LNER Peppercorn Class A1


The London and North Eastern Railway 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 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 post-war period on the East Coast Main Line 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. 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.
NosDate builtWorksOrder no.Notes
60114-221948Doncaster382
601231949Doncaster382
60124-91949Doncaster383
60130-431948Darlington—
60144-521949Darlington—
60153-71949Doncaster388Built with Timken roller bearings on all axles
60158-621949Doncaster388

Withdrawal and preservation

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 The last to be withdrawn from stock was No. 60145 Saint Mungo after a working life of just 17 years. 60145 Saint Mungo was planned to be preserved by Geoff Drury, however, it ultimately was unsuccessful and none of the original locomotives were preserved.
YearQuantity in
service at
start of year		Quantity
withdrawn		Locomotive numbersNotes
196249660115/22–23/35/37/53
196343660136/44/59–62
1964371160114/19–20/25/39/41/43/47/49–50/58
1965262460116–18/21/26–34/38/40/42/46/48/51–52/54–57
19662260124/4560145 was subject to preservation attempt.

List of original locomotives

Below is a list of original Peppercorn A1 Locomotives
No.NameBuiltWorksWithdrawnNotes
60114AllenW. P. AllenAugust 1948DoncasterDecember 1964
60115Meg MerriliesSeptember 1948DoncasterNovember 1962
60116Hal o' the WyndOctober 1948DoncasterJune 1965
60117Bois RousselOctober 1948DoncasterJune 1965
60118SturrockArchibald SturrockNovember 1948DoncasterOctober 1965
60119StirlingPatrick StirlingNovember 1948DoncasterMay 1964
60120KittiwakeDecember 1948DoncasterJanuary 1964
60121SilurianDecember 1948DoncasterOctober 1965
60122CurlewDecember 1948DoncasterDecember 1962
60123IvattH.A. IvattFebruary 1949DoncasterOctober 1962
60124KenilworthMarch 1949DoncasterMarch 1966
60125Scottish UnionApril 1949DoncasterJuly 1964
60126RavenSir Vincent RavenApril 1949DoncasterJanuary 1965
60127WorsdellWilson WorsdellMay 1949DoncasterJune 1965
60128BongraceMay 1949DoncasterJanuary 1965
60129ManneringGuy ManneringJune 1949DoncasterOctober 1965
60130KestrelSeptember 1948DarlingtonOctober 1965
60131OspreyOctober 1948DarlingtonOctober 1965
60132MarmionOctober 1948DarlingtonJune 1965
60133PommernOctober 1948DarlingtonJune 1965
60134FoxhunterNovember 1948DarlingtonOctober 1965
60135Madge WildfireNovember 1948DarlingtonNovember 1962
60136AlcazarNovember 1948DarlingtonMay 1963
60137RedgauntletDecember 1948DarlingtonOctober 1962
60138BoswellDecember 1948DarlingtonOctober 1965
60139Sea EagleDecember 1948DarlingtonJune 1964
60140BalmoralDecember 1948DarlingtonJanuary 1965
60141AbbotsfordDecember 1948DarlingtonOctober 1964
60142FletcherEdward FletcherFebruary 1949DarlingtonJune 1965
60143ScottSir Walter ScottFebruary 1949DarlingtonMay 1964
60144King's CourierMarch 1949DarlingtonApril 1963
60145Saint MungoMarch 1949DarlingtonJune 1966Preservation attempt failed
60146PeregrineApril 1949DarlingtonOctober 1965
60147North EasternApril 1949DarlingtonAugust 1964
60148AboyeurMay 1949DarlingtonJune 1965
60149AmadisMay 1949DarlingtonJune 1964
60150WillbrookJune 1949DarlingtonOctober 1964
60151MidlothianJune 1949DarlingtonNovember 1965
60152HolyroodJuly 1949DarlingtonJune 1965
60153FlamboyantAugust 1949DoncasterNovember 1962
60154Bon AccordSeptember 1949DoncasterOctober 1965
60155BordererSeptember 1949DoncasterOctober 1965
60156Great CentralOctober 1949DoncasterMay 1965
60157Great EasternNovember 1949DoncasterJanuary 1965
60158AberdonianNovember 1949DoncasterDecember 1964
60159Bonnie DundeeNovember 1949DoncasterOctober 1963
60160Auld ReekieDecember 1949DoncasterDecember 1963
60161North BritishDecember 1949DoncasterOctober 1963
60162Saint JohnstounDecember 1949DoncasterOctober 1963

No. 60163 ''Tornado''

None of the original production run of 49 Peppercorn A1s survived the scrapyard to be preserved. However, in 2008, a brand new 50th A1 based on the Peppercorn patterns, 60163 Tornado, was completed as the evolved member of the class.

Accidents and incidents

and Hornby make models in OO gauge, Graham Farish produce a model in N gauge and Accucraft make a live steam model in gauge 1.