My first interaction of an A4 was seeing ‘Mallard’ in the NRM at York. Looking round the central turntable – ‘Mallard’ was distinctive with its smooth racing car like curves and nothing like the other exhibits on display.
The LNER's Express Pacific designs were probably the most famous of the LNER locomotives. And of these Pacific’s, the A4 is probably the most famous of all. Its distinctive streamlined casing has come to be a symbol of 1930s luxury and fascination with speed. Even today, it is an A4 which holds the world speed record for a steam locomotive. By the 1930s, the railways were beginning to see increased competition from road and air travel. It was clear that services between the major cities had to be faster, more reliable, and more comfortable.
Sir Nigel Gresley travelled on the ‘Fliegende Hamburger’ and was impressed by the need for streamlining, although he realised it was only useful at the highest speeds. From this, he calculated that a streamlined and modified ‘A3’ design would be able to haul trains of eight or nine carriages at similar speeds.
The wedge-shaped streamlining on the A4 was inspired by a Bugatti rail-car which Gresley had observed in France. The design was refined with the help of Prof. Dalby and the wind tunnel facilities at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) at Teddington. As well as streamlining, it was important that the design lifted smoke up away from the cab. At first, there was a lot of difficulty in achieving this. Even smoke deflectors were considered! During the wind tunnel tests, it was noticed that a thumb print had inadvertently been added to the plasticine model, just behind the chimney. Only on impulse, was the model re-tested with the thumb print. Amazingly, the smoke was lifted well clear of the cab!
The LNER publicity machine had a field day with the new streamlined shape. Many saw this publicity as mere hype. Some thought the LNER was bowing to the latest craze. Others thought that it was not true streamlining and that the design team did not know what they were doing!
A demonstration run from Kings Cross to Grantham on 27th September 1935 touched 112.5mph. The first service was on the 1st October 1935, hauled by No. 2509 Silver Link. A further three locomotives were built for the Silver Jubilee service to Newcastle. This service was a great success cutting the travel time between Kings Cross and Newcastle down to an amazing 4 hours. This success led to an extension of the service to Edinburgh, and the building of a further five A4s. By 1937, a third service to Leeds & Bradford had commenced. And thus, Britain's first inter-city network of fast train services was born.
On 28th June 1937, Stanier's streamlined Coronation Scot of the LMS set a new record of 114mph. Two days later, a press & publicity trip for the LNER's new "Coronation" service pulled by 4489 Dominion of Canada attempted to regain the record. Unfortunately, it only managed to reach 109.5mph on Stoke Bank.
The challenge was on.
With these increasing speeds, braking distances were getting longer, and so methods to improve braking were investigated. Gresley favoured the use of a system produced by Westinghouse (and already in use on the LMS), and so trials began in 1938. Trials typically required rapid acceleration followed by the brake test. On 3rd July 1938, the Westinghouse team arrived to find that the train consist had changed. Some of the coaches had been removed and replaced with the dynamometer car. Also, the locomotive had been changed to 4468 Mallard. Only 4 months old, this A4 was the first to be fitted with the Kylchap double-blast pipe. The driver was also different - J. Duddington, who had been brought down from Doncaster and had a reputation for running trains hard when it was required. Duddington was joined by fireman T. Bray, and inspector J. Jenkins. When the Westinghouse team were onboard, they were told that they were going to attempt to break the speed record. Why the secrecy? One reason was so that the LMS did not hear of the attempt beforehand. Another might be that the LNER's civil engineering department were not keen on 120+ mph runs, when the track had official speed limits of only 90mph!
The Down journey consisted of conventional brake tests. At Barkston, the Westinghouse team were given the option of taking a taxi to Peterborough - they all refused! The centre big bearing was drowned in cylinder oil, and the return journey commenced. Grantham was passed at 24mph. By Stoke signal box, the speed had reached 74.5mph with full regulator and 40% cut-off. At milepost 94, 116mph was recorded along with the maximum drawbar of 1800hp. 120mph was achieved between milepost 92.75 and 89.75, and for a short distance of 306 yds, 125mph was touched.
A peak of 126mph was marked on the dynamometer rolls, and this speed was included in some unofficial reports. 126mph is also the speed marked on the plaque BR mounted on Mallard in 1948. Gresley never accepted this speed of 126mph, and thought it misleading. The LNER only claimed a peak average of 125mph - so breaking the world record for steam traction held by the German State Railways (124.5mph) and the British record set by the LMS (114mph).
When Mallard arrived at Peterborough it was found that the centre bearing had overheated. It was then towed to meet the press at Kings Cross behind an Ivatt Atlantic. This must have led to some confusion, but the overheated bearing was quickly re-metalled. A further check was made that everything was okay, and Mallard was back in revenue-earning service within 9 days.
During the late 1940s and early 1950s, maintenance of the locomotives and the permanent way improved, so facilitating speed increases of the A4s. Pre-war speeds were never reached, although in 1959, 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley set a post-war steam speed record of 112mph. By the late 1950s, steam was being replaced by diesel power. Although the Deltics proved worthy successors of the A4s on East Coast Mainline express services, other diesel classes were generally very poor and often failed. Hence, the A4s were kept in service until the mid-1960s. The first A4s were scrapped at the end of 1962. These were from Kings Cross and had been directly replaced by the Deltics. The last BR A4 service was on 14th September 1966 between Aberdeen and Glasgow.
Preservation
The A4s have always been a popular class of steam locomotive, and this probably explains why more A4s survive than any other LNER class. Three are in mainline working condition, and two have even made it over to North America! The Great Goodbye
4464 (BR 60019) Bittern in 2007 returned to running condition for the first time since the 1970s. Previous to this overhaul, Bittern spent an extensive time cosmetically restored as No. 2509 Silver Link. Bittern can usually be seen in either the BR green or LNER garter blue liveries.
4468 (BR 60022) Mallard is a part of the National Collection and can usually be seen at York. She was restored to mainline condition for the 50th Anniversary of her record-breaking run.
4488 (BR 60009) Union of South Africa is owned by John Cameron. It regularly appears on main line steam specials.
4498 (BR 60007) Sir Nigel Gresley is owned by the A4 Locomotive Society. Sir Nigel Gresley holds a number of post-war steam speed records, both with BR and in private hands!
4496 (BR 60008) Dwight D Eisenhower visited the UK during 2013 for the 75th Anniversary of Mallard's record-breaking run. During the visit, the (York) National Railway Museum restored it to BR Green condition. It has since returned to its home at the National Railroad Museum at Green Bay, Wisconsin. 4496 was originally named Golden Shuttle, but was renamed in September 1945.
4489 (BR 60010) Dominion of Canada also visited the UK during 2013 for the 75th Anniversary of Mallard's record-breaking run. During the visit, the (York) National Railway Museum restored it back to 1930s condition in LNER Garter Blue complete with the ceremonial bell. It has since returned to the Exporail Canadian Railway Museum.
Locomotives
Most of the A4s carried three different numbers: the original LNER numbers; 1946 renumbering; and the BR renumbering (1948/9). A handful of engines were also renamed. Dates of renaming are in brackets.
The disposal date is that of sale (for preservation) or destruction (No. 4469 suffered bomb damage).
4469 was withdrawn after bomb damage in June 1942. The name was transferred to 4466.
4901 was renamed from Charles H. Newton to Sir Charles Newton on 4th June 1943 to correspond with his knighthood.
