Visitors to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway have had a  treat this summer, as the iconic steam engine, 60007 “Sir Nigel Gresley” was in  operation on the Moors Railway.

The streamlined 1930s engine is celebrating its Golden Jubilee this year, in so far as marking 50 years since it achieved the post-war record for speed by a steam engine, reaching 112 miles per hour on the East Coast Main Line, southward from Stoke Summit, with a full train of passengers returning from Doncaster works.   Its sister engine, “Mallard” achieved the pre-war world speed record for steam of 125.88 miles per hour, on a stretch of the East Coast Main Line in 1938.

The engine was originally manufactured in 1937 at Doncaster works, for the London North Eastern Railway. As it was the 100th Gresley engine to be built, it carried the name of its chief architect and engineer, Sir Nigel Gresley.

A total of 35 engines of this particular design were made.   Known as the A4 ‘streamliners’, they were built for speed and hauled the express trains between London and Scotland on the East Coast Main Line.  Many were scrapped in the 1960s as the railway migrated towards diesel traction.   “Sir Nigel Gresley” was eventually withdrawn from mainline service in 1966.  Since then it has been in preservation and is owned by the Sir Nigel Gresley Locomotive Preservation Trust and operated by the A4 Locomotive Society Ltd on behalf of the Trust, from its home base on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
Sir Nigel is one of only six remaining A4 Pacific class engines in the world, and two of those are based in North America.

Philip Benham, General Manager at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, said: “For those visiting the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, this is a hugely popular summer treat.  Sir Nigel  returned to the Moors Railway after celebrating its record run on its old stomping ground, the East Coast Main Line.   In this year of Golden Jubilee celebration, we want visitors to delight in a ride behind this much-loved streamlined engine, and to have a chance to experience the locomotive close up.”

Over the years the engine has been painted in a variety of livery colours.  In recent years it has been resplendent in early British Railways blue.