It was the natural development of the 4-4-0 the additional trailing truck not only supporting a larger firebox but improving the riding.

Ivatt had the daunting task of replacing the venerable Patrick Stirling at the head of the GNR's locomotive department.

'Artistry in metal' was one description of his work and many consider the legendary Stirling Single to be the apotheosis of British locomotive aesthetics.

By the turn of the century, however, these single wheelers were being taxed by increasing train loadings on the East Coast Main Line.

990 and named Henry Oakley after the general manager of the railway, it was outshopped from Doncaster works in 1898, beating Aspinall's prototype by a few months.

These first Atlantics had to be worked at undesirable and uneconomic rates to achieve the expected performance; Ivatt attempted to rectify this by fitting superheaters, starting with 988 with the Schmidt variety in 1909.