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LNER Peppercorn Class A1
60155 Borderer primed and ready for duty, by the coaling stage at Gateshead depot. in 1951
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 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) 60163 Tornado - 13 ft (3.96 m) Axle load 22.1 long tons (22.5 t) Adhesive weight 66.55 long tons (67.62 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) 60163 Tornado - 7.5 long tons (7.6 t) Water cap. 5,000 imp gal (23,000 L) 60163 Tornado - 6,000 imp gal (27,000 L) Firebox: ​  • Grate area 50.0 square feet (4.65 m) 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 square feet (22.79 m)  • Tubes 1,211.6 square feet (112.56 m)  • Flues 1,004.5 square feet (93.32 m) Superheater: ​  • Heating area 697.7 square feet (64.82 m) Cylinder size (3) 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 Number in class 49 original, 1 new build 60163 Tornado Locale North Eastern Region of British Railways First run August 1948 Last run June 1966 Withdrawn October 1962 - June 1966 Scrapped 1962 - 1966 Disposition 49 withdrawn and scrapped, a 50th completed in 2008

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 Peppercorn A1 locomotive, 60163 Tornado, was completed, as the 50th member of the class.

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 at 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.

BR 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). For photographs and a weight diagram see Rail Album.

Service

Above all though the A1s were renowned for their reliability. By 1961 the class had accumulated 48 million miles, equivalent to 202 miles 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 mileage between general repairs were fitted with roller bearing axleboxes. Between 1949 and 1961 this quintet totalled 4.8 million miles with an average mileage between works overhauls of 120,000. In a single year No 60156 Great Central of Kings Cross ran 96,000 miles.

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 it came to nought.

Tornado - 50th A1

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

In 1991, a project was started by the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust to build a new steam locomotive for the British main line. Due to the lack of preserved examples, the Peppercorn A1 class was chosen as the locomotive to build, which was assembled in the Trust's own Darlington Locomotive Works, a stone's throw from the original Peppercorn A1 Darlington works.

The locomotive is not a replica, but is considered (and is thus numbered as) the 50th member of the class. It was built from brand new components to the original designs of the Peppercorn A1 retrieved from the National Railway Museum.

From early on in the project, the Trust conceived Tornado not as a true replica, or as a restoration project, but as new locomotive representing an evolution of the Peppercorn A1 design, incorporating improvements that would have been made to the class had steam continued, such as correction of the rough riding faults.

The subsequent changes from the original design were also made by the Trust to allow Tornado to be capable of operation on the 21st century main line, to meet modern safety regulations, to reflect advances in manufacturing techniques and materials, and to reduce costs.

Most notably, the boiler is all welded not rivetted, the firebox is steel not copper, the main braking system is air powered and the tender holds more water (at the exense of coal capacity). The locomotive is 1 inch shorter to satsify overhead line equipment regulations. The locomotive is also fitted with roller bearings as were latterly used on some of the original 49 class members.

On 13 December 2008, following main line testing in an ex-works grey undercoat paint scheme, Tornado was unveiled in her first proper running livery, an LNER Apple Green sheme with BRITISH RAILWAYS on the tender, the original scheme worn by the first 30 locomotives.

List of locomotives

Below is a list of Peppercorn A1 Locomotives

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
• 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

Models

Bachmann Branchline produce a model in OO gauge.

References

1. ^ http://www.lner.info/locos/A/a1peppercorn.shtml
2. Ian Allan ABC of British Railways Locomotives, summer 1961 edition, part 4, page 26
3. http://www.railalbum.co.uk/steam/lnera1-1.htm
4. "New steam loco ready for service". 19 November 2008 11:42 GMT. Retrieved 19 November 2008. The first new steam engine to be built in the UK for almost 50 years is ready for service after successfully completing all its trial runs ... Tornado, a Peppercorn class A1 Pacific steam locomotive ... {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. "The Tornado Story". The Railway Magazine: 15. 2008. the new loco would carry the running number 60163 - next in sequence after St Johnstoun ... From its earliest days, the A1 Trust regarded 60163 not as a replica or copy of any one of the 49 Peppercorn A1's, but as the 50th member of the class {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
6. "Presentation 'Tornado - the first 6 months of operation'". Events, Technical Lecture, 18 February 2009. IMechE. Retrieved 22November2008. This lecture will cover the history of the Peppercorn Class A1s, the design and manufacturing of the 50th A1 Tornado and its first 6 months of operation in main line service. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
7. ^ "£300,000 in grants awarded". News archive. A1 Steam Locomotive Trust. 1996. Retrieved 22 November 2008. Tornado will be a completely new steam locomotive, built from the original 1940s drawings and is therefore neither a restoration project nor a replica, but the next in the original series, the 50th Peppercorn Class A1.
8. "Latest Computer Technology used at NRM". News archive. A1 Steam Locomotive Trust. 1993. Retrieved 22 November 2008. The A1 Project is in making modifications to correct A1 faults such as rough-riding just as the LNER/Eastern Region would have done if steam had continued
9. Mark Branagan (11 December 2008). "Golden age of steam comes back to life in newly-built loco". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 12 December 2008. She will be unveiled in the eye-catching apple green livery of the LNER – the London & North Eastern Railway – at the National Railway Museum (NRM) in York on Saturday in front of 500 people who funded the construction of the locomotive. Apple green was the original colour carried by the first 30 of the 49 Peppercorn class A1s
10. "Public unveiling for steam train". BBC News. 13 December 2008. Retrieved 13 December 2008. She was unveiled in apple green, the colour carried by the first 30 Peppercorn class A1s.
11. Longworth (not including Tornado)
12. Railuk database (not including Tornado)
13. RCTS (not including Tornado)
14. Yeadon (not including Tornado)
15. A1LST history section (not including Tornado)
16. Ian Allan ABC of British Railways Locomotives, summer 1961 edition, part 4, pp 26-27 )Names of 60114-60162 are given but it also includes the LNER Thompson Class A1/1 60113 Great Northern in the list, making 50 locomotives.)
17. http://www.a1steam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=53&Itemid=69

Further reading

• Railway Correspondence and Travel Society Locomotives of the LNER. Part 2A. Tender engines—classes A1 to A10. 1978. 231pp.
• Willie Yeadon, (1991) Yeadon's Register of LNER Locomotives Vol. 3 Raven, Thompson and Peppercorn Pacifics

External links

• LNER encyclopedia
• A1 Steam Locomotive Trust
• Railuk database

• London and North Eastern Railway locomotives
• 4-6-2 locomotives