Sir Herbert Nigel Gresley was a British railway engineer. He was one of Britain's most famous steam locomotive engineers, who rose to become Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). He was the designer of some of the most famous steam locomotives in Britain, including the LNER Class A1 and LNER Class A4 4-6-2 Pacific engines. An A1 Pacific, Flying Scotsman, was the first steam locomotive officially recorded over 100 mph in passenger service, and an A4, number 4468 Mallard, still holds the record for being the fastest steam locomotive in the world (126 mph).
Sir Vincent Litchfield Raven, KBE was an English railway engineer, and was chief mechanical engineer of the North Eastern Railway from 1910 to 1922.
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) produced several classes of locomotive, mostly to the designs of Nigel Gresley, characterised by a three-cylinder layout with a parallel boiler and round-topped firebox. It produced the most famous locomotive of its day, 4468 'Mallard', the holder of the world steam locomotive speed record. It also built the world-famous 4472 'Flying Scotsman'. However, its locomotive inheritance was much greater than just the 'A4 Class', it also produced highly successful mixed-traffic and freight designs.
The British Rail Class 98 is a Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) classification that has been used to cover all steam locomotives used on the mainline in Britain, but also has a particular usage for the three Vale of Rheidol Railway-design 2-6-2T locomotives that remained in the ownership of British Rail (BR) after the end of mainline steam traction in August 1968. The locomotives on the Vale of Rheidol Railway were the only steam locomotives ever officially to carry the British Rail corporate blue and the double arrow logo.
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Class V2 2-6-2 steam locomotives were designed by Sir Nigel Gresley for express mixed traffic work, and built at the LNER shops at Doncaster and Darlington between 1936 and 1944. The best known is the first of the class, 4771 Green Arrow, which is the sole survivor of the class.
London and North Eastern Railway's (LNER) Peppercorn Class A1 is a class of 4-6-2 "Pacific" steam locomotives largely built between 1948 and 1949 at Doncaster and Darlington Works to a design of Arthur Peppercorn. Forty-nine were built for hauling express passenger services on the East Coast Main Line owned by LNER's successor, British Railways' North Eastern Region. None of the original 49 Peppercorn A1s survived into preservation, with the last being scrapped in 1966. The 50th Peppercorn A1, 60163 Tornado, was completed in 2008 as an evolved member of its class.
The London and North Eastern Railway Gresley Classes A1 and A3 locomotives represented two distinct stages in the history of the British 4-6-2 "Pacific" steam locomotives designed by Nigel Gresley. They were designed for main line passenger services and later express passenger services, initially on the Great Northern Railway (GNR), a constituent company of the London and North Eastern Railway after the amalgamation of 1923, for which they became a standard design. The change in class designation to A3 reflected the fitting to the same chassis of a higher pressure boiler with a greater superheating surface and a small reduction in cylinder diameter, leading to an increase in locomotive weight. Eventually all of the A1 locomotives were rebuilt, most to A3 specifications, but no. 4470 was completely rebuilt as Class A1/1.
The Great Northern Railway Class H4 was a class of 2-6-0 steam locomotive designed for mixed-traffic work.
Edward Thompson was an English railway engineer, and was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and North Eastern Railway between 1941 and 1946. Edward Thompson was born at Marlborough, Wiltshire on 25 June 1881. He was the son of Francis Thompson, assistant master at Marlborough College. He was educated at Marlborough before taking the Mechanical Science Tripos at Pembroke College, Cambridge, earning a third class degree. Thompson entered the railway scene after education, contrasting that of his predecessor Nigel Gresley, who had also attended Marlborough after gaining practical experience as a pupil at Horwich Works.
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Class K4 is a class of 2-6-0 steam locomotives designed by Nigel Gresley for the steep grades of the West Highland Line.
The Great Central Railway Class 9N, classified A5 by the LNER, was a class of 4-6-2 tank locomotives designed by John G. Robinson for suburban passenger services. They were fitted with superheaters, piston valves and Stephenson valve gear.
The GER Class L77, LNER Class N7, is a class of 0-6-2T steam locomotives. They were designed by Alfred John Hill of the Great Eastern Railway and introduced in 1915. The design was perpetuated by Nigel Gresley of the LNER after the 1923 grouping. 134 were built and one example is preserved.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-8-4 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles.
The Great Northern Railway (GNR) Class N2 is an 0-6-2T side tank steam locomotive designed by Nigel Gresley and introduced in 1920. Further batches were built by the London and North Eastern Railway from 1925. They had superheaters and piston valves driven by Stephenson valve gear.
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Class A8 was a type of 4-6-2T steam locomotive, designed by both Vincent Raven and Nigel Gresley. They were rebuilt from the LNER Class H1s, a 4-4-4T class.
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Thompson Class L1 was a class of 2-6-4T steam locomotives designed by Edward Thompson. The prototype no. 9000 was built in 1945, but the remaining 99 were built under British Railways jurisdiction between 1948–1950. The prototype was well received, however the production batch were not, and all were withdrawn and scrapped between 1960 and 1962.
The London and North Eastern Railway Class V4 was a class of 2-6-2 steam locomotive designed by Sir Nigel Gresley for mixed-traffic use. It was Gresley's last design for the LNER before he died in 1941. The V4s had similarities in their appearance and mechanical layout to the V2 "Green Arrow" class. The V2s, introduced some years before, were large and heavy locomotives, with very limited route availability. The V4 was a lightweight alternative, suitable for use over the whole of the LNER network.
The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) operated various classes steam locomotives with a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement. The LNER operated more pacifics than any other of the Big Four British railway companies, and they were mostly used for express passenger work along the East Coast Main Line, though later in their lives many were displaced to other lines.
The Great Central Railway 9K and 9L classes were two related classes of 4-4-2T Atlantic steam locomotives. They were both intended for suburban passenger services. After the 1923 Grouping, they served the LNER as classes C13 and C14.
Despite the advent of electric and diesel locomotives in the mid-20th century, steam locomotives continued to be used and constructed into the 21st century.
