The A1 is a locomotive that will always be tied to the names Sir Nigel Gresley and LNER, however only one of these was involved in the design and construction from the beginning. The A1 was originally a Great Northern Railway design, with number 1470 ‘Great Northern’ being one of only two examples to outshop into GNR service. These locomotives were powerful, and almost immediately served their purpose of comfortably outperforming the older ‘Atlantic’ locomotives that were being pushed to their limit between London and the North.

These ‘Pacific’ locomotives did just that, and they would go on to become one of the most versatile locomotives in Britain. Upon amalgamation onto the LNER, some minor changes were made to the Class, but being a recent design at the time they were already close to the pinnacle of what could be achieved by any locomotive designer, let alone Sir Nigel Gresley.

4472 is a number that is engrained into the brain of every man who was once a little boy staring starry eyed and an Apple Green streak thundering though the countryside. ‘Flying Scotsman’ was built in 1923 as one of the A1 locomotives built under the LNER, it is the only member of the class to go on to be preserved. The trials and tribulations faced by Flying Scotsman in preservation have cemented its status as one of the most famous steam locomotives ever built.