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 Mallard at theNational Railway Museum,York | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LNERClass A4 4468Mallard is a4-6-2 ("Pacific")steam locomotive built in 1938 for operation on theLondon and North Eastern Railway (LNER) atDoncaster Works to a design ofNigel Gresley. Itsstreamlined,wind tunnel tested[1] design allowed it to haul long-distance express passenger services at high speeds. On 3 July 1938,Mallard broke the worldspeed record for steam locomotives at 126 mph (203 km/h), which still stands today.
While inBritish Railways days, regular steam-hauled rail services in the UK were officially limited to a 90 mph (140 km/h) "line speed", before theSecond World War, the A4s had to run significantly above 90 mph (140 km/h) just to keep schedule on trains such as theSilver Jubilee andThe Coronation,[2] with the engines reaching 100 mph on many occasions.[3][4]Mallard covered almost one and a half million miles (2.4 million km) before it was retired in 1963.
The locomotive is 70 ft (21 m) long and weighs 165 long tons (168 tonnes, 369,600 lbs), including thetender. It is painted in LNERgarter blue with red wheels and steel rims.
Mallard is preserved at theNational Railway Museum inYork as part of theNational Collection.
In 1936,Nigel Gresley, the chief mechanical engineer of the LNER, ordered a new batch of six4-6-2 "Pacific"Class A4 engines to be built atDoncaster Works.[5]: 223 The A4s were known for their distinct streamlined and aerodynamic design and designed for hauling long distance express passenger services at high speeds. The first batch comprised four locomotives which entered service in 1935 and had "Silver" in their names as they were to haul the non-stopSilver Jubilee service between London King's Cross and Newcastle.
The six new A4s were named after a bird, influenced by Gresley's fondness of breeding wild birds, and incorporated some modifications to maximise the possibilities of the original streamlined design.[5]: 221 This included a new, state-of-the-art doubleKylchap chimney and blastpipe, allowing the smoke to be distributed more freely.[5]: 224 However, the problem of smoke being dispersed at the front of the locomotive, giving drivers only a narrow viewing window, remained unsolved, and Gresley was determined to find a solution, usingMallard, the 28th A4 locomotive as a test. It was solved after a wooden 1/12th scale model ofMallard underwent smoke tests in awind tunnel made ofplasticine. After a period of testing, a solution to deflect the smoke was found, and the modification was incorporated intoMallard's final design.[5]: 225–227
Mallard was released from Doncaster Works and entered service on 3 March 1938, carrying the number of 4468. It wore a variety of liveries throughout its career, these were: garter blue as 4468, LNER wartime black from 13 June 1942, later wartime black with the tender marked as "NE" from 21 October 1943 as 22 with yellow small stencilled numbers, post-war garter blue with white and red lining from 5 March 1948 with stainless steel cabside number 22, British Railways dark blue as 60022 from 16 September 1949,Brunswick green from 4 July 1952, and its original LNER garter blue for preservation in 1963.
The A4 class was built with streamlined valances, or side skirting, but they were removed on 13 June 1942 during wartime to ease maintenance, and replaced in preservation in 1963.
Mallard was fitted with twelve boilers during its 25-year career. These boilers were: 9024 (from construction), 8959 (from 4496Golden Shuttle, 13 June 1942), 8907 (from 2511Silver King, 1 August 1946), 8948 (from 31Golden Plover,Walter K Whigham, 10 January 1951), 29301 (from 60019Bittern, 4 July 1952), 29315 (from 60014Silver Link, 23 April 1954), 29328 (new-build boiler, 7 June 1957), 29308 (from 60008Dwight D. Eisenhower, 27 August 1958), 29310 (from 60009Union of South Africa, 9 March 1960) and 27965 (from 60009Union of South Africa, 10 August 1961).
Mallard has had seven tenders throughout its career. It started off with a non-corridor tender in 1938, had corridor-design tenders during its British Railways days, and was fitted with a non-corridor tender in 1963 to recreate its original appearance. The tenders it has been fitted with are: 5642 (3 March 1938 – 14 March 1939), 5639 (5 May 1939 – 16 January 1948), 5323 (5 March 1948 – 12 March 1953), 5648 (12 March 1953 – 21 July 1958), 5330 (27 August 1958 – 30 May 1962), 5651 (30 May 1962 – 25 April 1963) and 5670 (current tender, masquerading as original tender 5642).
The original non-corridor tender 5642 was later coupled to sister locomotive 60026Miles Beevor when it was withdrawn on 21 December 1965, but later came into the possession of the A4 Preservation Society, which had purchased this locomotive from the scrapyard to assist the restoration of classmate 4498Sir Nigel Gresley. It was scrapped in 1973 as being surplus to requirements, by which time it had also donated parts to the restoration of A3 class locomotive4472Flying Scotsman, which had recently returned from America and was being restored at Derby Workshops.
Mallard was allocated to three sheds during its career:Doncaster, transferring on 21 October 1943 to Grantham and on 11 April 1948 toKings Cross Top Shed.
On 3 July 1938,Mallard claimed the worldspeed record for steam locomotives at 126 mph (203 km/h) during a trial of the new quick-acting Westinghouse QSA brake. The speed was achieved during the downward grade ofStoke Bank, south ofGrantham at milepost 90¼, betweenLittle Bytham andEssendine stations.Mallard hauled a seven-coach train, including adynamometer car with apparatus to record the speed. The previous record of 124.5 mph (200.4 km/h) was set in Germany in 1936 byDRG Class 05 No. 002.Mallard was four months old at the time of the record, and was operated by driver Joseph Duddington—renowned within the LNER for taking calculated risks—and fireman Thomas Bray.[6] Upon arrival at London King's Cross, driver Duddington and inspector Sid Jenkins were quoted as saying that they thought a speed of 130 mph (209 km/h) would have been possible if the train did not need to slow for a set of junctions at Essendine. There was also a permanent speed restriction of 15 mph (24 km/h) just north of Grantham station, which slowed the train as they sought to build up maximum speed for the descent of Stoke Bank.[7]
The A4 class previously had problems with thebig endbearing for the middle cylinder, so the big end was fitted with a "stink bomb" ofaniseed oil which would be released if the bearing overheated. After attaining the record speed, the middle big end did overheat and the crew reduced speed, running at 70–75 mph (113–121 km/h) onwards to Peterborough,[8] after whichMallard was sent toDoncaster Works for repair. This had been foreseen by the publicity department, who had many pictures taken for the press, in caseMallard did not make it back to Kings Cross. The (Edwardian period)Ivatt Atlantic that replacedMallard at Peterborough was only just in sight when the head of publicity started handing out the pictures.
Mallard topped Stoke Bank at 75 mph (121 km/h) and accelerated downhill. The speeds at the end of each 1 mile (1.6 km) from the summit were recorded as: 87.5 mph (140.8 km/h), 96.5 mph (155.3 km/h), 104 mph (167 km/h), 107 mph (172 km/h), 111.5 mph (179.4 km/h), 116 mph (187 km/h) and 119 mph (192 km/h); half-mile (800 m) readings after that gave 1203⁄4, 1221⁄2, 123, 1241⁄4 and finally 125 mph (194, 197, 198, 200 and 201 km/h). However, the dynamometer car tracks the current speed every half second on a paper roll moving 24 in (610 mm) for every mile travelled. Speeds could be calculated by measuring the distance between the timing marks. Immediately after the run staff in the dynamometer car calculated the speed over five second intervals, finding a maximum of 125 mph (201 km/h). Although 126 mph (203 km/h) was seen for a single second, Gresley would not accept this as a reliable measurement and 125 mph (201 km/h) an hour was the figure published.
Gresley planned to have another attempt in September 1939, but this was prevented by the outbreak of World War II.[9]: 126 In 1948, plaques proposed and designed by Harry Underwood, a headmaster and keen steam enthusiast, were fixed onto the locomotive which stated 126 mph (203 km/h), and this became the generally accepted speed.[10] Despite this, some writers have commented on the implausibility of the rapid changes in speed.[11] A recent analysis has claimed that the paper roll was not moving at a constant rate, and the peaks and troughs in the speed curve resulting in claims of 125 mph (201 km/h) held for 5 seconds and 126 mph (203 km/h) for one second were just a result of this measuring inaccuracy. It concluded that a verifiable maximum speed was a sustained 124 mph (200 km/h) for almost a mile.[12][13] On 3 July 2013, the 75th anniversary of the speed record, all six surviving A4 locomotives were brought together at the National Railway Museum.[14]
Mallard's record has never been officially exceeded by a steam locomotive, although a GermanDRG Class 05 reached 124 mph (200 km/h) in 1936 on a stretch of track that is flat, unlike Stoke Bank, which is slightly downhill. However, the Class 05 hauled a four-coach train of 197 tons, whereasMallard's seven-coach train weighed 240 tons.[15]
Several speed claims are tied to the USPennsylvania Railroad and their variousduplex locomotive classes. TheS1 class during its lifetime was claimed to having reached between 133.4 mph (214.7 km/h) and 141.2 mph (227.2 km/h).[16][17] Speed claims tied to theT1 class state the locomotive reached speeds up to 140 mph (230 km/h).[18] ProjectPennsylvania Railroad 5550 was constructing a brand-new T1, and stated their desire to test the locomotive when completed to see if it could claim the speed record fromMallard.[19] In 2025 completion date of the project, started in 2013, was estimated at 2030.[20]
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In 1948, shortly after the formation ofBritish Railways, the decision was taken to test locomotives from all of the former 'Big Four' companies to find the best attributes of speed, power and efficiency with coal and water. There were two ways of testing and comparing locomotives: either at theRugby Locomotive Testing Station, which was not ready until late 1948, or by testing in the field. The results of the1948 Locomotive Exchange Trials would be used to help design the British RailwaysStandard locomotives.
The express passenger locomotive designs which would be compared were:London Midland Region (formerLMS)Princess Coronation class,Eastern Region (formerLNER)Class A4,Southern Region (formerSouthern)Merchant Navy class andWestern Region (formerGWR)King class.
Three Gresley A4 locomotives were chosen to represent the Eastern Region: E22Mallard,60033Seagull and60034Lord Faringdon. All of the locomotives had the Kylchap double blastpipe chimney arrangement and were fresh from Doncaster works.Mallard had emerged from Doncaster with a fresh coat of post-war garter blue livery, stainless steel numbers 22 with a small 'E' painted above them (for Eastern region), new boiler (its fourth), and third tender of its career.
E22Mallard was used on 8 June 1948 on theLondon Waterloo toExeter route. Driver Marrable took the famous A4 with a load of 481 tons tare, 505 tons full, the same that had been used on the previous trip by35018 British India Line.Mallard reachedClapham Junction in 6 minutes 57 seconds and Woking in 28 minutes 47 seconds. At Hook there were adverse signals, causingMallard to slow to a crawl. Even so,Salisbury was reached in 108 minutes and 28 seconds. Despite the signals earlier, the train was only 5-and-a-half minutes late. The net time was 95.5 minutes.
Mallard failed after this trial and 60033Seagull took over. On 10 JuneSeagull achieved the run in 96 minutes 22 seconds, but had departed 3 minutes late, meaningSeagull had arrived with the same load 3.5 minutes early.Mallard returned to the Waterloo-Exeter line for a Locomotive Club of Great Britain (LCGB) railtour on 24 February 1963.
TheElizabethan Express was a flagship express that ran non-stop over the 393 miles (632 km) betweenLondon King's Cross andEdinburgh Waverley from 1953 to the mid-1960s. Until September 1961 it was steam-hauled. In its day it was the longest non-stop run in the world. Two crews were needed for the six-and-a-half-hour run. They were able to change over mid-journey by using acorridor tender. Only 22 locomotives includingMallard had such a tender. In December 1961,Mallard hauled the final steam-hauled northboundElizabethan train.[5]: 280
Following the introduction of diesel and electric trains, many steam locomotives across the UK were set to be scrapped. In December 1960, a notification was issued to haveMallard preserved, confirmed on 29 August 1962. Its final revenue-earning service took place on 25 April 1963, after which the locomotive was sent to Doncaster Works for repair, and restored to its original condition.[5]: 281–282
In February 1963,Mallard was sent toNine Elms depot, followed by the Museum of British Transport inClapham, south London.[5]: 82 [21] It then ran a series of special trains, including a run from Doncaster via Nottingham Victoria to Clapham Junction.[5]: 283 Following a relaxation of the ban on steam locomotives in the UK in the 1970s,Mallard hauled a train fromStewarts Lane, Battersea to York via theMidland Main Line in on 12 April 1975 in preparation for the opening of theNational Railway Museum, where it remained.[5]: 283 This was followed by periods on display at York Works in June 1977 and Doncaster Works in June 1978.[5]: 284 In the 1980s,Mallard was restored to working order to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its 1938 record speed run. Its first run took place on 26 March 1986 from York to Doncaster, and a series of other special trains were completed across England in 1986 to 1987.[5]: 284 The locomotive's final run in operation was on 3 July 1988 from Doncaster to Scarborough and back, which was attended by several family members of the original train crew on the 3 July 1938 run. The trip was related to a specialMallard commemorative postage stamp.[5]: 285–286 [22]
In July 2003,Mallard was put on display outside the National Railway Museum as part of the 150th anniversary of Doncaster Works.[5]: 289 It was taken outside again in July 2008 beside three other preserved A4s located in the UK, thus reuniting them for the first time since preservation. In 2013, six preserved A4s, including two in the United States and Canada, reunited at the museum for the 75th anniversary ofMallard's record-breaking run.[23] The same six A4s were displayed together at theNational Railway Museum Shildon for a short time. In June 2010,Mallard was taken to Shildon where it remained a static exhibit until July 2011, when it returned to York. In July 2019, it made its first outside appearance since 2014 when it was displayed at York station alongside aClass 800Azuma as part of the latter's launch by theLondon North Eastern Railway.[24]
Hornby Dublo first produced a model ofMallard in BR loco green for their 3-railOO gauge system in 1958.[25]Bachmann andHornby have subsequently released models ofMallard several times in Garter Blue. Hornby released a model ofMallard in BR Express Passenger Blue and a limited-edition model in BR Dark Loco Green. Hornby also released a limited edition model of 4468 in LNER form along with the other five surviving A4s in 2013. In 2023 Hornby released a TT120 scale model of "Mallard" in LNER garter blue livery along with "Silver King" in BR Brunswick green livery and "Falcon" in BR garter blue livery with white lining.
ACorgi 1:120 scale model in Garter Blue was produced as part of a series entitled "Rail Legends".
Harry Underwood is recorded as being the instigator of the idea (via the C.M.E. Doncaster) of fitting 'Mallard' with commemorative plaques. Photo of plaque design sent to him from Doncaster for his approval.
