The LNER Encyclopedia

I know nearly all the interest in the W1 naturally focusses on its original incarnation, but I'm also interested in it after it was rebuilt.

My 1950 Locoshed book shows 60700 allocated to King's Cross but I believe it was at Doncaster by the time of its withdrawal in 1959. What sort of performance was it capable of as an A4 lookalike? Did it ever regularly haul premier expresses, or was it an 'orphan', like 60113, relegated to stand-by duties?

Although technically an advance on the A4s - it had a bigger firebox with 50 square feet grate area and a boiler to diagfram 111 based on the P2 class 2006. It had 20" cylinders sometime linered down to 19" but only 8" piston valves which restricted performance somewhat.

Pre-war it ran from Kings Cross Shed, usually as far as Newcastle on express turns, but in 1953 was transferred to Doncaster. It usually made one return trip per day to Kings Cross and back.

It is reported to have been a powerful engine, but not capable of the same flight of speed as the A4s.

The May 1952 Trains Illustrated includes the following :-

"60700 has been restored to favour at Kings Cross after a long period of relegation to secondary tasks."

but there are no details of what that meant in terms of booked services.

G'day Gents

Sounds like 60700 should have been working on heavy overnight sleeper trains.

manna

I reckon her niche may well have been the like of heavy parcels train or the Green Arrow's successor.

Fireman may have had something to say about it, though...