Mallard, the world’s fastest steam locomotive, received a prestigious Engineering Heritage Award from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on Friday 5 April. The date marked the anniversary of the death of the locomotive’s designer and past president of the Institution Sir Nigel Gresley.
The award was presented by John Wood Chairman of the Institution’s Engineering Heritage Committee to Helen Ashby, Head of Knowledge & Collections at the National Railway Museum, at a special ceremony attended by among others Sir Gresley's grandson Tim Godfrey at York’s National Railway Museum.
John Wood, Chairman of the Institution’s Engineering Heritage Committee, said commenting on Mallard’s win:
“The A4 Pacific class locomotive Mallard is one of the most iconic engineering artefacts of the 20th Century, and an example of British ingenuity at its very best.
“Sir Nigel Gresley showed extraordinary ambition and vision in designing this locomotive and it is testament to the work of the National Railway Museum that this awe-inspiring locomotive remains in such excellent condition.
“This award is being presented to Mallard in recognition of it being the fastest steam locomotive in the world, a title it achieved when it broke the world steam speed record when it reached 126mph on 3 July 1938.
“Mallard is a worthy addition to the recipients of Engineering Heritage Awards which also includes the E-Type Jaguar, Tower Bridge and the Vulcan Bomber.”
Helen Ashby, Head of Knowledge & Collections at the National Railway Museum, who will be accepting the award said:
“We’re so proud that Mallard has been recognised by the Institution as an icon of British engineering design in this 75th anniversary year of its still unbroken speed record.
“We hope people will come to the museum’s Great Hall to see the award winner now and also in July when the record-breaking locomotive will be joined by its surviving sisters for our ‘Great Gathering’ celebrating 75 years of Britain’s steam speed record.”
Mallard is one of six surviving examples of the A4 class of locomotive designed by Sir Nigel Gresley to power high-speed streamlined trains.
The locomotive’s aerodynamic body allowed the class to reach speeds of over 100mph, although in everyday service it was rare for any steam hauled service in the UK to reach even 90mph
Mallard attained the world record speed of 126mph descending Stoke Bank in July 1938 and covered almost 1.5 million miles (2.4 million km) before it was retired on 25 April1963.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of Mallard breaking the world speed record and to celebrate the occasion in style the National Railway Museum is staging ‘The Great Gathering’ a free event which reunites the garter blue icon with its five surviving sister A4 locomotives which are normally located as far afield as the US and Canada.
For more information on the 75th anniversary celebrations: www.nrm.org.uk/mallard75