A rear view of three Pacifics in the sunshine at Barrow Hill
<b>The East Coast Giants event at Barrow Hill in 2014</b>
A tender view of East Coast Giants 60008, 4489 and 532 at Barrow Hill. A comparison of the two repatriated A4s - 60008 Dwight D. Eisenhower in British Railways lined green livery, 4489 Dominion of Canada in LNER Garter blue livery, and Peppercorn A2 60532 Blue Peter in British Railways apple green livery.

<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 - one locomotive, No. 4469 'Sir Ralph Wedgwood', was withdrawn and scrapped after being damaged beyond repair in a German bombing raid on York on 29 April 1942 during World War Two.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. <b>Another two 4489 'Dominion of Canada' and 60008 '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).

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 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. 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>]

<b>Locomotive history - 4489 'Woodcock'</b> The locomotive was built in Doncaster works in May 1937 as Works Number 1854. It was originally to be named 'Buzzard' but initially received the name 'Woodcock' instead until it was renamed 'Dominion of Canada' by High Commissioner of Canada, H. Vincent Massey on 15 June 1937. No. 4489 underwent trials, the only one of the 'Coronation' A4s so treated, and left in works grey lined in white. It had apple green painted coupled wheels. At this point it wore the name Woodcock, but this was removed before final painting and release to traffic. The Canadian Pacific Railway issue whistle was fitted 15 July 1937 for the unveiling and naming. The CPR-type bell fitted was steam operated and was actually used, as a photograph from 19 August 1939, illustrates. In 1937, locomotive 4489 was the locomotive used to try and take back the speed record previously taken by the LMS' passenger train, the Coronation Scot, which clocked at 114 mph (183 km/h). 4489 achieved 109.5 mph (176 km/h) down Stoke Bank. It suffered damage in a collision at Hatfield and required attention at Doncaster Works from 31 January to 18 March 1939. Allocated to Kings Cross from new, it was reallocated to Grantham on 7 April 1957. The next shed was Kings Cross again on 15 September 1957. New England was the next allocation on 16 June 1963, after the closure of Kings Cross. The final allocation was to Aberdeen on 20 October 1963 to be used, along with other displaced A4s, primarily for the three-hour Aberdeen to Glasgow express service. More info here: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNER_Class_A4_4489_Dominion_of_Canada" rel="noreferrer nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNER_Class_A4_4489_Dominion_of_Canada</a>

<b>Locomotive history - 4496 'Golden Shuttle'</b> was built by the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) in 1937 at Doncaster Works. It was renamed Dwight D. Eisenhower after World War II and renumbered 8 on 23 November 1946, under Edward Thompson's LNER 1946 renumbering scheme. After nationalisation in 1948, British Railways renumbered it 60008 on 29 October 1948. It was retired from service in 1963 and was moved to the National Railroad Museum in Ashwaubenon, a suburb of Green Bay, Wisconsin, United States, where it is currently on display. It returned to England in 2012 for display at the National Railway Museum in York, when all surviving A4s were reunited. It returned to Green Bay in 2014. More info here: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNER_Class_A4_4496_Dwight_D_Eisenhower" rel="noreferrer nofollow">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNER_Class_A4_4496_Dwight_D_Eisenhower</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 a2 preservation 4489 barrowhill 60532 a4pacific 60008