LNER Peppercorn Class A2 The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Peppercorn Class A2 is a class of steam locomotive designed for express passenger work by Arthur Peppercorn, the chief designer of the LNER after Edward Thompson. All save the first of the 15 built ...

No. 60532 ''Blue Peter'' is the sole survivor of 15

4-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The locomo ...

locomotives of the A2 class, designed by

Arthur Peppercorn Arthur Henry Peppercorn, (29 January 1889 – 3 March 1951) was an English railway engineer, and was the last Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London and North Eastern Railway. Career Arthur Peppercorn was born in Leominster in 18 ...

of the LNER. 60532 worked between 1948 and 1966. It is owned by the Royal Scot Locomotive and General Trust (RSL>), currently under overhaul at their LNWR Heritage facility based at

Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The Crewe built-up area had a total population of 75,556 in 2011, which also covers parts of the adjacent civil parishes of Willaston ...

Construction

60532 was built at

Doncaster Works Doncaster Railway Works is a railway workshop located in Doncaster, England. Also referred to as The Plant''", it was established by the Great Northern Railway in 1853, replacing the previous works in Boston and Peterborough. Until 1867 it u ...

and out-shopped by the newly formed

British Railways British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British ...

on 25 March 1948. The initial livery was LNER apple green with ''British Railways'' on the tender sides. 60532 was named in the LNER tradition of using the names of famous

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

s. ''

Blue Peter III Blue Peter (1936–1957) was a British bred Thoroughbred racehorse whose career was cut short by the outbreak of World War II. He won The Derby and was later a Leading broodmare sire in Great Britain & Ireland. Bred and owned by Lord Rosebery ...

'' was the name of a horse owned by

Harry Primrose, 6th Earl of Rosebery Albert Edward Harry Meyer Archibald Primrose, 6th Earl of Rosebery, 2nd Earl of Midlothian (8 January 1882 – 31 May 1974), styled Lord Dalmeny until 1929, was a British liberal politician who briefly served as Secretary of State for Scotland i ...

, which in 1939 won races including The Derby and the

2000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year ...

. The horse earned almost £32,000 for Lord Rosebery, more than enough to purchase three Doncaster Pacific locomotives at the time.

BR service

Initially all the A2s were allocated to

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

sheds. 60532 was allocated to the North Eastern Region of BR at

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, where it worked principally over the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running b ...

. In the autumn of 1949, five A2s were overhauled at Doncaster, where a number of modifications were made, including the fitting of a multiple valve regulator and a double

blastpipe The blastpipe is part of the exhaust system of a steam locomotive that discharges exhaust steam from the cylinders into the smokebox beneath the chimney in order to increase the draught through the fire. History The primacy of discovery of th ...

and chimney, together with

Kylchap The Kylchap steam locomotive exhaust system was designed and patented by French steam engineer André Chapelon, using a second-stage nozzle designed by the Finnish engineer Kyösti Kylälä and known as the ''Kylälä spreader''; thus the name ...

cowls. In addition, 60532 received a second whistle placed offside behind the chimney. This chime whistle is being sounded in the illustration above. Subsequently, the five A2s, including 60532, moved to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

to make up for deficiencies experienced with the Thompson Class A2/2s (rebuilt LNER Class P2). 60532 was allocated to

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...

, with all the Scottish-based A2s used mainly on express passenger services between Aberdeen and Edinburgh, which benefited from their greater power and acceleration. After the English-based A2s were withdrawn in 1962 and 1963, the three remaining Scottish A2s remained in service until 1966. Replaced by diesel power, 60532 was allocated to

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

and became the last Peppercorn Pacific to be overhauled at Darlington Works. As a result, it was often requested for

rail tour A railtour is a special train which is run in order to allow people to experience rail travel which is not normally available using timetabled passenger services. The 'unusual' aspect may be the route of the train, the destination, the occasion, ...

s, working as far as

Holyhead Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and i ...

and Exeter St Davids. 60532's final rail tour was in October 1966 over the

Waverley Line The Waverley Route was a railway line that ran south from Edinburgh, through Midlothian and the Scottish Borders, to Carlisle. The line was built by the North British Railway; the stretch from Edinburgh to Hawick opened in 1849 and the remaind ...

and the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

over

Beattock Beattock is a village in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, approximately southwest of Moffat and north of Dumfries. Beattock was historically served by the A74 road and the West Coast Main Line, however the road has since been upgraded to the ...

. 60532 was withdrawn from service on 31 December 1966, and put into storage.

Preservation

Geoff Drury had purchased

LNER Class A4 4464 Bittern 4464 ''Bittern'' is a London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Class A4 steam locomotive. Built for the LNER on 18 December 1937 at Doncaster Works as works number 1866, it received number 4464. After that it was renumbered 19 on 16 August 1946 ...

from British Rail in 1966. In 1968, he tried to buy an A1, but after the last one was cut up he was offered and purchased 60532 in 1968. After preservation, 60532 was the subject of a campaign for its restoration on the BBC Television series ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Te ...

,'' and the locomotive has subsequently been featured several times in the programme. Restoration was undertaken at

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

and Doncaster Works where it was repainted in LNER apple green livery as No 532. 60,000 people witnessed its renaming by the BBC ''Blue Peter'' programme presenters at a Doncaster Works Open Day in 1971. Moved to the

Dinting Railway Centre Dinting railway station serves the village of Dinting near Glossop in Derbyshire, England. The station is on the Manchester-Glossop Line, east of Manchester Piccadilly. Prior to the Woodhead Line closure in 1981, Dinting was a station on a ...

, it did little running and in late 1987, the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group (NELPG) took charge of 60532 and A4 ''Bittern'' on long-term loan from the Drury family. Restored at the

Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. It was formed by the merger of four leading British chemical companies in 1926. Its headquarters were at ...

works at Wilton, Redcar and Cleveland, 60532 was renamed by the BBC ''Blue Peter'' programme for a second time in December 1991. It was then moved to the

North Yorkshire Moors Railway The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England, that runs through the North York Moors National Park. First opened in 1836 as the Whitby and Pickering Railway, the railway was planned in 1831 by Geor ...

for running in. The locomotive obtained its main line certificate in 1992 and subsequently worked many rail tours over the

Settle and Carlisle Railway Settle or SETTLE may refer to: Places * Settle, Kentucky, United States * Settle, North Yorkshire, a town in England ** Settle Rural District, a historical administrative district Music * Settle (band), an indie rock band from Pennsylvania * ' ...

and as far north as its old depot of Aberdeen.

1994 accident

On 1 October 1994, during a run from Edinburgh to York, 60532 suffered extensive damage during a catastrophic uncontrolled wheelslip after leaving Durham station. The damaged parts included the outside valve motion, coupling rods and axleboxes; a driving wheel also moved on its axle.

1994–2014

The damage to the motion, cylinders and driving wheels was devastating. The locomotive was moved to

Thornaby Thornaby-on-Tees, commonly referred to as Thornaby, is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Tees's southern bank. It is in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. The parish had a population of 24,74 ...

MPD, where the repair work took 18 months to complete. 60532 was then moved again to the NYMR for running in. The locomotive resumed its mainline career in November 1996, working a charter from

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

via

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

and

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

. In 1998, 60532 ran an Edinburgh to London excursion to mark the 40th anniversary of the ''

'' TV programme. The trip was Day's Out Limited's "Heart of Midlothian" which had run from Kings Cross to Edinburgh behind a diesel and 60532 worked the journey south with members of the Blue Peter team traveling on board. One presenter

Stuart Miles Stuart Miles (born 20 February 1969) is a British radio and television presenter, who has worked on the children's programme ''Blue Peter''. Career Miles studied at Bournemouth University where he developed an interest in college radio, follow ...

even travelled on the footplate between Newark and

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire unti ...

as that was the section that

Mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argen ...

set the speed record in 1938. 60532's mainline certificate expired in September 2001 and after that, she was then based at the NYMR, where it worked until the end of the 2002 season when her boiler certificate expired. It was subsequently displayed at the

Darlington Railway Centre and Museum Head of Steam, formerly known as the Darlington Railway Centre and Museum, is a railway museum located on the 1825 route of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, which was the world's first steam-powered passenger railway. It is based inside the ...

. On 22 May 2007,

BBC Look North ''BBC Look North'' is a name used by the BBC for its regional news programmes in three regions in the North of England: *'' BBC Look North'' for the BBC North East and Cumbria region *'' BBC Look North'' for the BBC Yorkshire region *'' BBC Loo ...

News reported that the locomotive was being moved into storage in Chesterfield, due to the renovation of the museum, and would not be returning. After 60532 was moved to the

Barrow Hill Engine Shed Barrow Hill Roundhouse, until 1948 known as Staveley Engine Shed, is a former Midland Railway roundhouse in Barrow Hill, near Staveley and Chesterfield, Derbyshire (), now serving as a railway heritage centre. History Staveley Roundhouse wa ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, the NELPG hoped to raise £600,000 for restoration of the locomotive to main line running. There she was repainted to British Railways apple green livery, similar to the first livery used on the A1 Class

60163 Tornado LNER Peppercorn Class A1 No. 60163 ''Tornado'' is a 4-6-2 steam locomotive completed in 2008 to an original design by Arthur Peppercorn. It is the first new build British mainline steam locomotive since 1960, and the only Peppercorn Class ...

RSL>: 2014–present

In October 2014, the engine was sold by the Drury family to

Jeremy Hosking Jeremy John Hosking (born 20 July 1958) is a British businessman and political donor. Ranked number 351 in the Sunday Times Rich List 2019, with a net worth of £375 million, he is a shareholder in Crystal Palace F.C. and a noted railway e ...

under the ownership of the RSL>, who plan to restore it to main line standard with a return originally scheduled for 2016. The locomotive was moved to the LNWR Heritage facility at

in May 2015 and is currently under overhaul. On 10 August 2017, it made another appearance on the ''Blue Peter'' TV programme (as well as showing footage of when it was moved by road from Barrow Hill to Crewe with the help of

Radzi Chinyanganya Munyaradzi Thomas Kingsley "Radzi" Chinyanganya (born 12 September 1986) is a British presenter and broadcaster. He co-presented the BBC children's TV programme ''Blue Peter'' from 2013 until 2019, and the ITV game show ''Cannonball'' in 2017 ...

and

Barney Harwood Barnaby John "Barney" Harwood (born 7 November 1979) is a British actor and television presenter. He is known for his work with CBBC beginning in 2002. Career Television For CBBC, Harwood presented '' Prank Patrol'' and was a voice-over comment ...

Lindsey Russell Lindsey Russell (born 25 September 1990) is a British television presenter. She is best known for being the thirty-sixth presenter of the long running British BBC television programme ''Blue Peter'', which she co-hosted from 2013 to 2021 with Bar ...

helps out in the workshop with its overhaul which included helping with the construction of its new firebox.

References

{{reflist

External links

60532 ''Blue Peter'' official site at the NELPG

Video footage of the 1994 slip

Blue Peter on the ECML in 1998

Blue Peter 40th Anniversary Railtour Part 1

Blue Peter 40th Anniversary Railtour Part 2
LNER A2 Peppercorn 60532 Blue Peter LNER A2 Peppercorn 60532 Blue Peter Individual locomotives of Great Britain