The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Peppercorn Class A1 is a type of express passenger steam locomotive. Forty-nine Peppercorn Class A1s were built to the design of Arthur Peppercorn (who was the last Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the LNER during the early British Railways era. They were the most reliable engines on the North Eastern Region, but all were withdrawn and scrapped with the discontinuation of steam, with none of the original locomotives surviving into preservation. In 2008, a brand new 50th Peppercorn A1 locomotive, 60163 Tornado, was completed.
Background[]
Most of the former LNER Class A1 locomotives designed by Sir Nigel Gresley had been rebuilt as LNER Class A3 locomotives prior to this class being conceived. The few straggling LNER Class A1 locomotives that remained unrebuilt during the tenure of Peppercorn's predecessor, Edward Thompson, were redesignated by him as Class A10s in preparation for the construction of his new Class A1 locomotives. Thompson rebuilt the pioneer LNER pacific Great Northern in 1945; originally this was the new Class A1, but the rebuild was not repeated. Instead, initiated by Thompson but largely taken forward by his successor Arthur Peppercorn, Great Northern was designated Class A1/1, and a new class of Peppercorn A1s ordered.
The locomotives were designed to cope with the heaviest passenger trains in the post-war period on the East Coast Main Line (London– York – Newcastle – Edinburgh – Aberdeen) which consisted normally of trains with up to 15 coaches and up to 550 tons. The Peppercorn A1s were able to pull such a train on the flat at a speed of 60–70 mph (95–110 km/h). Like previous LNER pacifics, the class had a 3-cylinder arrangement. The chimney system was of the type Double-Kylchap.
Original locomotives[]
Construction[]
The new A1s were ordered by the LNER but delivered after that company had been nationalized to form part of British Railways at the start of 1948. The 49 engines were built at the Eastern Region's Doncaster and Darlington works between 1948 and 1949.
| Nos | Date built | Works | Order no.[1] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60114-22 | 1948 | Doncaster | 382 | |
| 60123 | 1949 | Doncaster | ||
| 60124-9 | 1949 | Doncaster | 383 | |
| 60130-43 | 1948 | Darlington | — | |
| 60144-52 | 1949 | Darlington | — | |
| 60153-7 | 1949 | Doncaster | 388 | Built with Timkenroller bearings on all axles |
| 60158-62 | 1949 | Doncaster |
Withdrawal and preservation[]
By summer of 1966 all 49 class members had gone for scrap. The last to be withdrawn from stock was No. 60145 Saint Mungo after a working life of just 17 years. 60145 Saint Mungo was planned to be preserved by Geoff Drury, however, it ultimately was unsuccessful and none of the original locomotives were preserved.
| Year | No. withdrawn | Nos |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | 6 | 60115/22/23/35/37/53 |
| 1963 | 6 | 60136/44/59-62 |
| 1964 | 11 | 60114/9/20/5/39/41/3/7/9/50/8 |
| 1965 | 24 | 60116-8/21/26-34/38/40/2/6/8/51/2/4-7 |
| 1966 | 2 | 60124/45 |
List of original locomotives[]
Below is a list of original Peppercorn A1 Locomotives
| No. | Name | Built | Works | Withdrawn | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60114 | W. P. Allen | August 1948 | Doncaster | December 1964 | |
| 60115 | Meg Merrilies | September 1948 | Doncaster | November 1962 | |
| 60116 | Hal o' the Wynd | October 1948 | Doncaster | June 1965 | |
| 60117 | Bois Roussel | October 1948 | Doncaster | June 1965 | |
| 60118 | Archibald Sturrock | November 1948 | Doncaster | October 1965 | |
| 60119 | Patrick Stirling | November 1948 | Doncaster | May 1964 | |
| 60120 | Kittiwake | December 1948 | Doncaster | January 1964 | |
| 60121 | Silurian | December 1948 | Doncaster | October 1965 | |
| 60122 | Curlew | December 1948 | Doncaster | December 1962 | |
| 60123 | H.A. Ivatt | February 1949 | Doncaster | October 1962 | |
| 60124 | Kenilworth | March 1949 | Doncaster | March 1966 | |
| 60125 | Scottish Union | April 1949 | Doncaster | July 1964 | |
| 60126 | Sir Vincent Raven | April 1949 | Doncaster | January 1965 | |
| 60127 | Wilson Worsdell | May 1949 | Doncaster | June 1965 | |
| 60128 | Bongrace | May 1949 | Doncaster | January 1965 | |
| 60129 | Guy Mannering | June 1949 | Doncaster | October 1965 | |
| 60130 | Kestrel | September 1948 | Darlington | October 1965 | |
| 60131 | Osprey | October 1948 | Darlington | October 1965 | |
| 60132 | Marmion | October 1948 | Darlington | June 1965 | |
| 60133 | Pommern | October 1948 | Darlington | June 1965 | |
| 60134 | Foxhunter | November 1948 | Darlington | October 1965 | |
| 60135 | Madge Wildfire | November 1948 | Darlington | November 1962 | |
| 60136 | Alcazar | November 1948 | Darlington | May 1963 | |
| 60137 | Redgauntlet | December 1948 | Darlington | October 1962 | |
| 60138 | Boswell | December 1948 | Darlington | October 1965 | |
| 60139 | Sea Eagle | December 1948 | Darlington | June 1964 | |
| 60140 | Balmoral | December 1948 | Darlington | January 1965 | |
| 60141 | Abbotsford | December 1948 | Darlington | October 1964 | |
| 60142 | Edward Fletcher | February 1949 | Darlington | June 1965 | |
| 60143 | Sir Walter Scott | February 1949 | Darlington | May 1964 | |
| 60144 | King's Courier | March 1949 | Darlington | April 1963 | |
| 60145 | Saint Mungo | March 1949 | Darlington | June 1966 | Candidate for preservation |
| 60146 | Peregrine | April 1949 | Darlington | October 1965 | |
| 60147 | North Eastern | April 1949 | Darlington | August 1964 | |
| 60148 | Aboyeur | May 1949 | Darlington | June 1965 | |
| 60149 | Amadis | May 1949 | Darlington | June 1964 | |
| 60150 | Willbrook | June 1949 | Darlington | October 1964 | |
| 60151 | Midlothian | June 1949 | Darlington | November 1965 | |
| 60152 | Holyrood | July 1949 | Darlington | June 1965 | |
| 60153 | Flamboyant | August 1949 | Doncaster | November 1962 | |
| 60154 | Bon Accord | September 1949 | Doncaster | October 1965 | |
| 60155 | Borderer | September 1949 | Doncaster | October 1965 | |
| 60156 | Great Central | October 1949 | Doncaster | May 1965 | |
| 60157 | Great Eastern | November 1949 | Doncaster | January 1965 | |
| 60158 | Aberdonian | November 1949 | Doncaster | December 1964 | |
| 60159 | Bonnie Dundee | November 1949 | Doncaster | October 1963 | |
| 60160 | Auld Reekie | December 1949 | Doncaster | December 1963 | |
| 60161 | North British | December 1949 | Doncaster | October 1963 | |
| 60162 | Saint Johnstoun | December 1949 | Doncaster | October 1963 |
Notes on names[]
The names of the A1s were an eclectic mix including:
- Racehorses: Bois Roussel, Silurian, Scottish Union, Bongrace, Pommern, Foxhunter, Alcazar, Boswell, King's Courier, Aboyeur, Amadis, Willbrook, Flamboyant
- Names of people: W. P. Allen (an LNER locomotive driver who became a member of the Railway Executive in 1948), Archibald Sturrock, Patrick Stirling, H. A. Ivatt, Sir Vincent Raven, Wilson Worsdell, Edward Fletcher (Locomotive Superintendents of pre-grouping railways), Sir Walter Scott, Saint Mungo
- Names related to the works of Sir Walter Scott: Meg Merrilies, Hal o' the Wynd, Kenilworth, Guy Mannering, Marmion, Borderer, Madge Wildfire, Redgauntlet, Bonnie Dundee. Some of these names had previously been used on NBR J class locomotives
- Pre-grouping railway companies: North Eastern, Great Central, Great Eastern, North British
- Birds: Kittiwake, Curlew, Kestrel, Osprey, Sea Eagle, Peregrine
- Place-related names: Balmoral, Abbotsford (Sir Walter Scott's house), Midlothian, Holyrood, Bon Accord (motto of Aberdeen), Auld Reekie (a soubriquet for Edinburgh), Saint Johnstoun (an old name for Perth), Aberdonian
No. 60163 Tornado[]
- Main article: LNER Class A1 60163 Tornado
None of the original 49 Peppercorn A1s survived into preservation, however in 2008 a brand new 50th A1 based on the Peppercorn blueprints, 60163 Tornado, was completed as the evolved member of the class.
Accidents and incidents[]
- On 5 June 1950, locomotive No. 60153 Flamboyant was hauling an express passenger train which was derailed at Tollerton, North Yorkshire due to heat buckled track.
- On 14 April 2018, locomotive No. 60163 Tornado was hauling an excursion train named "The Ebor Flyer" from London King's Cross to York. While traveling at 90 mph around Sandy, south of Peterborough, the locomotive's inside motion failed.
In Fiction[]
- Allen from Simon A.C. Martin's The British Railway Series is based on the real No. 60114 W. P. Allen.
Models[]
Bachmann Branchline and Hornby make models in OO gauge, Graham Farish produce a model in N gauge and Accucraft (UK) make a live steam model in gauge 1.