#lner a4

[klein-sodor-bahn]

Mini-Nado and Nigel

One of the most wholesome relationships in my AU is between SNG and Tornado. Nigel adopted Nado in the absence of Scotsman and raised them to be a bright and independent engine. They are reading about auntie Mallard.

[hazel-of-sodor]

Tonight's engine, my updated LNER A4 pacific! I updated the motion, and took the opportunity to finish out the liveries. (severalof these are inspired/pulled from @joezworld's Au with permission)

Spencer (Silver Link- is preserved by Sir Robert Noramby in 1962. When not pulling Railtours or serving as the Duke's private engine, he serves on the North Western Railway.

4491 Commonwealth of Australia- was gifted to her namesake country upon withdrawal in 1964.

C1 Dr. Evan Pierce (William Whitelaw)- was purchased by the Denbigh and Wrexham Railway in 1966 to run their express services to London.

17 Silver Fox- is under private ownership, but is managed by the London New Eastern Railway on behalf of her owners.

60015 Quicksilver-was purchased by the Chester and Holyhead Railway in 1963, and ran her last British Railways train from London onto C&HR Metals under her own power.

4902 Seagull-purchased as scrap for the Seagull Line, where she is their flagship engine.

4468 Mallard-The Official World Speed Record holder for Steam locomotives, Mallard is owned by the National Railway Museum.

2511 Silver Queen (Silver King)- purchased by the North Western Railway upon her withdrawal in 1965, she chose to amend her name to Silver Queen, but keep her original Silver King markings.

4487 Sea Eagle and 4494 Osprey- purchased in 1962 by the London New Eastern Railway to run their express services.

4493 Woodcock- escaped to America aboard an unknown liner in 1963.

4903 Peregrine- preserved by the Krestaen Railway Museum upon withdrawal in 1966.

4498 Sir Nigel Gresley- preserved in 1967 by the A4 Locomotive Society,known in the present day as the Sir Nigel Gresley Locomotive Preservation Trust.

4464 Bittern- bought by Geoff Drury in September 1966 from British Railways, the locomotive is currently owned by Jeremy Hosking.

60009 Union of South Africa- was purchased from British Railway by John Cameron in July 1966. She is usually found on his Lochty Preservation Railway.

60035 Thunder-the 36th member of the Class, was slated for Preservation by the Sudrian Railway Museum in the 50s, and ran to the museum under her own power upon withdrawal in 1966. She remains one of their flagship excursion engines through the present day. Notably this engine spent her later LNER and British Railway service sharing the number of LNER A3 Windsor Lad due to an accounting oversight.

60013 Dominion of New Zealand- was gifted to her namesake country upon withdrawal in 1963, but wasn’t delivered until 1964 so she could be shipped with 4491 Commonwealth of Australia.

60 018 Sparrow Hawk- was donated to the London New Eastern Railway when withdrawn in 1963, with the provision she would be available for use if BR wanted to run steam excursions in the future. Due to this, Sparrow hawk would spend much of the 70s and 80s pulling excursions on the BR mainline.

4489 Dominion of Canada- was gifted to her namesake country upon withdrawal in 1965.

4486 Merlin-was yanked off the docks by cargo ship in 1965, and taken to South Korea, where he would take up high speed express trains as he was designed to pull. In the modern day he is an honored elder among their locomotives, and trained almost every high speed locomotive and trainset in the Republic of Korea.

11 Empire of India- was purchased directly from British Railways in 1964 by Silver Fox’s owner. She can normally be found hauling expresses on the London New Eastern Railway, as prefers to stay on home rails rather than touring.

4484 Falcon, 4900 Gannet, and 4483 Kingfisher- were purchased by an American Railroad. 4493 Woodcock had wandered onto the line after her escape to America, which had led to increased tourism to the line. In response the line contacted British Railways and acquired 4484 and 4900 later the same year. The three A4s soon settled into their new home, although whether they understood the difference between their new employment and the former ownership by British Railways was somewhat of a question at the time. In 1966 the railway contacted BR again and 4483 joined the trio.

4495 Golden Fleece-rolled himself on a ferry to France at the end of 1962, and eventually ended up in America, Running the CSX Miami Terminal.

60008 Dwight D. Eisenhower- Donated to the United States in 1964 due to being named after a US President. He soon found employment on the Southern Pacific, and would eventually marry one of their Daylight GS-4 northerns, 4437 Irene.

[1863-project]

Happy Mallard Day!

Most people in my country will be celebrating tomorrow, July 4th. I’m a bit unusual for an American in that I’m always more excited for July 3rd, because a remarkable feat of engineering history happened that day in 1938 (in multiple senses of the word). Today I’m going to tell the story of a locomotive named for a duck.

(Image: 4468 Mallard, a streamlined 4-6-2 Pacific locomotive, sitting pretty in York, England, United Kingdom. She is painted bright blue with red wheel spokes.)

The story begins well before July 3rd, 1938, of course - mechanical engineer Sir Nigel Gresley was well established in his position as the CME of the London and North Eastern Railway by that date. In 1923, his most famous creation, a 4-6-2 Pacific A1 numbered 4472, took to the rails for the first time. Originally numbered 1472, within a year of running between London to Edinburgh she received her more familiar 4472 after the LNER finally settled on a company-wide numbering scheme - and the name she’d be best known under, Flying Scotsman. She became the company’s flagship locomotive and solidified Gresley’s ability to design Pacifics in the mind of the public.

Her most important contribution to what I’m about to get into the meat of here, though, occurred on November 30th, 1934. On that date, pulling a light testing train behind her, Flying Scotsman hit 100 mph, becoming the first locomotive to hit that speed whilst being officially measured. Other locomotives may have reached 100 mph before, most notably GWR 3700 City of Truro and NYC 999, but this was the first time the speed was officially recorded, and so Scotsman got her name into the record books.

Dating back to the 19th century, railroads in Great Britain competed against each other in what was known as the Race to the North, in which they actively attempted to outdo each other and get passengers from the south, usually London, up to various destinations in Scotland. Nobody ever actually said they were racing, of course, but in retrospect it was pretty obvious what was going on as the railroads introduced faster and faster services. By the 1930s, the railroads had been consolidated into four companies - the Big Four (the Great Western, the Southern, the London, Midland and Scottish, and the heroes of this story, the London and North Eastern). The LMS controlled the West Coast Main Line, and the LNER controlled the East Coast Main Line. (This is important.) In 1927, the LNER started running the named train Flying Scotsman non-stop from London to Edinburgh, utilizing corridor tenders to perform crew changes at speed without stopping. Not to be outdone, the LMS beat them to the punch, running non-stop services between London and Glasgow and London and Edinburgh on their own, and it was officially on. Although speeds were still within a reasonable range at this point, both railroads knew they needed to go faster, and Sir Nigel Gresley looked to Germany.

In Germany, a new streamlined service called the Flying Hamburger had been introduced. This was a diesel train set that ran between Hamburg and Berlin at remarkably high speeds - it had an average speed of 77 mph and could hit around 99-100 mph at its maximum. For regular service, this was impressive, and Gresley wondered if the same could be done using steam power. He knew streamlining was the key, but the LNER knew that the diesels in Germany didn’t have the same passenger capacity as their steam locomotives could pull in carriages, so he needed to get creative. He looked to Bugatti for inspiration; their racecars, in their resplendent blue, were but one thing the car company was working on - they were making streamlined railcars, as well. Gresley took note of their designs, and his new locomotives would eventually pay homage by being colored Bugatti blue.

(Image: a Bugatti Type 54 racecar, painted in a vivid blue.)

By the time Flying Scotsman hit 100 mph in 1934 and another Gresley Pacific locomotive, A3 2750 Papyrus, managed to hit a whopping 108 mph without streamlining, the LNER knew that Gresley was capable of the task, and they allowed him to design a streamlined locomotive. Gresley set to work making improvements to his A3 design, and the first four A4s were born.

(Image: an unidentified A4 Pacific locomotive.)

The A4s were fast, hitting 112 mph on the inaugural run of the Silver Jubilee service between London and Newcastle in 1935. Gresley, of course, was not satisfied - he knew he could still improve his design, and at any rate, his competition over at the LMS was going to be trying to catch him. He went back to the drawing board to make the A4s even better.

As this was going on, the LMS was indeed playing catchup, and they introduced their beautiful Coronation class locomotives, designed to pull the Coronation Scot starting in 1937. The first several of them were streamlined in gorgeous, bright casings, and they caused a stir, taking the British speed record back at 114 mph in an attempt by 6220 Coronation that ended with a sudden braking and a whole lot of kitchenware being flung every which way in the dining car. Engineer/driver T.J. Clark and fireman C. Lewis kept her under control, but the passengers were not amused, and speed records were shelved for the time being...until, once again, Germany entered the fray.

Back in 1936, a German locomotive, the DRG Class 05, set a land speed record for steam, hitting 124.5 mph. Gresley was aware of this and had it in the back of his mind as he improved his A4s. He experimented with giving some of them a Kylchap exhaust system, an innovation developed by French locomotive designer André Chapelon after the work of Finnish engineer Kyösti Kylälä. Chapelon’s work went woefully under-acknowledged, but Gresley paid attention and appreciated his work, and it would pay off. Wind tunnel tests proved a bit frustrating at first until a fortuitous accidental thumbprint helped to move the smoke up and over the locomotive instead of in the crew’s faces, and the stage was set.

4468 Mallard rolled off the line at Doncaster Works on March 3rd, 1938, her name derived from Gresley’s love of breeding waterfowl. Indeed, many of her sibling locomotives were also named for birds, like 4464 Bittern, 4467 Wild Swan, 4902 Seagull, and 4903 Peregrine, but the duck was about to steal the show. Mallard spent the next few months getting used to working and being broken in so she wasn’t brand new, and on the day she turned four months old, it was time to make history.

Mallard’s driver that day was a 61-year-old grandfather named Joe Duddington. As a locomotive engineer, he was experienced and knew how to take calculated risks, and so he’d been assigned to pilot her. With him on the footplate was fireman Tommy Bray and his massive tattooed arms, ready to keep Mallard fed as they drove into the history books. They were performing a “brake test” that day, or so the LNER told most people, passengers included, but Joe and Tommy knew what was actually going on. In the cab with them was an LNER official, Inspector Jenkins, and attached to the train behind the tender was a dynamometer car, there to record Mallard’s speed throughout her run. Since this was an alleged “brake test” the dynamometer car didn’t raise any eyebrows right away. Gresley himself unfortunately wasn’t in the best health that day and was unable to be present himself, but there were enough LNER officials on hand to see to it that everything ran smoothly. Mallard was fitted with a stink bomb of sorts of aniseed in case the big end bearing for the middle of her three cylinders overheated, as the A4s had previously had difficulty with this, and she set out heading northwards. The return trip was where everything was going to get serious.

Upon turning around to return south to King’s Cross, passengers were finally informed of what was going to happen and were given the opportunity to disembark and take another train if they were worried, especially given what had happened during the LMS record attempt a year prior. Everyone agreed to stay on board. Joe Duddington turned his hat backwards, a reference to George Formby’s character in the film No Limit, and opened the throttle.

Mallard slid back onto the main line, headed towards Grantham, where the speed-up was to begin. Unfortunately, work on the track limited her to only 15 mph at this stage, and Joe Duddington got her through the Grantham station at only 24 mph instead of the 60-70 mph she should have been at. Nevertheless, she began to build up more and more speed as she climbed up Stoke Bank, and Duddington had her at a solid 85 mph at the summit.

“Once over the top, I gave Mallard her head, and she just jumped to it like a live thing,” Duddington recounted later in an interview. Her speed rapidly increased, and she was soon hitting 110 mph, at which point he told her, “Go on, old girl, we can do better than this!” Mallard responded, and by the time she was flying through a village called Little Bytham, a blur of blue paint and pumping rods and flying ash, she had well exceeded the LMS record and was even with the German DRG Class 05. The needle in the dynamometer car tipped up higher and higher and surpassed the Class 05 by slipping up to 125 mph...then, for about a quarter of a mile, reached even higher, at 126 mph. She’d done it.

Mallard had to slow down soon after because of a junction, but Joe Duddington and Tommy Bray were sure she could have gone faster had they not had to slow for construction - they believed she was capable of 130. The big end bearing did overheat, and Mallard was detached from the train at Peterborough and brought back to Doncaster to be fixed up, but not before one of the most famous photos in railroad history was taken:

(Image: the crew poses in front of Mallard, a 4-6-2 Pacific locomotive numbered 4468, immediately after setting the speed record. L-R: Tommy Bray [fireman], Joe Duddington [driver/engineer], Inspector Jenkins, Henry Croucher [guard/conductor]. Joe Duddington has turned his hat around to face the correct way again after having it on backwards during the record run. Photo credit: National Railway Museum.)

Joe Duddington actually stayed on a bit past his retirement age to help free up soldiers for the war effort. When he finally retired, on his final day of work, he drove Mallard one last time.

Sir Nigel Gresley himself never accepted the brief stint at 126 mph, instead saying his locomotive set the speed record at 125 mph. But history has accepted the 126 mph as the true top speed, given that Mallard was possibly capable of even more, and today she has plaques on her streamlined cladding to commemorate her feat. A second record attempt was planned to see if she could go even faster, but World War II broke out and the idea was scrapped.

Tommy Bray eventually got on the throttle himself, fulfilling his own dreams. Both men are honored in a cemetery in Doncaster with a new memorial headstone for Duddington featuring Mallard on it.

As for Mallard herself, she continued working until April 25th, 1963, at which point she’d clocked nearly a million and a half miles in service. She was pulled for preservation for obvious reasons, and today she lives at the National Railway Museum in York, along with her dynamometer car that recorded her history-setting run. Five of her A4 siblings also survive, and a few of them are operational to this day, including the one named for her designer, Sir Nigel Gresley. Of all of his ‘birds,’ the one that flew fastest was the humble duck.

For more on Mallard and her creator Gresley, here are a few resources:

Mallard: How the Blue Streak Broke the World Speed Record by Don Hale is a great book on the subject that I enjoyed thoroughly. It does have a Kindle edition if you’d prefer an ebook variation, as well, and most major book retailers carry it on their websites.

The National Railway Museum, Mallard’s retirement home, has a 3D experience/ride of sorts that simulates what it was like to be running with her that day, the video of which is online here. Note the music, which mirrors her three cylinders pumping away. The video isn’t able to be embedded, but you can watch it here. There’s also a child-friendly version, too.

Lastly, the appropriately named prog rock band Big Big Train did a song about Mallard called East Coast Racer, which regularly moves me to tears because this locomotive means so much to me and they tell her story so lovingly.

I actually recommend checking out the live version, too, because they show the photo of the crew at the end and every single time I start sobbing.

If you want to visit the old girl herself, she’s at the National Railway Museum in York in the UK, and they have a ton of amazing resources and incredible locomotives and rolling stock in their collection. I’d highly recommend checking them out if you can!

Happy Mallard Day, everyone. Fly far, fly fast, make history.

[redwryvernwrites]

LNER A4 Gang

From left to right: Dominion of New Zealand, Dwight D Eisenhower, Empire of India, Golden Eagle, ???

[stories-of-the-nrm]

A Record Breaking Celebration

Narrator: It was a cool October day in 1937 England. Sir Nigel Gresley reads his newspaper when one of the Doncaster engineers comes in.

Engineer: Sir, it's done!

(Sir Nigel Gresley looks up from his newspaper).

Sir Nigel Gresley: Done? Which engine is done?

Engineer: Your 100th engine.

(He sets the newspaper down on his desk).

Sir Nigel Gresley: Splendid. I would like to see Bittern's first firing.

Engineer: Bittern? I believe there's a misunderstanding, sir. This engine's been named after you by the suggestion of the RCTS.

(He rubs his eyes).

Sir Nigel Gresley: No matter. Simply have one of the other engines named that.

(He stands up and follows the engineer to the works. He looks over the engine before giving the signal to light the fire).

?: Where? Where am I?

Sir Nigel Gresley: No worries young engine. This is the Doncaster Works of the London and North Eastern Railway in England. My name is Sir Nigel Gresley, your creator.

?: Oh. It's an honor to meet you sir.

Sir Nigel Gresley: Thank you. You're quite a special engine to me. My 100th completed engine, meaning you will be honored at a naming ceremony at Marylebone station after you pass your tests.

Nigel: Thank you sir! I hope I can make you proud.

(Sir Nigel Gresley laughs).

Sir Nigel Gresley: Excellent. Now once you're cleared to work, you will be transferred to Kings Cross.

(We fade to the Great Gathering in 2013).

Narrator: Mallard and Nigel spend time talking to each other about their pasts.

Nigel: Yes things were quite different in just the little amount of time I was in service before your first firing. Sometimes I wonder if things would be different if another engine became his hundredth. I was immediately given special treatment.

Mallard: Oh yes I remember. I was still learning how to handle coaches right there in Doncaster. Of course breaking the speed record likely took away your spotlight.

(Nigel shuts his eyes for a second).

Nigel: Not at all brother. I was still given the opportunity to test the air conditioned rolling stock while you were preparing for a speed record run. It's always an honor to be tasked with demonstrating technological advancements.

Mallard: Indeed. I heard your demonstration to open the Rugby test station in Warwickshire back in '48 went smoothly. If only I can say the same about my own showing at the Trials.

Nigel: I wouldn't be so hard on yourself. Your history with the middle big end overheating was known since your record run a decade prior. It was simply a fault in our design that was brought to attention for future reference.

(Mallard sighs).

Mallard: By the way Nigel, do you remember taking the Royal Train back in 1956?

(Nigel thinks).

Nigel: Oh yes the Royal Train. Even more an honor than reaching 112 mph pulling the Stephenson Special.

Mallard: Yes that run in 1959 was splendid brother. A fully functional passenger train. Didn't you break the 100 mph mark more than once elsewhere?

Nigel: Indeed. I broke it twice more. Our cousin Scotsman was quite familiar with the man on my footplate that day. A Mr. Alan Pegler.

Mallard: That's right he was with the board for the BTC.

(There's a pause for silence).

Mallard: At least you got to go on runs after all these years. I believe my last outing. Why I personally can't recall having a run since the 1980s.

Nigel: Ah yes your 50th anniversary. You must be quite popular if you've been a static exhibit that long.

Mallard: I'm afraid so. In fact that was particularly why I apologize for the state of my human form. My parts are simply unsuitable and they will likely never be replaced.

(Nigel pats Mallard's shoulder).

Nigel: Never mind that. This is a symbol of your respect. After your years of service and holding the steam record you deserve to be preserved forever. This is your time to enjoy the pleasures of phenomenon never explored.

Mallard: Don't tell me our cousin convinced you that human food is a viable source of joy?

Nigel: Not entirely. I enjoy a treat for special occasions but nothing more. In fact to honor your run, I asked my driver to buy you a gift.

(Mallard watches as he goes to pick up a bottle of port and a box of truffles).

Mallard: You didn't.

Nigel: I did little brother. You made a great accomplishment and brought honor to our railway. To this day after 75 years that record still stands. I am more than honored to have you as a brother.

(Mallard looks touched).

Mallard: I suppose I have no choice in the matter. Very well then Nigel, you may open the bottle.

Nigel: Splendid. I admit this is my first time as well so I'll simply ask Bittern to do so.

(Mallard raises an eyebrow).

Mallard: She's familiar with human food? But she's so mindful of her human form.

Nigel: Yes she did have an influence from her brief reunion with our cousin Scotsman. Since she's returned to active service, she did develop a well balanced approach to eating.

(Mallard sighs).

Mallard: Alright brother. You can ask her.

Nigel: Splendid. I'll be right back, brother.

Narrator: As Nigel leaves, Mallard reflects on his family's past including Scott's overhaul.

(Nigel returns and hands a glass of wine to Mallard).

Nigel: By the by, how is our dear cousin Scotsman?

(Mallard groans).

Mallard: The last I saw him was Railfest. His health had gone to the dogs. I saw numerous marks on his arms and was nothing but languish.

(Nigel raises an eyebrow).

Nigel: He dared risk taking on his human form?

Mallard: Apparently so and it was a pitiful display that set a terrible example for Tornado. She is meant to be a proper woman as the first of his class in decades. He was to be the role model she needs if she is to represent our former railway as opposed to stuffing his face.

(Nigel takes a sip of wine).

Nigel: I suggest having some patience with our cousin, brother. An overhaul that lasted this long, with little progress is bound to cause issues. Given his fondness for his human form, I can only imagine the pain he must have been in.

(Mallard takes a sip before putting the glass down).

Mallard: Pardon me, brother. I appreciate the thought you put into this celebration of ours, but I don't find this wine to my taste.

Nigel: I understand and I'm thankful that you tried it. Perhaps these truffles will be more to your liking.

(Mallard picks up the small box).

Mallard: Are you familiar with these Nigel?

Nigel: My knowledge goes as far as knowing that these were made by a French chocolate master and are meant to be pure dark chocolate. My driver said that dark chocolate is meant to be slightly more bitter than milk chocolate.

Mallard: And we're meant to simply take one and eat it in one bite?

(Nigel picks one up).

Nigel: Indeed as being shaped similar to a ball makes them quite easy to eat.

(They both eat one).

Mallard: My my. Would these go well with tea? I believe some of my female passengers enjoyed these now that I think about it.

Nigel: I would say an Earl Grey tea would mix well with dark chocolate. I have learned how to make tea, so I can get that made for us.

Mallard: Excellent. Thank you.

Narrator: After the box of truffles were finished, Mallard and Nigel return to their engines for the night.

Mallard: Thank you for spending the day with me Nigel.

Nigel: Your welcome brother. I'm glad we have the opportunity to talk with each other again. Good night.

Mallard: Good night.

(With that the two fall asleep happy to have seen each other again).

AN: Thank you to Gatatodapoderosa from DeviantArt. I no longer post on there but still field requests. If you can read this, I'll still post this on Ao3 as promised. This was a fun one to make as I liked reading about an individual engine's history and how that could translate to their personalities.

[lomotunes2008]

I hate him so much (/pos)

[redgriffinsphotos]

Sir Nigel Gresley comes to Lincoln, December 2022

[lightning-studios]

Insert obligatory "haha not dead" text blurb here

Anyway Spencer was one of those characters I put off drawing for the longest time since I always thought drawing his streamlined casing would be a pain in the ass but surprisingly he was kinda fun to draw