Nigel Gresley
Sir Herbert Nigel Gresley (19 June 1876 – 5 April 1941) was an English railway engineer. He was one of Britain's most famous steam locomotive engineers, who rose to become Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). He was the designer of some of the most famous steam locomotives in Britain, including the LNER Class A1 and LNER Class A4 4-6-2 Pacific engines. An A1 Pacific, "Flying Scotsman", was the first steam locomotive officially recorded over 100 mph in passenger service, and an A4, number 4468 "Mallard", still holds the record for being the fastest steam locomotive in the world (126 mph).
2-8-4
Two prototypes were built in two-cylinder and three-cylinder versions. When tested, the two-cylinder version proved to be superior to the three-cylinder Class 114 version, and eventually twelve more two-cylinder Class 214 locomotives were built. In 1936, no. 214.13 reached a speed of , the highest speed ever attained by an Austrian steam locomotive. The regular speed limit was .
From 1938, the Deutsche Reichsbahn (DRB) designated the locomotives class 12.0. In the summer of 1939, they hauled 600 tons express trains out of Vienna over Wienerwald at a speed of , reaching over level stretches.