LNER Class A4 4464 Bittern
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Built for the LNER in 1937 at Doncaster works, it was originally numbered 4464. It was renumbered 19 under the LNER 1946 renumbering scheme and after nationalisation in 1948 BR added 60000 to its number so it became 60019. It is a 4-6-2 locomotive to the same design by Sir Nigel Gresley as the more famous A4 Mallard and one of the 35 strong class.
Initially Bittern was based at Heaton in Newcastle and served the famous Flying Scotsman train in the section between King's Cross and Newcastle. With world war two these expresses were cut back as the country went to war. Bittern lost it's garter blue paint for a wartime black and was required to pull longer than normal and therefore very heavy passenger trains. As the war continued the A4 locomotives also were to be seen hauling heavy freight and coal trains. This was not a task that the locomotives had been built for. The heavy loads and poor maintenance conditions took their toll and by the end of the war the A4 locomotives were in a poor state.
With the end of the war and nationalisation came better maintenance and the A4 class saw a return to the high speed expresses of the pre-war years. Now in BR green bittern pulled the Talisman express from Kings Cross to Edinburgh. The A4 revival was short lived as the steam pulled services were replaced by diesel hauled services and Bittern was moved to Scotland and put into storage. After a short period Bittern was moved to Ferryhill at Aberdeen and ran to Edinburgh and Glasgow. This service only lasted three years. Bittern has the dubious honour of heading the last A4 Glasgow to Aberdeen and thus bring the curtain down on 30 years of service. When it was bought for preservation the A4 had major problems what were known to BR but only lightly repaired since with the end of steam there wasn't much point in completely repairing it and the frames were cracked quite badly. This in turn affected it's life in preservation and only now have the important repairs been done so that it is up to mainline standard
Preservation
Bittern was withdrawn from British Railways traffic on 5th September 1966 and was bought by Geoff Dury on 12th September 1966. After numerous owners and being cosmetically restored to represent pioneer and long gone sister Silver Link, it was moved to the Mid-Hants Railway in Hampshire in January 2001 for full restoration. On 19th May 2007 Bittern was first steamed for the first time since the 1970's. In authentic British Railways lined green livery and carrying #60019, Bittern is certified for mainline use and should return to the mainline summer 2007. Bittern has now run under it's own power along the Mid-Hants Railway something it hasn't done in 30 years
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"bittern"
References
- Steam railway issue 332
- Bittern information page
External links
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