The great train reunion! Fastest ever steam locomotive is back with its five 'sisters' for first time in half a century
The 'great gathering of the six A4 Pacifics took place at Shildon in County Durham - and two came from the USA
No. 4468 Mallard hit 126mph on July 3, 1938 at Stoke Bank, near Grantham, Lincs, all-time record for a steam engine
Gathering marks 75th anniversary of record and brings together only survivors of 35-strong class of locomotives
Dominion of Canada, Dwight D Eisenhower, Union of South Africa, Sir Nigel Gresley and Bittern were also present
They include the famous 4468 Mallard, the fastest steam engine in the world, which reached the speed of 125.88mph in 1938. Two of the machines, Dwight D Eisenhower and Dominion of Canada are on loan from American and Canadian museums.
Dominion of Canada and Dwight D Eisenhower arrived back on UK soil last October after a challenging extraction from their home museums, an epic transcontinental trek by rail flat car across North America and a 2,527 mile journey across the Atlantic.
What a show: Under the cover of darkness six of the rarest locomotives are edged into place on the tracks outside National Railway Museum in Shildon, County Durham
Stopped in its tracks: Here are the controls within the cabin of the LNER Class 4 Mallard (shown by letters): A - REGULATOR or THROTTLE (as known on a car), B - VACUUM BRAKE, C - WHISTLE, D - REVERSER, E - MAIN BOLIER PRESSURE GAUGE, F- STEAM CHEST PRESSURE GAUGE, G - VACUUM BRAKE GAUGE, H - INJECTOR STEAM x2, I - BOILER WATER GAUGE x2, J - MANIFOLD ISOLATION VALVE, K - FIRE HOLE or FIRE BOX, L - CYLINDER DRAIN COCK
Full Article and Glorious Photos:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ntury.html
