No. 60009 Union Of South Africa shows off its sleek lines at Bury, East Lancashire Railway, on May 30 – the loco having carried this green livery through its later BR years and all through its time in preservation. It was due to have its operational finale at the line’s Autumn Steam Gala on October 15-17, but its unfortunate failure with water tube issues in early October meant it could only be on static display.
ROBERT FALCONER
THE failure of popular ‘A4’ No. 60009 with boiler tube issues at the start of October means there is currently no working ‘A4’. The streamlined loco is one of six survivors from the original LNER fleet of 35, with four already in museums (Nos. 60008 in the USA, 60010 in Canada, 60019 in Margate and 60022 in the NRM, York), although happily No. 60007 is approaching the end of an extensive overhaul that should see it back on the main line next year with Locomotive Services.
No. 60009 (LNER Nos. 4488, 590 and 9) was built in 1937 and was originally intended to carry the name Osprey as part of the fleet’s bird-named series, but this was changed to Union of South Africa in recognition of that country gaining full sovereignty in 1931.
The loco was Scottish-based throughout its LNER and British Railways career, being first allocated to Haymarket in Edinburgh before transferring to Aberdeen Ferryhill in May 1962 to see out its BR years working the Glasgow expresses.
It was one of the last six A4s to be withdrawn, being taken out of service on June 1, 1966 – just three months before the final two, Nos. 60019 and 60024. Before then, however, the loco had the ‘honour’ of being the final steam locomotive to be overhauled at Doncaster Works in November 1963, as well as hauling the last-booked steam out of King’s Cross on October 24, 1964 when it worked the ‘Jubilee Requiem’ to Newcastle and back.