European Railroad Discussion > UK Memories: Money Well Spent Pt.1

2014 had to be one of the most memorable years in UK railway preservation history. It was on this year the 6 surviving LNER A4's gathered as one for the public to witness at York, and later Shildon. Aside from the Flying Scotsman, I have always wanted to see these Gresleys up close and personal. What better way than to see all 6 at once than in Shildon. February 23, 2014 was the final day these A4's would be gathered before being returned to York, and Dwight D. Eisenhower to Wisconsin. I got the day off to travel by a Cathedrals Express charter from London to Shildon for the event. I HATE large railway gatherings. The amount of people in one place and in a confined space makes me very uncomfortable. However an exception had to be made for this, for a chance to see a gathering like this again in my lifetime would be nearly 0. I believe it was like, £99, but man was it worth it!  Here are a few from the day long trip.

#1. 47560 doing the honors for this special to Shildon, waiting for passengers to board at the Cross.

#2. One of the many photos I took out the window on this journey. You can't do this in the states!

#3. At NRM Shildon. I was pleased to see No. 1 on display. The Sterlings sure were magnificent!

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#4. Outside the shed was the reason for my arrival, the A4's. Sir Nigel Gresley ran some vans back and forth for people to ride on.

#5. There were a lot of people attending this day, understandably. 4 of the 6 in one line up.

#6. Money shot. The makeshift photo line probably waited 15-20 minutes for the general public to get out of the shot.

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#7. Several hours of photos later and I was tired. I was ready to head back to Mildenhall. My ride for the evening.

Thanks for looking!

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Minor correction. #1 is 47580. The only way is Essex (loco named "County of Essex")

VVVVVVeeeerrrryyyy nice!

Is the Sterling standard gauge or broad?  I to like them, wish I had one in 1 gauge to operate.

It's actually Stirling, in the case of the Great Northern Railway singles, Patrick. His brother, James, was also a loco engineer, on the Glasgow & South Western and later the South Eastern Railway. Patrick's son, Matthew, was locomotive superintendent of the Hull & Barnsley Railway.

As this is a GNR locomotive it's standard gauge. Only the Great Western invested in a long lasting broad gauge network.