LNER Peppercorn Class A1

For other LNER Class A1 locomotives, see LNER Class A1.

LNER Peppercorn Class A1
60155 Borderer primed and ready for duty, by the coaling stage at Gateshead depot. in 1964
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Arthur Peppercorn Builder Doncaster Works Darlington Works Build date 1948 - 1949, 2008
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-2 Leading dia. 3 ft 2 in (0.97 m) Driver dia. 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) Trailing dia. 3 ft 8 in (1.12 m) Length 72 ft 11.75 in (22.24 m) Width 9 ft 2.875 in (2.82 m) Height 13 ft 1 in (3.99 m) Axle load 22.1 long tons (22.5 t) Adhesive weight 66.55 long tons (67.62 t) Loco weight 105.2 long tons (106.9 t) Tender weight 60.9 long tons (61.9 t) Total weight 166.1 long tons (168.8 t) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 9.0 long tons (9.1 t) Water cap. 5,000 imp gal (23,000 L) Firebox: ​  • Grate area 50.0 sq ft (4.65 m2) Boiler Diagram 118 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) diameter 29 ft 2 in (8.89 m) length Boiler pressure 250 psi (1,700 kPa) Heating surface: ​  • Firebox 245.3 sq ft (22.79 m2)  • Tubes 1,211.6 sq ft (112.56 m2)  • Flues 1,004.5 sq ft (93.32 m2)  • Total surface 2,461.4 sq ft (228.67 m2) Superheater: ​  • Heating area 697.7 sq ft (64.82 m2) Cylinders 3 Cylinder size 19 in × 26 in (480 mm × 660 mm) Valve gear Walschaerts
Performance figures Tractive effort 37,397lbf 2,700 metric horsepower (2,000 kW)
Career Power class BR: 8P6F Number in class 49 original, 1 new Locale North Eastern Region of British Railways First run August 1948 Last run June 1966 Withdrawn October 1962 - June 1966 Scrapped 1962 - 1966 Disposition Original 49 withdrawn and scrapped, 1 built in 2008 and still in service

60133 Pommern passing Leeds-Holbeck High Level Station hauling Leeds Central to Kings Cross Yorkshire Pullman

60131 Osprey at Leeds Neville Hill locomotive shed on 18 April 1965

The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Peppercorn Class A1 is a type of express passenger steam locomotive. Forty-nine original Peppercorn Class A1s were built to the design of Arthur Peppercorn (who was the last Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London and North Eastern Railway) during the early British Railways era, but all were scrapped with the discontinuation of steam, with none of the original production run 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 after-war period on the East Coast Mainline (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 nationalised 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. Some of the dimensions in the information box on the right are taken from the LNER Encyclopedia. The figures for boiler pressure and cylinder and driving wheel dimensions are confirmed by Ian Allan ABC but there is a minor disagreement on weight (Ian Allan gives: locomotive 104 tons 2 cwt, tender 60 tons 7 cwt).

Construction details

Nos	Date built	Works	Order no.	Notes
60114-22	1948	Doncaster	382
60123	1949	Doncaster
60124-9	1949	Doncaster	383
60130-43	1948	Darlington	—
60144-51	1949	Darlington	—
60153-7	1949	Doncaster	388	Built with Timken roller bearings on all axles
60158-62	1949	Doncaster
60163	2008	Darlington	—	Includes modern safety equipment and LED light clusters

Service

Above all though the A1s were renowned for their reliability. By 1961 the class had accumulated 48,000,000 miles (77,000,000 km), equivalent to 202 miles (325 km) per locomotive each calendar day. These were unmatched by any other steam locomotive on British Railways. Some of the best performances were put in by Nos 60153-57, which in a move to increase distance between general repairs were fitted with roller bearing axleboxes. Between 1949 and 1961 this quintet totalled 4,800,000 miles (7,700,000 km) with an average distance between works overhauls of 120,000. In a single year No 60156 Great Central of Kings Cross ran 96,000 miles (154,000 km).

If there was one drawback to the Peppercorn A1 it was its riding. There were wide variations between individual class members with some very rough indeed. The cause apart from the inevitable axlebox wear lay in the leading bogie. This was the same as that fitted to the LNER Thompson Class B1 but no adjustments were made at the design stage to tailor it for the heavier A1. Changes to the loading of the bogie side control springs usually brought the riding up to a level comparable with other express types.

Withdrawal

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. An attempt to save the locomotive for preservation came to naught.

Withdrawal dates

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 locomotives

Below is a list of all 49 original Peppercorn A1 Locomotives

No.	Name	Built	Works	Withdrawn	Notes
60114	AllenW.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	SturrockArchibald Sturrock	November 1948	Doncaster	October 1965
60119	StirlingPatrick 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	IvattH.A. Ivatt	February 1949	Doncaster	October 1962
60124	Kenilworth	March 1949	Doncaster	March 1966
60125	Scottish Union	April 1949	Doncaster	July 1964
60126	RavenSir Vincent Raven	April 1949	Doncaster	January 1965
60127	WorsdellWilson Worsdell	May 1949	Doncaster	June 1965
60128	Bongrace	May 1949	Doncaster	January 1965
60129	ManneringGuy 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	FletcherEdward Fletcher	February 1949	Darlington	June 1965
60143	ScottSir Walter Scott	February 1949	Darlington	May 1964
60144	King's Courier	March 1949	Darlington	April 1963
60145	Saint Mungo	March 1949	Darlington	June 1966
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
60163	Tornado	July 2008	Darlington	N/A

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, 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), Borderer (a person from the Scottish borders), Auld Reekie (a soubriquet for Edinburgh), Saint Johnstoun (an old name for Perth), Aberdonian

No. 60163 Tornado

Main article: 60163 Tornado

60163 Tornado, August 2008, Darlington

None of the original production run of 49 Peppercorn A1s survived the scrapyard to be preserved, however in 2008 a brand new 50th Peppercorn A1, 60163 Tornado, was completed.

Models

Bachmann Branchline produce a model in OO gauge. Other suppliers have produced detailed drawings.

Hornby have announced that they will be producing a OO gauge model of Tornado in two different liveries. There will be one version in the main (highly detailed) range and one in the "railroad" range (Hornby's cheaper range, intended to appeal to the younger modeller). There will also be a version in BR Brunswick green with the early BR Totem, but available only as part of a set.

Further reading

• Boddy, M.G.; Neve, E.; Yeadon, W.B. (1978) [1973]. Fry, E.V. (ed.). Locomotives of the LNER. Part 2A. Tender engines—classes A1 to A10. Kenilworth: Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. ISBN 0 901115 25 8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Willie Yeadon, (1991) Yeadon's Register of LNER Locomotives Vol. 3 Raven, Thompson and Peppercorn Pacifics

External links

• A1 Steam Locomotive Trust
• LNER Encyclopaedia
• Railuk database