The Power Of The A2s: Power Series - Tapa dura

In 1941 Sir Nigel Gresley died still in harness as the CME of the LNER; his successor was Edward Thompson. Thompson's reign, however, was to be relatively short as he retired in 1946, to be succeeded by the last CME that the LNER employed before it was Nationalised in 1948 - Arthur Peppercorn. Under these two individuals, the LNER's policy of express locomotive design reached its ultimate in the 'A2' class of Pacific. The origins of the class, however, antedated Thompson's appointment and were the result of Gresley's desire to construct a powerful class for services on the East Coast main line from Edinburgh to Aberdeen. The result was the six members of the 'P2' class of 2-8-2s constructed between 1934 and 1936. Graced by highly evocative names, such as Wolf of Badenoch and Cock of the North, the first two were radical in their design although this was later modified so that all six ultimately were streamlined in a style similar to that of the 'A4' class. Following Thompson's appointment, it was decided not to build further 'P2s' but to convert the sextet into conventional Pacifics and construct a new class to follow on from them. The resulting 'A2' Pacifics eventually numbered 40, including the six converted from the 'P2' class and 15 to the later design of Peppercorn, although further examples were planned but cancelled by BR after Nationalisation. The locomotives were predominantly associated with Scottish Region, gaining considerable fame towards the end of steam in the region on Aberdeen-Glasgow services, but were destined to have a shorter working life than the Gresley-designed classes as a result of the Modernisation Plane. Following an appeal, backed by the eponymous children's TV programme. No 60532 Blue Peter was to avoid the scrapyard and is the only example of the class to survive/ In his latest contribution to the highly-successful 'Power of' series, Gavin Morrison turns his attention the 'A2' Pacifics. Setting the scene by examining the 'P2' 2-8-2s, he then portrays each member of the 'A2' class through a remarkable selection of photographs, recording each individual locomotive's development during its operational career. Drawing upon his own collection and those of other notable photographers, the author provides a superb pictorial tribute to this stylish class of locomotive.