LNER Class V1/V3

The LNER Class V1 and its later development, the Class V3, were two related classes of 2-6-2T steam tank locomotives designed by Sir Nigel Gresley for heavy, tightly timed suburban passenger work. Eighty-two V1s were built at Doncaster between 1930 and 1939, the last ten ordered being completed as V3s, and 71 V1s were later rebuilt to the V3 pattern with boiler pressure raised to 200 psi for more power and faster acceleration. The V1 was the first design to cast all three cylinders and valve chests in a single steel casting, an arrangement later used for the P2, V2, K4 and V4. They worked suburban services around Glasgow and Edinburgh and later Newcastle to Middlesbrough and Hull area duties. Withdrawals began in 1960, the V1s were gone by 1962 and the V3s by 1964, and none was preserved, though a new-build V3 has been announced.