physics

John G. Robinson

John G. Robinson 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 John G. Robinson rather than just read about it. In short: John George Robinson CBE, (30 July 1856 – 7 December 1943) was an English railway engineer, and was chief mechanical engineer of the Great Central Railway from 1900 to 1922. Early life Born at Newcastle upon Tyne, the second son of Matthew Robinson, a locomotive engineer, and his wife Jane, Robinson was educated at the Chester Grammar School, and in 1872 commenced an engineering apprenticeship with the Great Western…

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

John George Robinson CBE, (30 July 1856 – 7 December 1943) was an English railway engineer, and was chief mechanical engineer of the Great Central Railway from 1900 to 1922.

Early life Born at Newcastle upon Tyne, the second son of Matthew Robinson, a locomotive engineer, and his wife Jane, Robinson was educated at the Chester Grammar School, and in 1872 commenced an engineering apprenticeship with the Great Western Railway at Swindon Works, as a pupil of Joseph Armstrong. In 1878 he became assistant to his father Matthew Robinson at Bristol, and in 1884 joined the Waterford and Limerick Railway (which became the Waterford, Limerick and Western Railway in 1896) as their locomotive, carriage and wagon assistant superintendent. He was promoted to superintendent the following year.

Great Central Railway

In 1900 Robinson joined the Great Central Railway as locomotive and marine superintendent and in 1902 was appointed chief mechanical engineer. He remained in that post until 1922, when prior to the Great Central's grouping into the London and North Eastern Railway he declined the post of chief mechanical engineer of the LNER, choosing instead to step aside for the younger Nigel Gresley. Robinson was awarded a CBE in 1920. Robinson's first passenger locomotive design for the GCR was Class 11B (LNER Class D9) 4-4-0, of which 40 were built between 1901 and 1904, the last being withdrawn by British Railways in 1950. Robinson followed in 1913 with the larger Class 11E (LNER D10) "Director" Class 4-4-0 locomotive, which was used on GCR express trains from London Marylebone to Sheffield Victoria and Manchester London Road. Ten were built, followed by eleven "Improved Director" (GCR Class 11F, LNER Class D11) locomotives during 1920–1924. Robinson's famous GCR Class 8K 2-8-0 heavy freight locomotive was introduced in 1911 and many more were built for the Railway Operating Division of the Royal Engineers in 1917. Some of these reliable locomotives, of which over 400 were built, remained in service with the LNER and later British Railways until 1966.

Locomotive classes credited to Robinson

Waterford and Limerick Railway

Great Central Railway

Preserved Robinson locomotives

Two Robinson-designed locomotives are preserved in the UK:

4-4-0 Improved Director GCR Class 11F No. 506 Butler–Henderson (Later BR No. 62660), which is preserved at the National Railway Museum, York, and currently on display at Barrow Hill Roundhouse, near Chesterfield, Derbyshire 2-8-0 GCR Class 8K No. 102 (Later BR No. 63601), also owned by the National Railway Museum is on loan to the Great Central Railway (preserved) at Loughborough. It is currently (2008) operational and used on demonstration goods trains. Three Robinson-designed locomotives are preserved in Australia

2-8-0 ROD ROD 1984 (later J & A Brown No. 20) preserved by the Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum 2-8-0 ROD ROD 2003 (later J & A Brown No. 24) this loco was actually built by the GCR at Gorton Works and is preserved by the Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum 2-8-0 ROD ROD 2004 (later J & A Brown No. 23) this loco was actually built by the GCR at Gorton Works and is preserved by the Richmond Vale Railway Museum

Notes

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Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with John G. Robinson

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what John G. Robinson 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 John G. Robinson 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 John G. Robinson 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 John G. Robinson

In research: John G. Robinson 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 John G. Robinson 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: John G. Robinson is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1856 births, 1943 deaths, Commanders of the Order of the British Empire, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for John G. Robinson 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 John G. Robinson in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what John G. Robinson 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 John G. Robinson out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is John G. Robinson in simple terms?

John George Robinson CBE, (30 July 1856 – 7 December 1943) was an English railway engineer, and was chief mechanical engineer of the Great Central Railway from 1900 to 1922. Early life Born at Newcastle upon Tyne, the second son of Matthew Robinson, a locomotive engineer, and his wife Jane, Robinso…

Why does John G. Robinson 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 John G. Robinson?

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 John G. Robinson.