Gresley A4 4464 'Bittern' takes the line at Barrow Hill - look at that track!
<b>The East Coast Giants event at Barrow Hill in 2014</b>
Gresley A4 Pacific 4464 'Bittern' seen on the Springwell branch, whilst working push and pull with a Peckett 0-6-0 saddle tank from 'Roundhouse Halt’. Look at the state of the track - not sure what the speed restriction is on this stretch.

According to the following site, the line is 1.1km long:
<a href="http://gb.geoview.info/springwell_branch,104562506w#" rel="noreferrer nofollow">gb.geoview.info/springwell_branch,104562506w#</a>

<b>The Gresley A4 Pacifics</b> were a class of streamlined 4-6-2 steam locomotive designed by Nigel Gresley for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and introduced in 1935. Their streamlined design gave them a high-speed capability, as well as making them instantly recognisable, and one of the class, 4468 'Mallard', holds the world speed record of 126 mph for a steam locomotive. Thirty-five of the class were built to haul express passenger trains on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) route from London Kings Cross via York to Newcastle, and later to Edinburgh. They remained in service on the ECML until the early 1960s, when they were replaced by the Deltics. Some of the A4s saw out their remaining days until 1966 in Scotland, particularly on the Aberdeen - Glasgow route. 

<b>Names</b> - the first four locomotives built included the word 'silver' in their names because they were intended to haul the Silver Jubilee train. 2512 'Silver Fox' of this batch carried a stainless-steel fox near the centre of the streamline casing on each side, made by the Sheffield steelmakers Samuel Fox and Company. The next batch of A4s were named after birds, particularly those that were fast flyers, Gresley being a keen bird-watcher. Five of the class (4488–92) were named after British Empire countries to haul the new Anglo-Scottish Coronation train, and two (4495/6), intended to haul the new West Riding Limited, received names connected to the wool trade - 'Golden Fleece' and 'Golden Shuttle'. 4498 was the hundredth Gresley Pacific to be built, and was appropriately named after him. Subsequently, some other A4s were later renamed, usually to names of directors of the LNER.

<b>Withdrawals</b> - one locomotive, No. 4469 'Sir Ralph Wedgwood', was withdrawn and scrapped after being damaged beyond repair in a German bombing raid on York on 29 April 1942 during World War Two. The next five withdrawals, in Dec 1962, were: 60003 'Andrew K. McCosh', 60014 'Silver Link', 60028 'Walter K. Whigham', 60030 'Golden Fleece' and 60033 'Seagull'. The rest of the class was withdrawn between 1963 and 1966. The last six in service were: 60004 'William Whitelaw', 60007 'Sir Nigel Gresley', 60009 'Union of South Africa', 60019 'Bittern', 60024 'Kingfisher' and 60034 'Lord Faringdon'.

<b>Preservation</b> - six of the 35 locomotives were been preserved, four of which are based in the UK and have run on the BR main line at some point during their preservation career. Another two 'Dominion of Canada' and 'Dwight D. Eisenhower' were exported to museums in Canada and the US respectively, upon withdrawal by British Railways. <b>During 2013, 4464 'Bittern' underwent a series of high-speed runs, partly in commemoration of Mallard's record, partly to see if mainline speeds for certain heritage steam locomotives could be increased (The current maximum is 75 mph). During the &quot;Tyne Tees Streak&quot; run, Bittern broke its own 91 mph speed record set just a few months prior by reaching a maximum speed of 93 mph (149.7 km/h).</b>

From 2015 to 2020, 60009 'Union of South Africa' was the only A4 operational with a valid mainline certificate until it expired in 2020; 60007 'Sir Nigel Gresley' was withdrawn for overhaul on 20 Sep 2015 and <b>4464 'Bittern' operated until the end of 2015 at the Watercress Line, when it was withdrawn and placed on static display in 2018 at Crewe.</b> 60009 'Union of South Africa' was withdrawn in Oct 2021 due to boiler issues, and with the coming expiration of its boiler certificate in early 2022. 60007 'Sir Nigel Gresley' finally returned to the mainline on 21 Apr 2022 following the completion of its major overhaul. As of 2022, five of the six surviving A4's are on static display, with the only working one being 60007 'Sir Nigel Gresley'. [Information courtesy of Wiki - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNER_Class_A4" rel="noreferrer nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNER_Class_A4</a>]

You can see a random selection of my railway photos here on Flickriver: <a href="http://www.flickriver.com/photos/themightyhood/random/" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.flickriver.com/photos/themightyhood/random/</a>
shed steam depot a4 preservation barrowhill a4pacific 4464