A lovely image taken at Doncaster in the late 1930s of a locomotive built at the very outset of the Great Central Railway's existence. Harry Pollitt was the last CME of the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway and the first for the GCR from 1897 to 1900. For them he designed his '11A' (LNER 'D6') class of 4-4-0s. 5865 was built by Beyer Peacock Ltd. in Jan. 1899 as GCR No. 865 and was withdrawn in Dec. 1946 as LNER No. 2104. Its original appearance is somewhat marred by the ugly LNER 'flowerpot' chimney that replaced the graceful original.

© Steve Armitage Archive