physics

George Ivatt

George Ivatt is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand George Ivatt rather than just read about it. In short: Henry George Ivatt (4 May 1886 – 4 October 1972), known as George Ivatt, was the post-war Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London Midland and Scottish Railway. He was the son of the Great Northern Railway locomotive engineer Henry Ivatt.

Key takeaways

George Ivatt belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect George Ivatt to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of George Ivatt from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Henry George Ivatt (4 May 1886 – 4 October 1972), known as George Ivatt, was the post-war Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London Midland and Scottish Railway. He was the son of the Great Northern Railway locomotive engineer Henry Ivatt. George Ivatt was born in Dublin, Ireland, and educated at Uppingham School, England. He married Dorothy Sarah Harrison (1881-1962) in 1913.

Career In 1904, he started an apprenticeship at the Crewe Works of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). After working in the drawing office, he became head of experimental locomotive work. He was appointed as Assistant Foreman at Crewe North Shed in 1909, and a year later became Assistant Outdoor Machinery Superintendent.

North Staffordshire Railway During the 1914–1918 World War I Ivatt served on the staff of the Director of Transport in France. After the war, he became Assistant Locomotive Superintendent of the North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) at Stoke-on-Trent in 1919.

London, Midland and Scottish Railway

Under the Railways Act 1921, the NSR was absorbed (in 1923) into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). He was transferred to Derby Works in 1928 and appointed Locomotive Works Superintendent in 1931. At the end of 1932 Ivatt moved to Glasgow, becoming Divisional Mechanical Engineer, Scotland. He returned to England in 1937 as Principal Assistant for Locomotives to the Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME), William Stanier. Stanier retired in 1944 and was succeeded as CME by Charles Fairburn. When Fairburn died suddenly in October 1945, a new shortlist was prepared and George Ivatt, the senior candidate, with significant LMS locomotive experience, was appointed CME on 1 February 1946. Robert Riddles, the other notable candidate for the post, was promoted to the board as Vice-President of the LMS. As CME in post-war austerity Britain, Ivatt continued to build standard existing LMS locomotive types for which parts were readily available. Two additional LMS Princess Coronation Class 4-6-2 express locomotives were built and several modified Black Fives and the work of 'rebuilding' the Royal Scot and Patriot classes continued. The LMS Ivatt Class 4 2-6-0 was introduced as well as the notable "Mickey Mouse" LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0 and LMS Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T, built to replace life expired 19th century branch line 0-6-0 and motor train 2-4-2T locomotive types, and the Class WT 2-6-4T locomotives for the Northern Counties Committee. The famous Ivatt twins, diesel-electric locomotives numbered 10000 and 10001, built by the LMS at Derby in association with English Electric were Britain's first main-line diesel locomotives and were designed to operate singly or in pairs.

British Railways On nationalisation in 1948, Riddles became CME of British Railways, whilst Ivatt remained as CME of the London Midland Region until his retirement in 1951.

Brush Bagnall Traction From mid-1951 Ivatt was a consultant and director of Brush Bagnall Traction, later becoming their General Manager. He retired as a director in 1957 but was retained as a consultant until 1964. Following the demise of Brush Bagnall Traction, Ivatt became a director of Brush Traction where he was involved with the building of the Brush Type 2 locomotives.

References

External links

Henry George (son) at steamindex.com

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with George Ivatt

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what George Ivatt claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to George Ivatt before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about George Ivatt ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of George Ivatt

In research: George Ivatt appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses George Ivatt in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: George Ivatt is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1886 births, 1972 deaths, British Rail people, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for George Ivatt outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study George Ivatt in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what George Ivatt means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain George Ivatt out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is George Ivatt in simple terms?

Why does George Ivatt matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study George Ivatt?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on George Ivatt.