LNER Thompson Class A2/2

The London and North Eastern Railway Class A2/2 was a class of six 4-6-2 steam locomotives that Edward Thompson rebuilt in 1943 and 1944 from Nigel Gresley's P2 class of 2-8-2 express passenger engines, which had suffered from hot axle boxes, rapid wear in journals and connecting rods, and fractured steam pipe joints. Thompson replaced the conjugated valve gear with three independent sets of Walschaerts gear, fitted a new bogie and a Kylchap exhaust, and raised boiler pressure from 220 to 225 psi, giving a tractive effort of 40,318 lbf. The first to be rebuilt at Doncaster Works was No. 2005 Thane of Fife, ordered in October 1942 and completed in January 1943. The rebuilds improved reliability and reduced maintenance, but the stretched engines looked ungainly, were prone to slipping and acquired a reputation for wild riding at high speed. By 1949 the class had been sent to England, and all six were withdrawn and scrapped between 1959 and 1961.