LNER 4468 Mallard

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The Mallard, No. 4468 of the former London and North Eastern Railway of the Great Britain is a Class A4 streamlined Pacific (type of wheel arrangement, a.k.a. 4-6-2) steam locomotive built in 1938 by LNER Doncaster Works. The Class A4 locomotives were built to haul express passenger trains with speeds up to 100 mph (161 km/h) on the East Coast Main Line between London King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley. The No. 4468, the Mallard, however, was chosen for a greater mission. On 3 July 1938 on the slight downward grade of Stoke Bank south of Grantham on the East Coast Main Line, with 6 coaches and a dynamometer car, the Mallard broke the speed record of steam trains and achieved a stunning 126 mph. Although the Mallard suffered from overheating and never made it to King's Cross for the press, her record held until today.

Plaque on both sides of the Mallard reads:
On 3rd July 1938 this locomotive attained
a world speed record for steam traction
of 126 miles per hour



Mallard on display at the National Railway Museum in York, England

There are 4 LNER Class A4 locomotives preserved in Great Britain with 3 of them in operating condition (unfortunately the Mallard was not one of them). The Mallard herself is on static display at the National Railway Museum in York, England. However, if you would like to visit sisters of the glorious Mallard, you need not to travel oversea. Two more A4 locomotives have been preserved and are on static display in North America. The No. 4496, Dwight D Eisenhower, is on display at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, WI; the No. 4489, Dominion of Canada, is on display at the Canadian Railway Museum in Saint-Constant, QC.
Location: National Railway Museum, Leeman Rd, York, North Yorkshire YO26 4XJ, UK

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