The LNER Class V2

LNER Class V2

The London and North Eastern Railway Class V2 2-6-2 steam locomotives were designed by Sir Nigel Gresley for express mixed traffic work, and built between 1936–1944. The best known is the first of the class, 4771 Green Arrow, which is the only preserved example.-Construction:The V2s were the only...

 2-6-2

2-6-2

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-6-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels, six coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels.Other equivalent classifications are:...

 steam locomotive

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

, number 4771 Green Arrow was built in June 1936 for the London and North Eastern Railway

London and North Eastern Railway

The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...

 (LNER) at Doncaster Works

Doncaster Works

Doncaster railway works is in the town of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England.Always referred to as "the Plant", it was established by the Great Northern Railway in 1853, replacing the previous works in Boston and Peterborough...

 to a design of Nigel Gresley

Nigel Gresley

Sir Herbert Nigel Gresley was one of Britain's most famous steam locomotive engineers, who rose to become Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and North Eastern Railway . He was the designer of some of the most famous steam locomotives in Britain, including the LNER Class A1 and LNER Class A4...

. The first-built and only surviving member of its class, it was designed for hauling express freight and passenger trains and named after an express freight service. Numbered 4771 by the LNER, the locomotive was later renumbered 800 by the LNER in November 1946, and 60800 by British Railways in February 1949.

Preservation

The locomotive was withdrawn from service in August 1962. Selected for preservation, it was restored at Doncaster Works, where the work was completed in April 1963. Almost ten years of storage then followed, during which it was moved several times. A transfer from Doncaster to Hellifield occurred in October 1964; the locomotive was moved to Wigston in 1967 - this was intended to be the final temporary home, since it was intended that Green Arrow would become one of the permanent exhibits in a Municipal Museum which was proposed for the nearby city of Leicester

Leicester

Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...

. However, before the museum was ready, demolition of Wigston locomotive depot was scheduled, and the locomotive was sent south to the Preston Park shops of the Pullman Car Company in September 1970. The National Railway Museum

National Railway Museum

The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...

 (NRM) was then being planned, and in November 1971 Green Arrow was selected for the National Collection, items from which would form the main display in the NRM. The locomotive was again moved, this time to Norwich depot in January 1972, where it was returned to working order; the first trial trip, to Ely, was on 28 March 1973. It then commenced a series of runs at the head of special trains, before being moved to Carnforth on 2 July 1973. Green Arrow ran in preservation until being withdrawn from service on 21 April 2008, shortly before its boiler certificate expired. After a series of commemorative runs on preserved railways, the locomotive moved to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway

North Yorkshire Moors Railway

The North Yorkshire Moors Railway is a heritage railway in North Yorkshire, England. First opened in 1836 as the Whitby and Pickering Railway, the railway was planned in 1831 by George Stephenson as a means of opening up trade routes inland from the then important seaport of Whitby. The line...

 for their LNER gala. Following the first gala weekend the boiler was found to have two cracked superheater

Superheater

A superheater is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet steam into dry steam used for power generation or processes. There are three types of superheaters namely: radiant, convection, and separately fired...

 tubes; temporary repairs allowed the loco to make a final run on the second weekend before being finally withdrawn. Following this the loco returned to the National Collection and was on static display at the National Railway Museum's Locomotion

Shildon Locomotion Museum

Shildon Locomotion Museum is a railway museum in Shildon, County Durham, England. The museum is a branch of the National Railway Museum , which is part of the National Museum of Science and Industry...

 site at Shildon

Shildon

Shildon is a town in County Durham, in England. It is situated 2 miles to the south east of Bishop Auckland and 11 miles north of Darlington. It is 13 miles away from Durham, 23 miles from Sunderland and 23 miles from Newcastle-upon-Tyne...

. Green Arrow is now on static display in the great hall at NRM York, awaiting an overhaul to mainline running.

Fiction

Green Arrow appears in The Railway Series

The Railway Series

The Railway Series is a set of story books about a railway system located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first being published in 1945. Twenty-six were written by the Rev. W. Awdry, up to 1972. A further 16 were written by his son, Christopher Awdry; 14...

 book Thomas and the Great Railway Show double-heading

Double-heading

In railroad terminology, double-heading or double heading indicates the use of two locomotives at the front of a train, each operated individually by its own crew. The practice of triple-heading involves the use of three locomotives....

 a steam special to Scarborough with Thomas the Tank Engine

Thomas the Tank Engine

Thomas the Tank Engine is a fictional steam locomotive in The Railway Series books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher. He became the most popular character in the series, and the accompanying television spin-off series, Thomas and Friends.Thomas is a tank engine, painted blue...

.

Models

Bachmann

Bachmann Branchline

Bachmann Branchline is a brand name of Bachmann Industries used for British outline 00 gauge model railways.Bachmann, a US company founded in 1835, was purchased by Kader Industries in 1987. Kader had previously produced models for Palitoy under the 'Mainline' brand...

 and Graham Farish

Graham Farish

Graham Farish is a company that produces large quantities of British outline model railway equipment in N gauge.-History:The Poole, Dorset based manufacturer of radio parts and kits entered the model railway business in the late 1940s, after the need for radio sets reduced post World War II...

 produce models of Green Arrow for OO gauge

OO gauge

OO gauge or OO scale model railways are the most popular standard-gauge model railway tracks in the U.K. This track gauge is one of several 4mm-scale standards used, but it is the only one to be served by the major manufacturers...

 and N gauge respectively as part of the 2011 range.

External links

• North Yorkshire Moors Railway - Notification of Green Arrow's final outing