On Wednesday 3rd July 2013 the bells of St Wulframs church in Grantham will ring to celebrate a special occasion.
Quotes from Grantham Journal:-
"A historic locomotive will mark a rail milestone as it blasts up the East Coast Mainline at the fastest speed travelled by a steam train in almost half a century.
Bittern, an A4-class engine that was built in 1937 and is almost identical to the world's fastest steam loco, Mallard, is expected to hit 90mph en-route from London to York.
Bittern, which will be carrying passengers, was granted special permission by authorities to exceed the 75mph limit for steam trains".
(Actually of course the passengers will be in coaches that Bittern will be pulling.)
Organisers Locomotive Services Ltd say it will be the fastest a coal-burning locomotive has travelled since steam was phased out in the late 1960s.
Bittern and Mallard are two of 35 A4s designed by renowned engineer Sir Nigel Gresley and built for LNER in Doncaster in the 1930s. Only six survive however, and they are being reunited at the National Railway Museum in York to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Mallard's record.
A historic locomotive will mark a rail milestone as it blasts up the East Coast Mainline at the fastest speed travelled by a steam train in almost half a century.
Bittern, an A4-class engine that was built in 1937 and is almost identical to the world's fastest steam loco, Mallard, is expected to hit 90mph en-route from London to York.
Organisers say the event from July 3, called the Great Gathering, will be a "once-in-a-lifetime sight".
"What we're planning is a major celebration - people will be coming from four corners of the earth," Anthony Coulls, the museum's senior curator of rail vehicle collections, said. "The gathering of the six locomotives is the jewel in the crown really."
The survivors include Dominion of Canada, which now sits next to Mallard at the National Railway Museum after it was shipped from Montreal last October and restored especially for the anniversary. And the Dwight D Eisenhower - another transatlantic expat - has also rolled back into York and been treated to a scrub-up for the occasion.
The run commemorates Mallard hitting a record 126mph near Grantham on July 3, 1938 - a feat that remains unbeaten 75 years later.
Therefore on Wednesday 3rd July 2013 the bells of St Wulframs church in Grantham will ring out to celebrate this special occasion.
Regards,Derek.
