Sir Nigel Gresley

Our centenarian class N2 is not only the oldest surviving locomotive to the design of Sir Nigel Gresley, but also the only tank engine and the of his locomotives that has steamed in the preservation era, having first emerged from the North British Locomotive works in February 1921.

This beautiful, yet powerful locomotive passed into preservation with the Society directly from British Railways in 1962. Initially it ran on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway and the Great Central Railway (heritage railway). It now lives on the North Norfolk Railway. Over the years, it has appeared in in LNER Black, BR Black, and GNR Apple Green. The locomotive’s last overhaul was completed in 2009, at which time it was given its current GNR Apple Green livery. 

Owned by the Gresley Society since 1963, the locomotive came out for traffic for a heavy overhaul in 2018. The Society had planned for the work, and believed we had sufficient funds to complete the overhaul with a margin to spare for the unexpected items that usually occur with any steam engine, often mid-way through!