‘Sir Nigel Gresley’ Showcased at Alstom’s Greatest Gathering

Today marks the beginning of Alstom’s sold-out charity event, the Greatest Gathering, which takes place at its rolling stock factory on Litchurch Lane in Derby.

The event, which forms part of a year-long celebration of Railway 200, runs from 1–3 August, and will see the largest gathering of rolling stock from the past, future and present the world has ever seen.

One of several heritage steam locomotives on site this weekend is the LNER A4 4-6-2 60007 ‘Sir Nigel Gresley’, courtesy of the Sir Nigel Gresley Locomotive Trust.

Named after its designer and Chief Mechanical Engineer of the LNER, Sir Nigel Gresley was built in Doncaster in 1937 and formed part of the A4 class, providing express services across the East Coast Main Line.

The locomotive set a post-war steam speed record on 112 mph in 1959 before being withdrawn in 1966.

Since retiring from active service, Sir Nigel has been preserved, restored and overhauled a number of times. It now remains in operation as the key element of a partnership between the Sir Nigel Gresley Locomotive Trust and Locomotive Services Limited, and was returned to main line running standards in 2022.

The train now carries out services on the Severn Valley Railway.

Other heritage trains on display at the Greatest Gathering include the Midland Railway 1000 Class No. 1000 steam locomotive and GWR King Class No. 6023 King Edward II steam locomotive, among many more.