LNER Class A3 2750 Papyrus

LNER Class A3 2750 Papyrus was a Gresley 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive built at Doncaster Works for the London and North Eastern Railway, entering service in March 1929 to haul express trains on the East Coast Main Line. It was one of 27 A3s built new as such between 1927 and 1936, and like many of the class it was named for a racehorse. On 5 March 1935, hauling a 217-ton train that included a dynamometer car, it reached a peak of 108 mph (174 km/h) and kept above 100 mph for 12.5 miles (20.1 km) between Grantham and Peterborough, a record speed for a steam locomotive at that time. Faster streamlined engines such as Silver Link and Mallard soon beat it. It became British Railways 60096, was withdrawn in September 1963 and was scrapped. H. C. Webster's 1953 book 2750: Legend of a Locomotive gives a fictionalised account of its service.