Thompson & Peppercorn Pacifics of the LNER/B.R.

Collection Of photos of Thompson & Peppercorn Pacifics

This first collection features the sole Thompson rebuild of a Gresley A1, 60113 Great Northern
60113 Great Northern at Peterborough North c1958
https://tinyurl.com/h7enwfj5

Full collection of 30 photos starts here with
LNER era as 4470
https://tinyurl.com/2p93b769
LNER era as 113
https://tinyurl.com/2p8hyem2

B.R. era photos start here with
60113 at Doncaster
https://tinyurl.com/4nu4rx9y

Neil

 

Collection of photos of Thompsons A2/1 class pacifics

The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Thompson Class A2/1 was a class of 4-6-2 steam locomotives built at Darlington locomotive works during 1944. They were originally ordered as Class V2 locomotives, as designed by Sir Nigel Gresley, but were revised during construction into a 4-6-2 'Pacific' arrangement under the instruction of Edward Thompson.
At the time Edward Thompson succeeded Sir Nigel Gresley as Chief Mechanical Engineer of the LNER in April 1941, Darlington works was busy building Class V2 mixed traffic locomotives. Although the V2 class were competent and powerful locomotives, Thompson did not like this design as it required more servicing than his own mixed traffic B1 class 4-6-0. He also envisaged a time when the V2s would be replaced by his own design of 'Pacific' locomotives, but would not receive authority to build a new class during the war. He therefore decided to build the final four V2 already authorised as experimental 'Pacific' locomotives along similar lines to his recently rebuilt A2/2 class. The revised design was authorised in August 1943 and the new locomotives built between May 1944 and January 1945.
The pony truck of the V2 class was replaced by Thompson's own design of bogie and they had an extended smokebox. They retained the same boiler as the V2 class although the pressure was increased to 225 psi, giving an increased tractive effort of 36,390 lbf (161.87 kN). The firebox was also the same as the V2 although these were the first LNER locomotives to be fitted with a rocking grate and ashpan. Rather than have all three cylinders driving a single axle Thompson adopted divided drive with the middle cylinder driving the first pair of driving wheels and the outside cylinders the middle pair. Thompson also abandoned the Gresley conjugated valve gear and instead fitted independent sets of Walschaerts valve gear to each cylinder.
The four locomotives of this design performed adequately but proved to be under-boilered for their size and lacked adhesion. They were less problematic than the A2/2 class, but did not distinguish themselves

N.E. numbering
With plenty of clag running with its original V2 allocated number 3696 (later N.E. 507 LNER 60507 Highland Chieftain)
https://tinyurl.com/ya3jdth2

LNER era
507 Highland Chieftain
https://tinyurl.com/22tvmm3y
to
509 Waverley
https://tinyurl.com/2p9873ex

B.R. era photos start here
60507 Highland Chieftain with ‘The Night Scotsman’ headboard attached
https://tinyurl.com/ys7nxhb9
to
60508 Duke of Rothesay (with W1 60700 in shed behind) Kings Cross shed ? May 1947
https://tinyurl.com/392z2kyj
to
60509 Waverley
https://tinyurl.com/uj4x2kn4
to
60510 Robert the Bruce
https://tinyurl.com/238nfezs

Neil

 

22 / 67 = exiting Mound Tunnel into Princes Street Gardens

31 / 67 = Peterborough North

43 / 67 = Princes Street Gardens

47 / 67 = PRINCES St Gardens [not PRINCESS !!
49 / 67 = As above !!

 

Collection of photos of Thompsons A2/2 class pacifics

The London and North Eastern Railway Class A2/2 was a class of six 4-6-2 steam locomotives rebuilt by Edward Thompson in 1943 and 1944 from his predecessor's P2 Class of 2-8-2 express passenger locomotives. The rebuilds were not particularly successful and all were withdrawn and scrapped between 1959 and 1961.
On taking up office as chief mechanical engineer of the London and North Eastern Railway in April 1941, Edward Thompson proposed an unstreamlined mixed traffic version of Nigel Gresley's A4 Class Pacifics with 6 ft 2 in (1.880 m) driving wheels, but new construction would not have been authorised at this time. He therefore rebuilt the six of his predecessor's 2-8-2 P2 Class express passenger locomotives as Pacific locomotives to try out his own thoughts on their design. The P2 Class 2-8-2s had been built between 1934 and 1936 for service between Edinburgh and Aberdeen and had proved to be powerful and capable locomotives. However, the long fixed wheelbase was not ideally suited to the winding route, giving rise to maintenance problems on both the track and the locomotives, notably failure of the crank axle. Contrarily, O. S. Nock stated that the P2 class 'rode easily and elegantly around the sharpest curves. In either event, rather than transfer the locomotives to other duties on the East Coast Main Line south of Newcastle, where this would have been less of a problem, Thompson saw this as a chance to try out his own ideas of locomotive design.
The pony truck and front coupled wheels of the original design were replaced by a newly designed bogie. The boiler barrel was shortened by 2 ft 0.25 in (0.616 m) and a new front end was designed with 20 in × 26 in (508 mm × 660 mm) cylinders. Rather than have all three cylinders driving a single axle Thompson adopted divided drive with the middle cylinder driving the first pair of driving wheels and the outside cylinders the middle pair. However, In order to retain the original three connecting rods of the same length, the outside cylinders were set back behind the bogie, giving the locomotives an ungainly appearance. Thompson also removed the Gresley conjugated valve gear and instead fitted independent sets of Walschaerts valve gear to each cylinder. The first locomotive to be rebuilt at Doncaster Works was No. 2005, Thane of Fife, which was ordered in October 1942 and completed in January 1943. After trials the remaining five P2 locomotives were ordered to be rebuilt in September 1943 and they all appeared in traffic during 1944.
The new design steamed well and retained much of the power of the P2's. The reduced weight meant they had a high power to weight ratio, and were good at hauling high speed expresses, although in the opinion of Nock, they "acquired a particularly bad reputation for wild and unsafe riding at high speed. However, there were other problems which prevented them from ever making an impact on the east coast main line. The first of these was a lack of adhesion causing wheel slip when starting, which meant that they could not be used on the Edinburgh-Aberdeen line for which they had originally been built. The second problem was that of reliability caused by their having been adapted from quite different locomotives. Both the A2/2 and the subsequent A2/3 suffered badly from frame movement, vibration and loose fittings. Using equal length connecting rods, as well as the divided drive meant that the centre cylinder was much further forward than the outside cylinders. During their lifetime in service Earl Marischal was the only A2/2 to cover over one million miles, 360,907 as a P2 and 673,947 as an A2/2. The
Withdrawals from stock began in 1959 starting with 60505 Thane Of Fife on 10 November that year. The next A2/2 to be withdrawn was Lord President on 27 November. 60501 Cock o' the North was withdrawn in 1960, while 60504 and 60506 were withdrawn in 1961, with 60502 the last member of the class withdrawn on 3 July that year.

Including this photo of
60501 Cock O’ The North on Doncaster Shed Yard 17th June 1951
https://tinyurl.com/wnzzu675

over 90 photos start here with LNER era
503 Lord President
https://tinyurl.com/2rs2kcud

B.R. era starts here with
60501 Cock O’ The North
https://tinyurl.com/3zh7mdvm
60502 Earl Marischal
https://tinyurl.com/ys86daw2
60503 Lord Preisdent
https://tinyurl.com/2p8583cn
60504 Mons Meg
https://tinyurl.com/uaxx6zax
60505 Thane of Fife
https://tinyurl.com/psfrjcac
60506 Wolf of Badenoch
https://tinyurl.com/7wek556k

Neil

 

14 / 95 = Peterborough NORTH

34 / 95 = Cockburnspath [Spelling

38 /95 = York South shed [later York Museum; duplicates 41 / 95

73 / 95 = NOT Peterborough - mission bridge north of station IIRC

 

Collection of photos of Thompson A2/3 500/511-524/60500, 60511-60524

This collection features the LNER era
500 Edward Thompson (less than 3 weeks old) Wakefield Westgate 19th June 1946
https://tinyurl.com/2s3ffya9

Full collection of 24 photos starts here with
500 Edward Thompson
https://tinyurl.com/2wjapknw
to
524 Herringbone
https://tinyurl.com/3h4ckvab

Neil

 

9 / 24 = Brookmans Park [duplicates 3 / 24
10 / 24 = As above

16 / 24 = Haymarket shed [duplicates 15 / 24

19 / 24 = Doncaster [duplicates 18/24

 

Collection of photos of Peppercorn A1 Pacifics

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 LNER) 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. 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). The class used a double Kylchap chimney system and, like previous LNER Pacifics, had a 3-cylinder arrangement.
The new A1s were ordered by the LNER but were delivered after the LNER 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.

This collection features 60114- 60122 Built 1948 Doncaster

Including this photo of
60119 Patrick Stirling arriving at Kings Cross c1950 with the 'Queen of Scots' Pullman
https://tinyurl.com/3tyvpeku

Full collection of over 130 photos starts here with
60114 W.P. Allen
https://tinyurl.com/384mjzj5
through to
60122 Curlew
https://tinyurl.com/b278tms8

Neil

 

1/ 134 = Kings Cross Maintenance Point

25 / 134 = Little Ponton

41 / 134 = Haymarket shed [duplicates 39 / 134

55 / 134 = Retford

63 / 134 = Grantham

 

Collection of photos of Peppercorn A1 Pacifics

This collection features 60130-60143 Built 1948 Darlington
Including this colour photo by Tony Gillett of 6
60133 Pommen at Retford 20th May 1961
https://tinyurl.com/25mr47w4

Full collection of over 145 photos starts here with
60130 Kestrel Kings Cross 10th May 1963
https://tinyurl.com/msve62xk
to
60143 Sir Walter Scott
https://tinyurl.com/2m6yk8j5

Neil

 

5 / 148 = Peterborough North

35 / 148 = Gateshead ?

36 / 148 = Leeds Central ?

44 / 148 = Copley Hill

64 / 148 = Haymarket

73 / 148 = Leeds Central

80 / 148 = Newcastle

100 / 148 = Doncaster [crop of 99/148

128 + 129 / 148 = Leeds Central

 

Collection of photos of Peppercorn A1 Pacifics

This collection features 60144-60145 Built 1949 Darlington
The North Eastern Region at York, at fairly short notice, put on this train to commemorate the end of main line steam on the NER - though in the event it survived a little while longer. It was hauled throughout by A1 60145 from York to Newcastle and return
https://tinyurl.com/wjwp8tzk

A few photos of the last surviving engine
60145 Saint Mungo last surviving A1 withdrawn in June 1966 seen here at Chaloners Whin on the 14:10 York to Healey Mills 19th March 1966
https://tinyurl.com/4whwk3es
and earlier under York coaling tower
https://tinyurl.com/22x4e267

Full collection of over 35 photos starts here with
60144 still to be named Kings Courier at Doncaster C1949
https://tinyurl.com/58z75b9f
to
60145 still un-named
https://tinyurl.com/92mj74yv

Neil
https://tinyurl.com/wjwp8tzk

 

38 / 39 = Haymarket shed

39 / 39 = Darlington

 

Some photos of 60532 Blue Peter on pre 1968 rail tours

Altrincham Railway Excursion Society 'The Holyhead & Brymbo Special' 21st August 1966
60532 Blue Peter at Manchester Central
https://tinyurl.com/4nwa95zs
LCGB 'A2 Commemorative Railtour' 14th August 1966
60532 Blue Peter unknown locations
https://tinyurl.com/3dsryym7
https://tinyurl.com/y8ftudb3

Neil

 

Hi Neil,

60532 Image 5/8 Salisbury East
60532 Image 6/8 Salisbury West.

Cheers, Neil

 

Thanks

 

Collection of photos of Peppercorn A1 Pacifics

This collection features 60146-60149 Built 1949 Darlington
Including this photo of
60149 Amadis with 'The Flying Scotsman' at Peterborough 23rd July 1958
https://tinyurl.com/y5md8vyx

full collection of 50 photos starts here with
60146 ex Peregrine withdrawn and dumped at York 10th October 1965
https://tinyurl.com/mwykxy5h
to
60149 Amadis Werrington 15th April 1952
https://tinyurl.com/p4tuwy34

Neil

 

10/51 = details at 11/51 [duplicate

32 / 51 = Grantham

48 / 51 = not sure this is Peterborough North - there is no over bridge in the background !

 

No mention of Peterborough' North on the caption .This is 60149 passing Crescent Jnc Peterborough'.That was south of North station where the line from Peterborough East (LMS ) joined the ECML

 

Apologies as I now see that this is a northbound service approaching Peterborough North. Part of the confusion is that Neil often misses out the local portion of the location (e.g notes Peterborough but fails to identify whether North or East as applicable. I haven't traversed the East to North link since 1959 since when a few changes changes have occurred hence not recognising the yard which is now the stabling sidings for EMUs.