The A1 is a locomotive that will always be tied to the names Sir Nigel Gresley and LNER, however only one of these was involved in the design and construction from the beginning. The A1 was originally a Great Northern Railway design, with number 1470 ‘Great Northern’ being one of only two examples to outshop into GNR service. These locomotives were powerful, and almost immediately served their purpose of comfortably outperforming the older ‘Atlantic’ locomotives that were being pushed to their limit between London and the North.

These ‘Pacific’ locomotives did just that, and they would go on to become one of the most versatile locomotives in Britain. Upon amalgamation onto the LNER, some minor changes were made to the Class, but being a recent design at the time they were already close to the pinnacle of what could be achieved by any locomotive designer, let alone Sir Nigel Gresley.

4472 is a number that is engrained into the brain of every man who was once a little boy staring starry eyed and an Apple Green streak thundering though the countryside. ‘Flying Scotsman’ was built in 1923 as one of the A1 locomotives built under the LNER, it is the only member of the class to go on to be preserved. The trials and tribulations faced by Flying Scotsman in preservation have cemented its status as one of the most famous steam locomotives ever built.

While the A1 was a fantastic locomotive that served its purpose as intended, it became clear reasonably quickly that some modifications could be made that would greatly improve its performance. These modifications however were too significant to avoid reclassifying the locomotives and as such the A1 Felstead 2743 was the first to be withdrawn from service only a handful of years after it was introduced, emerging from its shed in August 1928 as the first A3 ‘Super Pacific.’

The newly designated A3 locomotives had an improved boiler, larger cylinders and a conversion from right to left hand drive. 27 of the class were built as A3 locomotives from the get go, with all of the in service A1 examples being converted before 1950, the last such example to undergo this transformation was the then BR numbered 60068 Sir Visto.

Night Hawk first entered LNER service on the fairly pleasing 24th October 1924 as locomotive number 2577 as an A1 locomotive. Rebuilt in January 1944 to an A3, the locomotive would go in to be numbered 78, and then 60078 under BR. Night Hawk would go on to be withdrawn on the 22nd October 1962, almost making it a nice round 38 years in service, before being scrapped at Doncaster in 1963.

While the A1 was a fantastic locomotive that served its purpose as intended, it became clear reasonably quickly that some modifications could be made that would greatly improve its performance. These modifications however were too significant to avoid reclassifying the locomotives and as such the A1 Felstead 2743 was the first to be withdrawn from service only a handful of years after it was introduced, emerging from its shed in August 1928 as the first A3 ‘Super Pacific.’

The newly designated A3 locomotives had an improved boiler, larger cylinders and a conversion from right to left hand drive. 27 of the class were built as A3 locomotives from the get go, with all of the in service A1 examples being converted before 1950, the last such example to undergo this transformation was the then BR numbered 60068 Sir Visto.

2595 Trigo would enter LNER service in 1930, being one of the 27 A3 locomotives to never turn a wheel as an A1. The locomotive would go through the same short lived numbering pattern as its classmates carrying the number 84 for a short time before adopting its longer term BR number of 60084 on nationalisation. Along with all but one other member of the class, Trigo was unceremoniously scrapped in November 1964.

The LNER Gresley A4 is one of the most iconic express locomotives in Great Britain, with its streamlined casing a classic symbol of the attitude towards speed and design in the 1930s, which saw increased competition to the railways from road and air travel. The LNER Board knew that they had to make travel between the major cities faster, comfortable and more reliable.

Nigel Gresley, the LNER's Chief Mechanical Officer, travelled on the Fliegende Hamburger diesel locomotive in Germany and was impressed by its streamlining, although he realized it was only efficient at high speeds. Gresley was certain that a modified A3 Pacific, with streamlining, could haul greater loads than other locomotives at the same speed or faster and a series of trials were conducted to confirm the A3's suitability.

With the trials successfully completed, the LNER Board gave Gresley the go-ahead to create the "Silver Jubilee" streamlined trains, the first of the new streamlined A4s.The streamlining of the A4s' steam circuit, higher boiler pressure and extension of the firebox to create a combustion chamber made them more efficient than the A3 as they consumed less coal and water- especially later on when they were also fitted with a Kylchap double chimney. This improved their free steaming capabilities further. Their streamlined design not only made them capable of high speeds, but created an up draught of smoke, obscuring the driver's vision, a major problem on the new Class A4 engines. The story goes that during wind tunnel testing, after several unsuccessful efforts to get the smoke to lift clear, a thumbprint was inadvertently left on the clay model just behind the chimney. This succeeded in clearing the smoke and was incorporated into the final design.

The most famous of these A4 locomotives is surely 4468 Mallard, the locomotive that broke and still holds the world record for the highest speed achieved by a steam locomotive. This record was achieved at the height of the streamlined battle between Gresley’s A4 and the Streamline Coronation of Stanier’s LMS. Mallard would go onto serve under BR as 60022 before being withdrawn in early 1963 having been earmarked for preservation as early as 1960, its historical significance recognised and understood.

The LNER Gresley A4 is one of the most iconic express locomotives in Great Britain, with its streamlined casing a classic symbol of the attitude towards speed and design in the 1930s, which saw increased competition to the railways from road and air travel. The LNER Board knew that they had to make travel between the major cities faster, comfortable and more reliable.

Nigel Gresley, the LNER's Chief Mechanical Officer, travelled on the Fliegende Hamburger diesel locomotive in Germany and was impressed by its streamlining, although he realized it was only efficient at high speeds. Gresley was certain that a modified A3 Pacific, with streamlining, could haul greater loads than other locomotives at the same speed or faster and a series of trials were conducted to confirm the A3's suitability.

With the trials successfully completed, the LNER Board gave Gresley the go-ahead to create the "Silver Jubilee" streamlined trains, the first of the new streamlined A4s.The streamlining of the A4s' steam circuit, higher boiler pressure and extension of the firebox to create a combustion chamber made them more efficient than the A3 as they consumed less coal and water- especially later on when they were also fitted with a Kylchap double chimney. This improved their free steaming capabilities further. Their streamlined design not only made them capable of high speeds, but created an up draught of smoke, obscuring the driver's vision, a major problem on the new Class A4 engines. The story goes that during wind tunnel testing, after several unsuccessful efforts to get the smoke to lift clear, a thumbprint was inadvertently left on the clay model just behind the chimney. This succeeded in clearing the smoke and was incorporated into the final design.

2511 Silver King was the 3rd A4 locomotive to be built, designed to pull the Silver Jubilee service. The locomotive entered service in November 1935 in the unique LNER Silver livery designed for the service. The locomotive would go on to work under BR before being scrapped in 1965, making it one of the longest serving A4 locomotives.

The LNER Gresley A4 is one of the most iconic express locomotives in Great Britain, with its streamlined casing a classic symbol of the attitude towards speed and design in the 1930s, which saw increased competition to the railways from road and air travel. The LNER Board knew that they had to make travel between the major cities faster, comfortable and more reliable.

Nigel Gresley, the LNER's Chief Mechanical Officer, travelled on the Fliegende Hamburger diesel locomotive in Germany and was impressed by its streamlining, although he realized it was only efficient at high speeds. Gresley was certain that a modified A3 Pacific, with streamlining, could haul greater loads than other locomotives at the same speed or faster and a series of trials were conducted to confirm the A3's suitability.

With the trials successfully completed, the LNER Board gave Gresley the go-ahead to create the "Silver Jubilee" streamlined trains, the first of the new streamlined A4s.The streamlining of the A4s' steam circuit, higher boiler pressure and extension of the firebox to create a combustion chamber made them more efficient than the A3 as they consumed less coal and water- especially later on when they were also fitted with a Kylchap double chimney. This improved their free steaming capabilities further. Their streamlined design not only made them capable of high speeds, but created an up draught of smoke, obscuring the driver's vision, a major problem on the new Class A4 engines. The story goes that during wind tunnel testing, after several unsuccessful efforts to get the smoke to lift clear, a thumbprint was inadvertently left on the clay model just behind the chimney. This succeeded in clearing the smoke and was incorporated into the final design.

4484 Falcon entered service with LNER in January of 1937, following the broad early naming format based around Gresley’s penchant for birds. The locomotive would go on to serve under BR as 60025 before being scrapped in October of 1963.