How It Works-Amazing Vehicles

The London and Nor th Eastern

Railway Company is to thank

for the Scotsman name

Herbert Nigel Gresley (19 June 1876 -5 April

1941) ser ved his apprenticeship at Crewe

Locomotive Works. His leadership and

engineering skills led him to become the chief

mechanical engineer of the London and North

Eastern Railway Company (LNER) based in Doncaster.

He designed the A1, and upgraded them to the A3 class. In 1935, he

introduced the A4 class that included the Mallard, which gained the

world speed record by travelling at 202.7km/h (126mph) in 1938. He

also worked on steering gear for ships and, in total, designed 27

classes of steam locomotive.

Gresley was always eager to test new innovations and incorporate

the best ideas from Europe and America into his designs. In 1936 he

was knighted by King Edward VIII in recognition of his industry.

Sir Nigel Gresley

and the LNER

Steam dome

The water in the boiler turns to steam

under high pressure, and rises to the

dome. The A1 boiler had 180psi while

the A3 boiler increased it to 220psi.

Driver

The driver uses the throttle to control

the regulator in the steam dome to

increase or decrease the amount of

steam sent to the c ylinders.

Cylinders

The Scotsman has three c ylinders on

each side. A Gresley-conjugated valve

gear system orders the operation of

the pistons inside the c ylinders.

Cranks and

connecting rods

The movement of the pistons is

transferred through these rods to the

wheels. The diameter of the wheels is

0.96m (3ft 2in) for the first four, 2.03m

(6ft 8in) for the coupled set and for the

trailing wheels 1.12m (3ft 8in).

Chimney

In 1958, the Scotsman was fitted

with a Kylchap exhaust system

that evenly mixed the steam

from the pistons and gases

from the boiler tubes to

improve performance.

Streamlining

Since the engine was so tall, the cab, dome

and chimney had to be v irtually flush with

the boiler to avoid hitting bridges between

Newcastle and Edinburgh.

Boiler tubes

Hot gases from the

firebox pass through

the tubes, heating the

water in the boiler.

The Fly ing Scotsman was not only

know n for speed but lu x ur y too

1900 1924 1932 23 MAY 2011

Luxury
Passenger comfort is
enhanced by the
introduction of dining cars,
heating and corridors
linking carriages.

Offi cial recognition

This ser v ice had been nicknamed

the Flying Scotsman since the 1870s.

LNER now officially gives the

ser v ice this name and gives the 4 472

locomotive the same title.

Speeding

The restricted journey time

of eight hours 15 minutes

was officially reduced to

seven and a half hours.

A new beginning

The Class 91, electric

locomotive 91101 starts an

Edinburgh to London weekday

service. It takes just four hours

to run the route.

© Dav id Ingham

DID YOU KNOW? The Flying Scotsman returned to the tracks in 2011, but discovered cracks mean it’s out of service until 2012

The Flying Scotsman

Designer:

Sir Herbert Nigel Gresley

Manufacturer:

Doncaster Railway Works

Year built: 1923

Class: A3

Length: 21.6m (70ft)

Width: 2.8m (9ft 3in)

Height: 4m (13ft)

Weight: 97.5 tonnes (107 tons)

Boiler pressure: 220psi

Top commercial speed:

108km/h (67mph)

Top record speed:

160.9km/h (100mph)

Status: Owned by the National

Railway Museum, York

The statistics...