GNR Class C1 (small boiler)

The Great Northern Railway small boiler Class C1 was a class of steam locomotive designed by Henry Ivatt in 1897, and the first 4-4-2 or Atlantic type in Great Britain. Ivatt took the American wheel arrangement to give the East Coast Main Line more power and adhesion than the Stirling Singles could offer, and the prototype, number 990 Henry Oakley, was outshopped from Doncaster Works in 1898. In all 22 were built at Doncaster between 1898 and 1903. They were nicknamed the Klondykes after the 1897 gold rush and the Small Atlantics, could reach 90 mph, and were later fitted with superheaters. After the 1923 grouping the LNER classed them C2, leaving C1 to the large boiler engines. Only the very first, number 990 Henry Oakley, has been preserved in the National Collection.