LNER Class A4 4464 Bittern
Encyclopedia
4464 Bittern is a London and North Eastern Railway
Class A4
steam locomotive
. Built for the LNER in 1937 at Doncaster Works
as works number 1866, it was originally numbered 4464. It was renumbered 19 on 16 August 1946 under the LNER 1946 renumbering scheme and after nationalisation in 1948 BR added 60000 to its number so it became 60019 on 10 October 1948. It is a Pacific 4-6-2
locomotive to the same design by Sir Nigel Gresley as the more famous A4 Mallard
and one of the 35 strong class. It is one of six to survive into preservation and is one of two currently certified for mainline use.
In preservation, the locomotive has also worn the identities of a number of its scrapped classmates, including first of the A4 class 2509 Silver Link
and most recently as 4492 Dominion of New Zealand.
" in LNER post-war garter blue with extra red/white lining. Bittern was repainted next on 28 July 1950 into British Railways dark blue with black and white lining. The final repaint for Bittern was into British Railways brunswick green on 12 February 1952.
Bittern had some livery variations applied to her; some of the A4s had red backgrounds applied to their nameplates, which were normally black. Bittern was seen with a red background circa 1966. The brunswick green livery had variations. Normally the boiler bands were lined out except for the firebox boiler band, which was plain green. Bittern, and other Darlington A4s received lining on the firebox boiler band as well.
Some A4s had their shed name marked on the right-hand (looking from the front) buffer. Bittern was marked with 'Gateshead' circa 1949 and 'Ferryhill' later in the 1960s.
double blastpipe was fitted on 6 September 1957. Her AWS (Automatic Warning System
) was fitted 13 December 1958. Bittern was fitted with a full width bogie dust shield in 1950. The speed indicator was fitted 6 September1960.
Bittern has had fourteen boilers in her career, these were: 9020 (from new), 9025 (from the ill-fated 4469 Sir Ralph Wedgewood after it had been destroyed at York depot during the 'Baedecker' air raid
.), 23 January 1941; 9018 (from 4462 ), 22 May 1943; 8952 (spare), 14 October 1948; 8905 (from 60011), 28 July 1950; 29317 (new build boiler), 12 February 1952; 29298 (from 60020 Guillemot), 12 June 1953; 29279 (from 60009 Union of South Africa
), 30 November 1954; 29320 (from 60020 Guillemot), 25 May 1956; 29315 (from 60022 Mallard
), 6 September 1957; 29319 (from 60009 Union of South Africa
), 13 December 1958; 29355 (newbuild boiler), 16 March 1960; 27971 (from 60017 Silver Fox), 27 April 1962 and finally 29332 (spare), 24 March 1965.
Bittern has had just one tender throughout her career: 5638, of the non-corridor design. During the major overhaul which returned the engine to traffic in 2007 the tender was rebuilt as a corridor version to allow extra flexibility of operations.
With the end of the war and nationalisation came better maintenance and the A4 class saw a return to the high speed expresses of the pre-war years. Now in BR green Bittern pulled the Talisman express from Kings Cross to Edinburgh. Bittern was transferred to St Margarets on 28 October 1963. The A4 revival was short-lived as the steam pulled services were replaced by diesel hauled services and Bittern was moved to Scotland and put into storage. After a short period Bittern was moved to Ferryhill at Aberdeen on 10 November 1963 and ran to Edinburgh and Glasgow. This service only lasted three years. Bittern has the dubious honour of heading the last A4 Glasgow to Aberdeen and thus bring the curtain down on 30 years of service.
When she was bought for preservation, 'Bittern' had several major problems, such as the frames being cracked quite badly. These problems were known to BR, but were only lightly repaired since with the end of steam it would have been a false economy to completely repair the loco. This in turn affected her life in preservation and only now have the important repairs been done so that she is up to mainline standard. The final day in service for Bittern was 3 September 1966.
today) on various steam charters, but the cracked frames and other symptoms of her long career soon spelt an end to her mainline career. In consequence Drury bought LNER Peppercorn Class A2 60532 Blue Peter from British Rail in 1968, and this loco is still owned by the Drury family.
Bittern and 60532 were moved to the Dinting Railway Centre
, near Glossop
. Neither locomotive did much running, and in late 1987 the NELPG took charge of both locomotives on long-term loan from the Drury family. While 60532 was moved to the Imperial Chemical Industries
works at Wilton, Redcar and Cleveland
, and restored to mainline running from December 1991; Bittern with its greater repair need was cosmetically restored to represent pioneer and long-gone sister 2509 Silver Link.
Silver Link was displayed at the National Railway Museum, York and on 3 July 1988 was displayed outside with 4468 Mallard
and 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley
. Mallard had just worked a charter train up from Doncaster, and Sir Nigel Gresley was discreetly used to make steam appear to come from Silver Link to give the impression she was in steam. 60009 Union of South Africa
was unable to attend. On the weekend of 5 July 2008, Bittern joined her three sisters for the first time ever on display at the National Railway Museum in York on the anniversary of sister Mallard's run.
In 1995, Silver Link was moved to the Great Central Railway
in Loughborough
to undergo restoration to working order, but this reached only a partial stage of dismantling. In 1997, Bittern was bought by Dr Tony Marchington
, and based at the Southall Railway Centre
alongside his other locomotive which was also being overhauled at the time, LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman
. In 2000, after the over budgeted £1million restoration of Flying Scotsman was complete, Marchington sold Bittern to Jeremy Hosking
, who moved her to the Mid-Hants Railway in Hampshire
in January 2001, for full restoration.
On 19 May 2007, Bittern was steamed for the first time since the 1970s. In authentic British Railways lined green livery and carrying her British Railways number, 60019, she hauled her first service train since the 1970s on 7 July 2007 after six years of restoration, numerous tests and modifications. She departed at one o'clock on 7 July 2007, during the Watercress Line's 'End of Southern Steam Gala', hauling their rake of dining coaches from Alresford to Alton. Since then she has been 'run in' and has been used on normal services, Santa specials and on 21, 22 and 23 March 2008 ran as 'Spencer' from the Thomas The Tank Engine stories during the Watercress Line's 'Day out with Thomas'. (She was also booked as 'Spencer' from 9–17 August 2008.)
Bittern was then sent to Southall depot
near London
, where she was configured to run with her water tender and support coach, both having originally been used with Flying Scotsman
. After that, she completed brake and speed tests on a run to Bristol
and soon after made her official return to mainline working on Saturday 1 December 2007 on a charter from London Kings Cross to York
, and since then has hauled several more 'Railtours' around Britain.
On 25 July 2009, Bittern made a 188-mile run from King's Cross to York non-stop using a second tender to avoid the need to stop en route to take on water and change crews, carrying the headboard "The Brighton Belle" to publicise the launch of the Brighton Belle
restoration project by the 5BEL Trust. With the first tender having a water capacity of 5,000 gallons and coal, and the second tender only used for carrying an extra 9,000 gallons of water, it was thought that this would give Bittern a range of about 250 miles; occasional stops are desirable in any case, for things such as mechanical checks and coal redistribution in the tender and firebox. A non-stop run on the East Coast Main Line
had not been achieved since the 1968 Kings Cross to Edinburgh run by Flying Scotsman, also with a second tender. In June in the Top Gear Race to the North
, a run using the newly built locomotive No. 60163 Tornado had been achieved from London to Edinburgh on the ECML with water stops but no station stops, also a first since the 1968 run of No. 4472.
During the winter of 2010/2011 the locomotive received maintenance which included the cosmetic renaming and renumbering of the locomotive as scrapped classmate 4492 Dominion of New Zealand (BR number 60013). This conversion also included repainting the locomotive in LNER garter blue, the fitting of Gresley's original side valances and the painting of its wheels in their original red colouring. Dominion of New Zealand was one of five A4s named after Commonwealth
countries to pull "The Coronation" service named to celebrate the Coronation of George VI
in 1937. Two of the five "Coronation"-named A4s also survive - Dominion of Canada
and Union of South Africa
. The locomotive is due to remain in this livery for 3 years.
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
Class A4
LNER Class A4
The Class A4 is a class of streamlined 4-6-2 steam locomotive, designed by Nigel Gresley for the London and North Eastern Railway in 1935. Their streamlined design gave them high-speed capability as well as making them instantly recognizable, and one of the class, 4468 Mallard, still claims the...
steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
. Built for the LNER in 1937 at Doncaster Works
Doncaster Works
Doncaster railway works is in the town of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England.Always referred to as "the Plant", it was established by the Great Northern Railway in 1853, replacing the previous works in Boston and Peterborough...
as works number 1866, it was originally numbered 4464. It was renumbered 19 on 16 August 1946 under the LNER 1946 renumbering scheme and after nationalisation in 1948 BR added 60000 to its number so it became 60019 on 10 October 1948. It is a Pacific 4-6-2
4-6-2
4-6-2, in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle .These locomotives are also known as Pacifics...
locomotive to the same design by Sir Nigel Gresley as the more famous A4 Mallard
LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard
Number 4468 Mallard is a London and North Eastern Railway Class A4 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive built at Doncaster, England in 1938. While in other respects a relatively typical member of its class, it is historically significant for being the holder of the official world speed record for steam...
and one of the 35 strong class. It is one of six to survive into preservation and is one of two currently certified for mainline use.
In preservation, the locomotive has also worn the identities of a number of its scrapped classmates, including first of the A4 class 2509 Silver Link
LNER Class A4 2509 Silver Link
Silver Link was the first London and North Eastern Railway A4 Class locomotive, built in 1935 to pull a new train called the Silver Jubilee.-History:...
and most recently as 4492 Dominion of New Zealand.
Liveries
Like the other members of her class, Bittern has worn many liveries throughout her career. When released to traffic on 18 December 1937, Bittern was wearing the garter blue livery that was standard for LNER A4 Pacific locomotives at that time. 14 November 1941 saw her repainted into wartime black with LNER markings on the tender. 22 May 1943 saw the modification to the tender with just the markings NE - to confuse wartime spies. Bittern remained in black until 7 March 1947 when she served out the last few months of the "Big FourBig Four British railway companies
The Big Four was a name used to describe the four largest railway companies in the United Kingdom in the period 1923-1947. The name was coined by the Railway Magazine in its issue of February 1923: "The Big Four of the New Railway Era".The Big Four were:...
" in LNER post-war garter blue with extra red/white lining. Bittern was repainted next on 28 July 1950 into British Railways dark blue with black and white lining. The final repaint for Bittern was into British Railways brunswick green on 12 February 1952.
Bittern had some livery variations applied to her; some of the A4s had red backgrounds applied to their nameplates, which were normally black. Bittern was seen with a red background circa 1966. The brunswick green livery had variations. Normally the boiler bands were lined out except for the firebox boiler band, which was plain green. Bittern, and other Darlington A4s received lining on the firebox boiler band as well.
Some A4s had their shed name marked on the right-hand (looking from the front) buffer. Bittern was marked with 'Gateshead' circa 1949 and 'Ferryhill' later in the 1960s.
Technical details
Like most other A4s, Bittern was fitted with side valances and a single chimney from new. The valances were removed during an overhaul 22 September – 14 November 1941. Her double chimney with a KylchapKylchap
The Kylchap steam locomotive steam locomotive exhaust system was designed and patented by the famous French steam engineer André Chapelon, using a second-stage nozzle designed by the Finnish engineer Kyösti Kylälä and known as the Kylälä spreader; thus the name KylChap for this design.The Kylchap...
double blastpipe was fitted on 6 September 1957. Her AWS (Automatic Warning System
Automatic Warning System
The Automatic Warning System is a form of limited cab signalling and train protection system introduced in 1956 in the United Kingdom to help train drivers observe and obey signals. It was based on a 1930 system developed by Alfred Ernest Hudd and marketed as the "Strowger-Hudd" system...
) was fitted 13 December 1958. Bittern was fitted with a full width bogie dust shield in 1950. The speed indicator was fitted 6 September1960.
Bittern has had fourteen boilers in her career, these were: 9020 (from new), 9025 (from the ill-fated 4469 Sir Ralph Wedgewood after it had been destroyed at York depot during the 'Baedecker' air raid
Baedeker Blitz
The Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker raids were a series of Vergeltungsangriffe by the German air force on English cities in response to the bombing of the erstwhile Hanseatic League city of Lübeck during the night from 28 to 29 March 1942 during World War II.-Background:Lübeck was bombed on the night...
.), 23 January 1941; 9018 (from 4462 ), 22 May 1943; 8952 (spare), 14 October 1948; 8905 (from 60011), 28 July 1950; 29317 (new build boiler), 12 February 1952; 29298 (from 60020 Guillemot), 12 June 1953; 29279 (from 60009 Union of South Africa
LNER Class A4 4488 Union of South Africa
60009 Union of South Africa is an LNER Class A4 steam locomotive built in Doncaster in 1937. Originally named Osprey, it is one of six surviving Gresley A4s and is presently undergoing an extensive overhaul.-Names:...
), 30 November 1954; 29320 (from 60020 Guillemot), 25 May 1956; 29315 (from 60022 Mallard
LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard
Number 4468 Mallard is a London and North Eastern Railway Class A4 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive built at Doncaster, England in 1938. While in other respects a relatively typical member of its class, it is historically significant for being the holder of the official world speed record for steam...
), 6 September 1957; 29319 (from 60009 Union of South Africa
LNER Class A4 4488 Union of South Africa
60009 Union of South Africa is an LNER Class A4 steam locomotive built in Doncaster in 1937. Originally named Osprey, it is one of six surviving Gresley A4s and is presently undergoing an extensive overhaul.-Names:...
), 13 December 1958; 29355 (newbuild boiler), 16 March 1960; 27971 (from 60017 Silver Fox), 27 April 1962 and finally 29332 (spare), 24 March 1965.
Bittern has had just one tender throughout her career: 5638, of the non-corridor design. During the major overhaul which returned the engine to traffic in 2007 the tender was rebuilt as a corridor version to allow extra flexibility of operations.
Career
Initially Bittern was based at Heaton in Newcastle and served the famous Flying Scotsman train in the section between King's Cross and Newcastle. Early in her career, Bittern suffered some collision damage, necessitating a general overhaul at Doncaster from 3–4 January 1938. Bittern was transferred to Gateshead on 28 March 1943. With world war two, the named expresses were cut back as the country went to war. Bittern lost her garter blue paint for a wartime black and was required to pull longer than normal and therefore very heavy passenger trains. As the war continued the A4 locomotives were also to be seen hauling heavy freight and coal trains. This was not a task that the locomotives had been built for. The heavy loads and poor maintenance conditions took their toll and by the end of the war the A4 locomotives were in a poor state.With the end of the war and nationalisation came better maintenance and the A4 class saw a return to the high speed expresses of the pre-war years. Now in BR green Bittern pulled the Talisman express from Kings Cross to Edinburgh. Bittern was transferred to St Margarets on 28 October 1963. The A4 revival was short-lived as the steam pulled services were replaced by diesel hauled services and Bittern was moved to Scotland and put into storage. After a short period Bittern was moved to Ferryhill at Aberdeen on 10 November 1963 and ran to Edinburgh and Glasgow. This service only lasted three years. Bittern has the dubious honour of heading the last A4 Glasgow to Aberdeen and thus bring the curtain down on 30 years of service.
When she was bought for preservation, 'Bittern' had several major problems, such as the frames being cracked quite badly. These problems were known to BR, but were only lightly repaired since with the end of steam it would have been a false economy to completely repair the loco. This in turn affected her life in preservation and only now have the important repairs been done so that she is up to mainline standard. The final day in service for Bittern was 3 September 1966.
Preservation
Bittern was withdrawn from British Railways traffic on 5 September 1966 and was bought by Geoff Drury on 12 September 1966. Bittern initially operated from York depot (site of the National Railway MuseumNational Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...
today) on various steam charters, but the cracked frames and other symptoms of her long career soon spelt an end to her mainline career. In consequence Drury bought LNER Peppercorn Class A2 60532 Blue Peter from British Rail in 1968, and this loco is still owned by the Drury family.
Bittern and 60532 were moved to the Dinting Railway Centre
Dinting railway station
Dinting railway station serves the village of Dinting near Glossop in Derbyshire, England. The station is on the Manchester-Glossop Line 20 km east of Manchester Piccadilly. Prior to the Woodhead Line closure in 1981 Dinting was a station on a major cross Pennine route...
, near Glossop
Glossop
Glossop is a market town within the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the Glossop Brook, a tributary of the River Etherow, about east of the city of Manchester, west of the city of Sheffield. Glossop is situated near Derbyshire's county borders with Cheshire, Greater...
. Neither locomotive did much running, and in late 1987 the NELPG took charge of both locomotives on long-term loan from the Drury family. While 60532 was moved to the Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
works at Wilton, Redcar and Cleveland
Wilton, Redcar and Cleveland
Wilton is a small village in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England.-Geography:It is located between Redcar and Eston at the base of Eston Hills - to the east of Eston Nab. The village is noted for its golf course and castle, Wilton...
, and restored to mainline running from December 1991; Bittern with its greater repair need was cosmetically restored to represent pioneer and long-gone sister 2509 Silver Link.
Silver Link was displayed at the National Railway Museum, York and on 3 July 1988 was displayed outside with 4468 Mallard
LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard
Number 4468 Mallard is a London and North Eastern Railway Class A4 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive built at Doncaster, England in 1938. While in other respects a relatively typical member of its class, it is historically significant for being the holder of the official world speed record for steam...
and 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley
LNER Class A4 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley
London and North Eastern Railway A4 Class number 4498 , 7 and 60007 , namedSir Nigel Gresley is a preserved British steam locomotive.-Liveries:...
. Mallard had just worked a charter train up from Doncaster, and Sir Nigel Gresley was discreetly used to make steam appear to come from Silver Link to give the impression she was in steam. 60009 Union of South Africa
LNER Class A4 4488 Union of South Africa
60009 Union of South Africa is an LNER Class A4 steam locomotive built in Doncaster in 1937. Originally named Osprey, it is one of six surviving Gresley A4s and is presently undergoing an extensive overhaul.-Names:...
was unable to attend. On the weekend of 5 July 2008, Bittern joined her three sisters for the first time ever on display at the National Railway Museum in York on the anniversary of sister Mallard's run.
In 1995, Silver Link was moved to the Great Central Railway
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
in Loughborough
Loughborough
Loughborough is a town within the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. It is the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and is home to Loughborough University...
to undergo restoration to working order, but this reached only a partial stage of dismantling. In 1997, Bittern was bought by Dr Tony Marchington
Tony Marchington
Dr Tony Marchington was an English biotechnology entrepreneur and businessman, famous as the co-founder of Oxford Molecular, and the former owner of Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman.-Early life:...
, and based at the Southall Railway Centre
Southall Railway Centre
Southall Railway Centre is a railway heritage centre at Southall in west London, near to Southall railway station and the Grand Union Canal. It is run by the GWR Preservation Group Limited .-History:...
alongside his other locomotive which was also being overhauled at the time, LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman
LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman
The LNER Class A3 Pacific locomotive No. 4472 Flying Scotsman was built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway at Doncaster Works to a design of H.N. Gresley...
. In 2000, after the over budgeted £1million restoration of Flying Scotsman was complete, Marchington sold Bittern to Jeremy Hosking
Jeremy Hosking
Jeremy J. Hosking is a British businessman, a co-founder and investment portfolio manager for private investment fund Marathon. Hosking is also well known for his extensive collection of steam locomotives, and 25% share holding in Crystal Palace F.C....
, who moved her to the Mid-Hants Railway in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
in January 2001, for full restoration.
On 19 May 2007, Bittern was steamed for the first time since the 1970s. In authentic British Railways lined green livery and carrying her British Railways number, 60019, she hauled her first service train since the 1970s on 7 July 2007 after six years of restoration, numerous tests and modifications. She departed at one o'clock on 7 July 2007, during the Watercress Line's 'End of Southern Steam Gala', hauling their rake of dining coaches from Alresford to Alton. Since then she has been 'run in' and has been used on normal services, Santa specials and on 21, 22 and 23 March 2008 ran as 'Spencer' from the Thomas The Tank Engine stories during the Watercress Line's 'Day out with Thomas'. (She was also booked as 'Spencer' from 9–17 August 2008.)
Bittern was then sent to Southall depot
Southall railway station
Southall railway station, is in Southall in west London, England. The station is in Travelcard Zone 4 and passenger services are provided by First Great Western from London to , and , and by Heathrow Connect from Paddington to Heathrow Airport....
near London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where she was configured to run with her water tender and support coach, both having originally been used with Flying Scotsman
LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman
The LNER Class A3 Pacific locomotive No. 4472 Flying Scotsman was built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway at Doncaster Works to a design of H.N. Gresley...
. After that, she completed brake and speed tests on a run to Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
and soon after made her official return to mainline working on Saturday 1 December 2007 on a charter from London Kings Cross to York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, and since then has hauled several more 'Railtours' around Britain.
On 25 July 2009, Bittern made a 188-mile run from King's Cross to York non-stop using a second tender to avoid the need to stop en route to take on water and change crews, carrying the headboard "The Brighton Belle" to publicise the launch of the Brighton Belle
Brighton Belle
The Brighton Belle was a named train which ran on the Southern Railway from Victoria Station in London to Brighton, on the Sussex coast. The first electric all-Pullman service in the world, it ran from 29 June 1934 till 30 April 1972.-History:...
restoration project by the 5BEL Trust. With the first tender having a water capacity of 5,000 gallons and coal, and the second tender only used for carrying an extra 9,000 gallons of water, it was thought that this would give Bittern a range of about 250 miles; occasional stops are desirable in any case, for things such as mechanical checks and coal redistribution in the tender and firebox. A non-stop run on the East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
had not been achieved since the 1968 Kings Cross to Edinburgh run by Flying Scotsman, also with a second tender. In June in the Top Gear Race to the North
Top Gear Race to the North
The Top Gear Race to the North was a three way race between a Jaguar XK120 car, a Vincent Black Shadow motorbike, and railway locomotive 60163 Tornado – a brand new mainline steam engine completed in Britain in 2008. The race saw the car, bike and locomotive, race from London, England, to...
, a run using the newly built locomotive No. 60163 Tornado had been achieved from London to Edinburgh on the ECML with water stops but no station stops, also a first since the 1968 run of No. 4472.
During the winter of 2010/2011 the locomotive received maintenance which included the cosmetic renaming and renumbering of the locomotive as scrapped classmate 4492 Dominion of New Zealand (BR number 60013). This conversion also included repainting the locomotive in LNER garter blue, the fitting of Gresley's original side valances and the painting of its wheels in their original red colouring. Dominion of New Zealand was one of five A4s named after Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
countries to pull "The Coronation" service named to celebrate the Coronation of George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
in 1937. Two of the five "Coronation"-named A4s also survive - Dominion of Canada
LNER Class A4 4489 Dominion of Canada
60010 Dominion of Canada is an LNER Class A4 steam locomotive. She is a 4-6-2 locomotive built to the same design by Sir Nigel Gresley as the more famous Mallard. There were 35 A4 locomotives built in total...
and Union of South Africa
LNER Class A4 4488 Union of South Africa
60009 Union of South Africa is an LNER Class A4 steam locomotive built in Doncaster in 1937. Originally named Osprey, it is one of six surviving Gresley A4s and is presently undergoing an extensive overhaul.-Names:...
. The locomotive is due to remain in this livery for 3 years.