Great Northern Railway Gresley 'A1' class 4-6-2 No. 1470 'Great Northern'. Built at Doncaster in April 1922 and withdrawn (for rebuilding) in Sept. 1945 as LNER No. 4470.

The prototype 'A1' 'Great Northern' is seen in the final stages of construction at Doncaster Plant in April 1922. To say that this class transformed ECML express services is an understatement. Once initial problems had been overcome, the class became the flagship of LNER motive power. There followed a long process of being uprated, all becoming the 'A3' class by 1949. 'Great Northern' itself was rebuilt in 1945 with divided drive and separate valve gear for the inside cylinder by Gresley's successor, Edward Thompson. This unique rebuild (as class 'A1/1') offered no significant improvements and arguably was worse. It was regarded by some as a snub to Gresley's memory.

© Steve Armitage Collection