<kuid2:4468:6511:1> 4-6-2 A4 BR Blue

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Perhaps the pinnacle of steam powered express locomotion, the Gresley A4 Pacific class 4-6-2, conceived and built in the mid 1930s by Sir Nigel Gresley, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER), was designed to compete with and beat the speed record of 114 mph set by William Stanier's London Midland and Scotland (LMS) Coronation Pacific.

On the 3rd July 1938, the LNER 4-6-2 A4 Class No. 4468 ‘Mallard’, driven by Joe Duddington and fired by Tommy Bray, on a stretch of the East Coast Main Line between Peterborough and Grantham took the World speed record at a measured 126 mph (202 kph), Its record as the world's fastest steam locomotive has never been beaten.

The World beating train consisted of three of the 'Coronation' twin sets, plus the dynamometer car, seven vehicles in all weighing 240 tons. All this being achieved just one year after the record run set by the LMS Coronation Pacific.

The ‘Mallard’ was built in 1937 at a cost of 8,500 (Pounds Stirling) and remained in service until 1963. The A4 class was developed for high speed passenger transport along the East Coast Mainline London-Edinburgh route, as a rival project to the LMS Silver Link which operated through the Midlands from London to Glasgow.

Thirty five examples of the A4 Pacific were built, the first being 'Silver Link' operating the 'Silver Jubilee' express passenger train service between Kings Cross, London to Newcastle via Darlington. No later steam design ever replaced the A4 from service over the prime routes such as the 'The Elizabethan' between London and Edinburgh non-stop.

Developed in a series of wind tunnel tests, the body evolved to minimise aerodynamic drag, but also featured depressions around the chimney to cause an effect to ensure clearance of the smoke away from the drivers view.

The first four A4s were painted in Silver schemes and provided ‘Silver’ names, but then LNER Green locomotives were introduced and used as general service locomotives sporting bird names, while still later others were painted in Garter Blue carrying Empire names such as 'Union Of South Africa' and 'Dominion of Canada'. Eventually all A4s wore the Garter Blue scheme but as WW2 came about they were repainted in black and heavily loaded.

The needs and stresses of war meant that much of the valances were removed to facilitate fast maintenance of a vital component of the war effort. During this period 4469 'Sir Ralph Wedgewood' was lost in an air raid in York.

Over time many were renamed in honour of individuals that included of course 'Sir Nigel Gresley', but also 'Dwight D. Eisenhower' and many others.

Six remain preserved and some are in fact under renovation.

4464 (60019) Bittern – Mid Hants Railway http://www.watercressline.co.uk/tw/pages/bittern1.htm

4468 (60022) Mallard - National Railway Museum – York UK http://www.nrm.org.uk

4488 Union of South Africa Union of South Africa is running in England under private ownership, in BR green

4489 (60010) Dominion of Canada Dominion of Canada is on display in the Canadian Railway Museum, Montreal, Canada, in BR Green.
http://www.exporail.org/association/intro_crha.htm

4496 (60008) Dwight D. Eisenhower – Is on display at a museum at Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA.

4498 (60007) Sir Nigel Gresley - Sir Nigel Gresley Locomotive Preservation Trust http://www.da4e.nl/a4index.html


Leading particulars:

Weight Loco, 102 tons 19 cwt
Tender weight, 64 tons 19cwt
Wheel Arrangement 4-6-2
Leading Wheel 3 ft 2 in
Driving wheels. 6 ft 8 in
Trailing Wheel 3 ft 8 in
Tractive effort. 35,455 Ib
Length 71 ft 0.375 in
Boiler Pressure 250 psi
Flue and tube area 2,345.1 ft²
Firebox area 231.2 ft²
Superheater area 748.9 ft²
Grate area 41.25 ft²
Cylinders - 3
Bore x Stroke 18½ in x 26 in
Valve gear Walschaerts
Coal capacity 8 tons
Water capacity 5,000 gallons

Gresley A4 Pacific 4-6-2

BR LNER
No. No. Name

60001 4500 Sir Ronald Matthews (Originally named 'Garganey')
60002 4499 Sir Murrough Wilson (Originally named 'Pochard')
60005 4901 Sir Charles Newton (Originally named 'Capercaillie')
60006 4466 Sir Ralph Wedgewood (Originally named 'Herring Gull') *
60007 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley
60019 4464 Bittern
60028 4487 Walter K. Whigham (Originally named 'Sea Eagle')
60030 4495 Golden Fleece (Originally named 'Great Snipe')
60033 4902 Seagull
60034 4903 Lord Faringdon (Originally named 'Peregrine')

* 4469 originally named 'Gadwall' was renamed as 'Sir Ralph Wedgewood' but subsequently destroyed by bombing during WW2, the name was then transferred to 4466.

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I have been ably supported, redirected and generally kept on the right track by the tireless efforts in 'testing' and research by Sir John Ewan (JWEwan) and aided by the development of the performance characteristics by Bill Fock.