (MR was a Railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed from 1844 to 1922 when it became part of the London Midland and Scottish The North Staffordshire Railway was a British Railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries Constituent companies The following made up the London Midland and Scottish Railway as a result of the Railways Act 1921: Caledonian Railway The London and South Western Railway (L&SWR was a Railway company in England from 1838 to 1922 The London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR (commonly known as "the Brighton line" was a Railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1923 For the railway in India see South Eastern Railway (India South Eastern Railway (SER was a railway company in the United Kingdom The London Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1859 until the 1923 grouping which united it with other companies The Southern Railway in the United Kingdom was one of the "Big Four" railway companies set up after the 1923 Grouping. This article is part of a series on the History of rail transport in Great Britain The history of rail transport in Great Britain 1923 - 1947 covers the period Under the Railways Act 1921 the majority of the railway companies in Great Britain (and few in Northern Ireland were grouped into four main companies often termed the Big Four
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