In the 1910s the Great Central Railway needed new tank locomotives to serve coal traffic between the mining areas of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire and the port at Immingham. Due to the good experiences with the class D of the Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway, which had the wheel arrangement 0-6-4T, this was used as a basis.

It received a larger superheated boiler similar to that of the 4-4-0 class 11E. In order to be able to carry this, a leading axle was added. The result was the class 1B, which was the first standard gauge British 2-6-4T tank locomotive. With a coal capacity of 4.5 tons and 3,000 gallons of water, the supplies were not much smaller than most British tender locomotives. 

In everyday life it turned out that the frame was severely stressed by the position of the inside cylinders. In addition, the braking power was hardly sufficient for use with coal trains in the intended area. Since coal traffic there was ultimately declining, they were used in coal traffic in flatter areas. At the LNER they were first called class L1 and renamed L3 in 1945 due to another locomotive. 19 of the 20 came to British Railways and were withdrawn by 1955.