The Peppercorn Locomotives were named after Arthur Peppercorn
the last Chief Mechanical Engineer CME of the London and North
East Railway (LNER). Just under 50 of these massive machines
were built utilising all the new developments in steam
technology of the period. They ran on long distance fast
passenger express routes hauling up to 450 tons all day long.
They had a top speed of 100 mph and used a 250lb per square inch
boiler. They weighed in at about 160 tons inclusive of the
tender which had about 5,000 gallons of treated water and 9 tons
of coal. The Driving wheels were 6ft 8 inches and the whole
engine was over 70 feet long. They were Leviathans of their day,
they would often run up to 100,000 miles per year between
General Overhauls. 4 members of the class accumulated nearly 5
million running miles between them, with each machine averaging
well over 1 million miles travelled. A retired Driver shows us
around the fire plate and the controls. Their reputation among
Drivers and Firemen alike was favourabl