The A3 and A4 class steam locomotives do have some very well known members, 4472 Flying Scotsman is the most well known of the A3s (and sadly the only one left) and 4468 Mallard is the most well known of the A4s being the fastest steam locomotive, both of these are owned by the National Railway Museum but only 'Scotsman' runs under its own power, Mallard is static in the Great Hall at York at time of writing, the only A4 currently able to run under its own power is in fact named after Sir Nigel Gresley himself, number 4498/60007 which holds the post-war steam record in service of 112MPH, hopefully that locomotive has been out today
The current LNER (a trading name of DFTO/(Great) British Rail(ways)) named 801228 after Sir Nigel, this unit originally carried the name "Century" to commemorate 100 years of the founding of the original LNER in 2023, the train was used in a special run between Doncaster and York, the new name was unveiled in Doncaster with Gresley's grandson and great-granddaughter in attendance.
Meanwhile the Gresley Society has arranged for every surviving locomotive designed by Sir Nigel to carry a special headboard today, though not all surviving locomotives can run such as Mallard, I expect it would still carry it.
801228 will be in service tomorrow morning with a London Kings Cross service starting in Leeds at 05:30 which will give travellers and trainspotters alike a look at the new name on the train and photo opportunities.
While the Gresley steam locomotives were replaced by British Rail by the English Electric type 5 or Class 55 (as they became) Deltic diesel locomotives, which in turn were themselves replaced by Class 43s, with partial replacement on the ECML by Class 91s until the Class 800/801s replaced all 43s and most 91s they are still an icon of the East Coast Main line and the legacy of the Gresley locomotives has influenced things on the ECML, the Flying Scotsman name lives on in the service run by current LNER and its predecessors including British Rail, with the ill-fated GNER emphasising the route during their tenure running InterCity East Coast services after privatisation, the Mallard name carried over to a refurbishment program of Class 91 and Mark 4 rolling stock in the early 2000s
So next time you travel the East Coast Main Line or pop into the National Railway Museum, don't forget to think about the great Sir Nigel Gresley.
