LNER A4 Mallard

LNER A4 Mallard

Perhaps the pinnacle of steam powered express locomotion, the Gresley A4 Pacific class 4-6-2, conceived and built in the mid 1930s by Sir Nigel Gresley, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER), was designed to compete with and beat the speed record of 114 mph set by William Stanier's London Midland and Scotland (LMS) Coronation Pacific.

On the 3rd July 1938, the LNER 4-6-2 A4 Class No. 4468 Mallard, driven by Joe Duddington and fired by Tommy Bray, on a stretch of the East Coast Main Line between Peterborough and Grantham took the World speed record at a measured 126 mph (202 kph), Its record as the world's fastest steam locomotive has never been beaten.

The World beating train consisted of three of the coronation twin sets, plus the dynamometer car, seven vehicles in all weighing 240 tons. All this being achieved just one year after the record run set by the LMS Coronation Pacific. thirtyfive examples of the A4 Pacific were built, the first being 'Silver Link' operating the 'Silver Jubilee' express passenger train service between Kings Cross, London to Newcastle via Darlington. No later steam design ever replaced the A4 from service over the prime routes such as the 'The Elizabethan' between London and Edinburgh non-stop. Developed in a series of wind tunnel tests, the body evolved to minimise aerodynamic drag, but also featured depressions around the chimney to cause an effect to ensure clearance of the smoke away from the drivers view. The needs and stresses of war meant that much of the valances were removed to facilitate fast maintenance of a vital component of the war effort. During this period 4469 'Sir Ralph Wedgewood' was lost in an air raid in York. Over time many were renamed in honour of individuals that included of course 'Sir Nigel Gresley', but also 'Dwight D. Eisenhower' and many others. Six remain preserved and some are in fact under renovation.

Author: Allan Rees

LNER A4 Mallard
• a1-cyl-steam.tfx 436 bytes
• a1-smoke-idle.tfx 428 bytes
• a1-smoke.tfx 548 bytes
• a1-steam-relief.tfx 452 bytes
coalman
coal.texture.txt 27 bytes
coal.tga 12.02KB
coal_shoveller.texture.txt 37 bytes
coal_shoveller.tga 768.02KB
coalman.im 56.88KB
coalman_loop1.kin 644.34KB
coalman_loop2.kin 322.83KB
coalman_loop2shovel.kin 48.59KB
coalman_shovel.kin 91.38KB
coalman_shovel2loop.kin 100.32KB
coalman_wave.kin 134.01KB
coalman_wipebrow.kin 225.05KB
m_head_2.texture.txt 31 bytes
m_head_2.tga 192.02KB
m_pants_1.texture.txt 32 bytes
m_pants_1.tga 384.02KB
m_shoe.texture.txt 29 bytes
m_shoe.tga 48.02KB
m_torso_1.texture.txt 32 bytes
m_torso_1.tga 384.02KB
shovel.texture.txt 29 bytes
shovel.tga 96.02KB
• config.txt 31.44KB
lner_a4_mallard_art
lner_a4_mallard_art_512.texture.txt 108 bytes
lner_a4_mallard_art_512.tga 1.00MB
lner_a4_mallard_art_icon.texture.txt 110 bytes
lner_a4_mallard_art_icon.tga 32.02KB
lner_a4_mallard_body
alpha-alpha.texture.txt 84 bytes
alpha-alpha.tga 32.02KB
black.texture.txt 28 bytes
black.tga 12.02KB
brass.texture.txt 28 bytes
brass.tga 12.02KB
env_metal.texture.txt 32 bytes
env_metal.tga 48.02KB
lner_a4_mallard_body.pm 936.36KB
main_a.texture.txt 29 bytes
main_a.tga 768.02KB
main_b.texture.txt 29 bytes
main_b.tga 384.02KB
sideframe.texture.txt 32 bytes
sideframe.tga 96.02KB
silver.texture.txt 29 bytes
silver.tga 12.02KB
window.texture.txt 29 bytes
window.tga 3.02KB
woody.texture.txt 28 bytes
woody.tga 24.02KB
lner_a4_mallard_shadow
black.texture.txt 28 bytes
black.tga 786 bytes
lner_a4_mallard_shadow.pm 5.65KB