Bob Bramson gave a lecture on the history of the Ivatt Atlantic series of locomotives used on the Great Northern Railway. To view a video of this lecture or download his presentation then please log into our Members area.

In the early 1840s, the embryonic Great Northern Railway (GNR) sought to build a direct rail route from London to York with the purpose of reducing the cost of transporting coal and passengers to the capital by shortening the distance and number of changes that the earlier railways had established. Despite great opposition, the GNR succeeded, although in so doing the relationships with its competitors became tenuous and highly quarrelsome. The lecture will review the events that led to the design and introduction of the 990 (C2) and 251 (C1) classes of “Atlantic” locomotives and their derivatives, their technical attributes and shortcomings, their performance and also include some details about the many working models of the type.

Simultaneously, the lecture will be broadcast live on Zoom. Joining details will be emailed to Members before the event.

Please note this is a change to the previously advertised January 2023 lecture.