9 August 2025 / For immediate release
The Gresley Society Trust celebrates Sir Nigel Gresley’s 150th anniversary
Doncaster, UK – 9 August 2025: The Gresley Society Trust, founded in 1963 to honour the life and works of Sir Nigel Gresley, is delighted to announce a year-long celebration marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of the legendary railway engineer in 2026. Renowned for designing iconic steam locomotives including Flying Scotsman, Cock O’The Northand Mallard, Sir Nigel Gresley’s contributions to railway engineering continue to inspire the world. Under the strapline “A Legacy of Innovation, Speed and Elegance”, the Trust, in collaboration with Doncaster City Council and other partner railway organisations, will host a series of events to commemorate his extraordinary impact that continues to endure. An application has been submitted to the Heritage Fund to support the celebrations.
The centrepiece of the celebrations will be a Symposium and Gala Dinner on Saturday 20th June 2026, at the Mansion House, Doncaster. The symposium will feature presentations by esteemed speakers exploring Gresley’s personal history, professional achievements, and enduring influence on modern railways. Topics include his early career, LNER locomotive and coaching stock development, the iconic streamliners, and his legacy in preservation and today’s railway industry. The evening’s 1930s-themed gala dinner will offer a nostalgic culinary experience inspired by menus from famous LNER trains, including ‘The Flying Scotsman’, ‘The Silver Jubilee’, and ‘The Coronation’. Tickets are priced at £25 (members) and £30 (non-members) for the symposium, and £75 (members) and £85 (non-members) for the gala dinner, with spaces limited to 100.
Additional highlights of the celebrations include:
- A new plaque at Doncaster station unveilled on 19 June 2025, marking Gresley’s birthday.
- An exhibition at the Danum Gallery, Doncaster, showcasing Gresley’s life and works, with part becoming a permanent display.
- A series of events with partner organisations, including those connected to Gresley’s class A4 No. 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley and the LNER Coach Association on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
- The digitisation of the Gresley Society Trust’s archive to ensure broader access and long-term preservation.
- A short film on Gresley’s life and achievements.
- A Gresley-focused theme at The Festival of British Railway Modelling at Doncaster Racecourse on Saturday 7thand Sunday 8th February 2026 featuring award-winning Grantham: the streamliner years’ layout.
- The creation of a commemorative logo for partner organisations.
The Gresley Society proudly owns Gresley class N2 No. 1744, the oldest surviving Gresley locomotive, nearing the end of a major overhaul at the North Norfolk Railway, and Gresley Buffet Lounge Car No. 1852, the sole surviving vehicle from the 1938 ‘Flying Scotsman’ train, soon to be the subject of a Heritage Fund bid for restoration. The Trust has also commemorated Gresley with plaques at sites like Doncaster and Edinburgh Waverley, and a statue at King’s Cross station.
Philip Benham MBE, FCILT, Chairman of The Gresley Society Trust, said:
“Sir Nigel Gresley’s visionary designs, from the world-famous Flying Scotsman and record-breaking Mallard through to the streamlined trains of the 1930s, transformed the railway industry and continue to captivate enthusiasts worldwide. This 150th anniversary celebration is a fitting tribute to his legacy of innovation, speed and elegance, bringing together our members, partners, and the wider railway community to honour his remarkable contributions.”
To register for the symposium and gala dinner, please complete the RSVP form available from The Gresley Society Trust by 30th April 2026. For more details, visit Gresley.org or email chairman@gresley.org.
19 June 2025 / For immediate release
New plaque unveiled at Doncaster Station to commemorate Sir Nigel Gresley
Mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones, has today (19 June) unveiled a plaque at the entrance to Doncaster station to commemorate one of the country’s greatest railway engineers, Sir Nigel Gresley, who was also born on this day in 1876.
The plaque and information board is situated close to an existing display which includes the names of many of the Gresley designed locomotives built in the nearby engineering workshops and highlights the important role Sir Nigel Gresley played in the development of Doncaster as a major railway centre.
Ben Godfrey, the grandson of Sir Nigel Gresley, said: “I am delighted that the work of my grandfather, and his importance to the great railway centre of Doncaster, is being recognised today on the date of his birth. His most famous locomotives were built here, so there is a very special family connection with Doncaster.”
Sir Nigel Gresley lived in Thorne Road, Doncaster from 1905, following his appointment as Carriage & Wagon Superintendent, and later Locomotive Engineer with the Great Northern Railway. Although he moved to London in 1923, upon becoming Chief Mechanical Engineer of the newly formed London & North Eastern Railway, the extensive workshops at Doncaster remained his responsibility.
It was here, in the famous ‘Plant’ works, that Gresley’s big ‘Pacific’ locomotives, and many others, were designed and built. These included Flying Scotsman, acknowledged as the world’s most famous steam engine, and later the streamlined A4 Pacifics. It was one of these locomotives, Mallard, driven by Joe Duddington with fireman Tommy Bray, both Doncaster men, that achieved a world speed record for steam of 126mph in 1938 – a record unrivalled to this day.
Mayor Ros Jones, said: “Doncaster has a proud connection to the railway industry and this is another splendid acknowledgment to a man who gave so much to our city. It will be a lasting reminder and attraction, to those who live in and visit Doncaster, of his ongoing influence.”
Linda Wain, Engineering Director at LNER, said: “We’re delighted to see this plaque unveiled in honour of Sir Nigel Gresley — one of Britain’s most iconic steam locomotive engineers, who rose to become Chief Mechanical Engineer of the LNER. His legacy is deeply woven into the history of Doncaster and the wider railway industry, and it’s especially fitting to mark his contribution in this year of Railway 200, as we celebrate two centuries of rail innovation and achievement.”
Notes to Editors
For more information about the Gresley Society Trust please contact: Philip Benham (chairman@gresley.org)(07506-478097).
Creation of this commemorative display has been a partnership between:
· London North Eastern Railway
· Doncaster & District Family History Society
· The Great Northern Railway Society
More information about Sir Nigel Gresley:
Sir Nigel Gresley was born in Edinburgh on 19th June 1876, although the family home was at Netherseale in Derbyshire and it is here that he grew up. After school at Marlborough, in 1893 he became a ‘premium apprentice’ at Crewe Works on the London & North Western Railway under the autocratic Chief Mechanical Engineer Francis Webb.
The young Nigel rose rapidly through the railway industry, including a period on the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, before being appointed Carriage & Wagon Superintendent on the Great Northern Railway (GNR) in 1905. Thus began an association with this railway its successor, the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER), and Doncaster, that would last for the rest of his life.
By 1911 Nigel Gresley had progressed to the top job on the GNR as Locomotive Engineer, becoming Chief Mechanical Engineer of the enlarged LNER following the ‘railway grouping’ in 1923. This meant a change of location to his new office at London’s King’s Cross station, but design and construction for most of Gresley’s locomotives and much of the rolling stock still took place in Doncaster.
While he is best known for his Pacific locomotives, Gresley’s achievements were far more than that. In all he was responsible for the design and building of 2150 locomotives, mostly built in Doncaster, and tens of thousands of carriages and wagons. His locomotives were powerful and modern, while carriages brought new standards of comfort for passengers in the Edwardian period and again in the 1920s and 1930s.
Gresley pioneered the concept of streamlined trains in Britain believing that steam could equal the achievements of the Germans who had introduced fast diesel railcars between major cities. He was proved right with first The Silver Jubilee, introduced in 1935 between London and Newcastle, and then The Coronation and The West Riding linking the England’s capital respectively with Edinburgh and the West Riding. These trains brought together streamlined locomotives of a revolutionary appearance, the A4 Pacifics, with streamlined carriages – including such innovations as a form of air-conditioning and, for The Coronation,an observation car.
Sir Nigel Gresley was knighted for his career achievements in 1936. He died at home unexpectedly on 5th April 1941 at the age of 65 while still in office with the LNER.
