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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 ). In 1922 it was Grouped into the London And North Eastern Railway . 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 . A second line left the aforementioned line at Penistone and served Barnsley , Doncaster and Scunthorpe before rejoining the Grimsby line at Barnetby . Other lines linked Sheffield to Barnsley (via Chapeltown ) and Doncaster (via Rotherham and also a line linking Lincoln and Wrawby Junction. Branch lines in north Lincolnshire ran to Barton-upon-Humber and New Holland and served ironstone quarries in the Scunthorpe area. In the Manchester are lines ran to Stalybridge and Glossop . 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 . The "London Extension" The MS&LR had obtained Parliamentary Approval in 1893 for its so-called Extension to London. On 1898 ; for passenger traffic on 15 March 1899 , and for goods traffic on 11 April 1899 . 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, to return to GCR metals at Harrow for the final section to Marylebone . On 2 April 1906 an " Alternative Route " or "alternative main line", running from Grendon Underwood Junction to Neasden was opened. The line was joint GCR/ GWR between Ashenden Junction and Northolt Junction . It was the last complete mainline railway to be built in Britain until section one of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link opened in 2003 . It was also one of the shortest-lived intercity railway lines, being closed to passenger trains between Aylesbury and Rugby Central in 1966, leaving villages such as Woodford Halse without a railway. 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 main line from Birmingham to London. 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. 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 and the Great Northern Railway , taking in both Liverpool and Southport . Other joint undertakings were (west to east):
KEY OFFICERS For those in position prior to 1899, dates are as served for the MS&LR. 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. Pollitt's locomotives These were those taken over from the MS&LR, mainly those of class F2, 2-4-2 tank locomotives, and also classes D5/6 4-4-0 locomotives. 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. It was designed to cope with coal trains, full and empty; it was worked with electro-pneumatic signalling. DOCKS Grimsby docks ) and the ''Royal Dock'', the latter completed in 1852 . The total area of docks was 104.25 acres (42ha). These docks were linked by the Union Dock Immingham Dock This dock acres (29ha) was mainly concerned with the movement of coal, and was completed in 1912. EXTERNAL LINKS
Historical Study Group
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