Below are the names and numbers of the steam locomotives that comprised the LNER Gresley Classes A1 and A3, that ran on the Great Northern (GNR) and latterly the London and North Eastern Railway network. They represented Nigel Gresley's attempt to standardise steam design.

The London and North Eastern Railway Gresley Classes A1 and A3 were 4-6-2 "Pacific" steam locomotives designed by Nigel Gresley for passenger work. They were initially intended for use on the Great Northern Railway (GNR), but became a standard design on the London and North Eastern Railway after the amalgamation of 1923.

In 1923, the LNER inherited four pacifics, to two classes each consisting of two locomotives, one class from either of two of its constituents, the Great Northern Railway (GNR) and the North Eastern Railway (NER). The Great Northern Pacifics, were of GNR Class A1, designed by Nigel Gresley and numbered 1470/1.

It would be in these two crucial areas that the A0 Pacific, if built, would have seen major modifications. The rebuilding of some of the Raven Pacifics, with a Gresley Taper Boiler (and Gresley standard pattern cab), shows how the original A0 …

Now for Gordon's true origins - the fictional side of the A0 Pacific locomotive story. We believe he is in fact the A0 design, albeit rebuilt and modified to a mechanically identical, but outwardly unique, locomotive. The description of Gordon in TIOS is clear:

Sep 3, 2021 · A proposed 4-6-2 Pacific design which is a modification of the GNR C1 Atlantic which was designed by Henry Ivatt. The A0 to put it simply is the C1 but with another set of drivers to turn it into a 4-6-2. The A0 predates Gresley's A1 Pacifics, so the A0 was used as a testbed of this type of design.

They were designed for main line passenger services, initially on the Great Northern Railway (GNR), a constituent company of the London and North Eastern Railway after the amalgamation of 1923, for which they became a standard design.

Gordon is a GNR/LNER Gresley A0, the prototype of his class. The only other A0 is Thompson (the Flying Thistle). Both were used experimentally to find faults in the design.

The LNER adopted the GNR classification system by wheel arrangement, with the A-prefix indicating the most prestigious wheel arrangement. The GNR Class A1s remained Class A1 and the NER Pacifics were reclassified A2.

This is a review of the big blue express engine himself Gordon.0:00 intro 1:00 review 3:00 details4:00 test run 5:00 outro