Veteran takes to the tracks again

Jun 9 2008 by Peter Elson, Liverpool Daily Post

A TRIO of Britain’s finest Pacific type locomotives will haul the North Wales Coast Express and the Cumbrian Mountain Express this summer.

Perhaps most exciting will be the very rare appearance of A4 class No 60009 Union of South Africa, sister engine of the world’s fastest locomotive, Mallard.

Known simply as “No 9”, this distinctively streamlined locomotive was built by the LMS’s arch-rival, London North Eastern Railway, to haul the high-speed Coronation express from London to Edinburgh, in 1937.

This classic thoroughbred is instantly recognisable with its 1930s art deco aerodynamic design, by Sir Nigel Gresley, inspired by both Bugatti racing cars and the R101 airship.

The youngest locomotive, Duke of Gloucester, is a stripling of just 54 years old and the oldest, Princess Elizabeth, is aged 75 years.

All will perform the tasks of hauling big trains at high speeds, just as they were expected to do when new – a tribute to their design, engineering, build quality, devoted current volunteer maintenance teams and private owners.

Named after the Queen when she was a little girl, No 6201 Princess Elizabeth was built in 1933 at Crewe, by the London Midland & Scottish Railway and is one of our own.

“Lizzie” was based at Liverpool Edge Hill shed to haul the prestigious Liverpool – London trains, and still holds the record for the fastest steam train run from London to Glasgow and return.

Another Crewe product, the unique No 71000 Duke of Gloucester, was British Railways’ last express steam locomotive design on completion in 1954.

It was to herald a new era of modern steam, but plans for more sister engines were cancelled with the launch of the BR modernisation plan for dieselisation just a year later.