London and North Eastern Railway's (LNER) Peppercorn Class A1 is a class of 4-6-2 "Pacific" steam locomotives built between 1948 and 1949 at Doncaster and Darlington Works to a design of Arthur Peppercorn. Forty-nine were built for hauling express passenger services on the East Coast Main Line owned by LNER's successor, British Railways' North Eastern Region. None of the original 49 Peppercorn A1s survived into preservation, with the last being scrapped in 1966. The 50th Peppercorn A1, 60163 Tornado, was completed in 2008 as an evolved member of its class.

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Quick Facts Type and origin, Power type ...

LNER Peppercorn Class A1
An A1 Class locomotive at Kings Cross "Top Shed", circa May 1963
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Arthur Peppercorn Builder Doncaster Works Darlington Works Build date 1948–1949, 2008 Total produced 49
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-2 Leading dia. 3 ft 2 in (0.965 m) Driver dia. 6 ft 8 in (2.032 m) Trailing dia. 3 ft 8 in (1.118 m) Length 72 ft 11+3⁄4 in (22.24 m) Width 9 ft 2+7⁄8 in (2.82 m) Height 13 ft 1 in (3.99 m) Axle load 22.1 long tons (22.5 t; 24.8 short tons) Adhesive weight 66.55 long tons (67.62 t; 74.54 short tons) Loco weight 105.2 long tons (106.9 t; 117.8 short tons) Tender weight 60.9 long tons (61.9 t; 68.2 short tons) Total weight 166.1 long tons (168.8 t; 186.0 short tons) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 9 long tons (9.1 t; 10 short tons) Water cap. 5,000 imp gal (23,000 L; 6,000 US gal) Firebox: ​  • Grate area 50.0 sq ft (4.65 m2) Boiler Diagram 118 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) diameter 29 ft 2 in (8.89 m) length Boiler pressure 250 psi (1,700 kPa) Heating surface: ​  • Firebox 245.3 sq ft (22.79 m2)  • Tubes 1,211.6 sq ft (112.56 m2)  • Flues 1,004.5 sq ft (93.32 m2)  • Total surface 2,461.4 sq ft (228.67 m2) Superheater: ​  • Heating area 697.7 sq ft (64.82 m2) Cylinders 3 Cylinder size 19 in × 26 in (483 mm × 660 mm) Valve gear Walschaerts
Performance figures Maximum speed 100 mph (160 km/h) Power output 2,700 hp (2,000 kW)[citation needed] Tractive effort 37,400 lbf (166 kN)
Career Operators British Railways Power class BR: 8P6F Number in class 49 original, 1 completed in 2008 Numbers 60114–60162, 60163 Locale North Eastern Region First run August 1948 Last run June 1966 Withdrawn October 1962–June 1966 Disposition Original 49 withdrawn and scrapped, 1 built in 2008 and Mainline Registered

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Most of the former LNER Class A1 locomotives designed by Sir Nigel Gresley had been rebuilt as LNER Class A3 locomotives prior to this class being conceived. The few straggling LNER Class A1 locomotives that remained unrebuilt during the tenure of Peppercorn's predecessor, Edward Thompson, were redesignated by him as Class A10s in preparation for the construction of his new Class A1 locomotives. Thompson rebuilt the pioneer LNER Pacific Great Northern in 1945; originally this was the new Class A1, but the rebuild was not repeated. Instead, initiated by Thompson but largely taken forward by his successor Arthur Peppercorn, Great Northern was designated Class A1/1, and a new class of Peppercorn A1s ordered.

The locomotives were designed to cope with the heaviest passenger trains in the post-war period on the East Coast Main Line (London – York – Newcastle – Edinburgh – Aberdeen) which consisted normally of trains with up to 15 coaches and up to 550 tons. The Peppercorn A1s were able to pull such a train on the flat at a speed of 60–70 mph (95-110 km/h). The class used a double Kylchap chimney system and, like previous LNER Pacifics, had a 3-cylinder arrangement.

None of the original production run of 49 Peppercorn A1s survived the scrapyard to be preserved. However, in 2008, a brand new 50th A1 based on the original Peppercorn patterns, 60163 Tornado, was completed as the evolved member of the class.^[11]

• On 5 June 1950, locomotive No. 60153 Flamboyant was hauling an express passenger train which was derailed at Tollerton, North Yorkshire due to heat buckled track.^[12]
• On 7 September 1962, No. 60123 H.A. Ivatt suffered harsh collision damage after running into a train at Offord. Four people were injured in the incident. It was withdrawn a month later and scrapped at Doncaster.^[13][14][15]
• On 16 January 1964, No. 60120 Kittiwake collided with the rear end of a goods train in North Otterington. It was shortly withdrawn after the incident.^[16]
• On 14 April 2018, locomotive No. 60163 Tornado was hauling an excursion train named "The Ebor Flyer" from London King's Cross to York. While traveling at 90mph around Sandy, south of Peterborough, the locomotive's inside motion failed.^[17][18]

Bachmann Branchline and Hornby make models in OO gauge, Graham Farish produce a model in N gauge and Accucraft (UK) make a live steam model in Gauge 1.