LNER Class A4 No. 4469 Sir Ralph Wedgwood was one of 35 A4 class

locomotives A locomotive is a rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for longer and heavier freight train ...

of the

LNER LNER or L.N.E.R. may refer to: *London and North Eastern Railway (1923–1947), a former railway company in the United Kingdom *London North Eastern Railway (2018–), a train operating company in the United Kingdom * Liquid neutral earthing resi ...

. Built at

Doncaster Works Doncaster Railway Works is a railway workshop located in Doncaster, England. Also referred to as ''The Plant'', it was established by the Great Northern Railway (England), Great Northern Railway in 1853, replacing the previous works in Boston, ...

, it was originally named ''

Gadwall The gadwall (''Mareca strepera'') is a common and widespread dabbling duck in the family Anatidae. Taxonomy The gadwall was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. DNA studies have shown th ...

,'' being renamed Sir Ralph Wedgwood in March 1939 in recognition of Wedgwood's sixteen years of service as Chief Officer of the LNER between 1923 and 1939.

Construction and entry to service

No. 4469 was built at the

as builders number 1871 in 1938. It received the name ''Gadwall'', and was allocated to Gateshead shed on completion. It was paired with non-corridor tender No. 5672 built new in 1938; as one of the A4 class locomotives built for general express duties it was painted in garter blue. In March 1939, No. 4469 was officially renamed ''Sir Ralph Wedgwood'' shortly before the retirement of its namesake. This was one of three locomotives to be named after LNER officials in that year, the others being No. 4499 ''Sir Murrough Wilson'' (originally ''Pochard'', renamed April 1939) and 4500 ''Sir Ronald Matthews'' (formerly ''Garganey'', renamed March 1939). Following the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, No. 4469 initially retained its garter blue livery before being repainted into wartime black. The valances over the driving wheels were also removed for ease of access to the locomotive's valve gear.

Baedeker Raid

In late April 1942, No. 4469 received repairs at Doncaster Works and was temporarily allocated to Doncaster shed for running in on local services before returning to Gateshead. It was stabled at

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

North Shed on the night of 28/29 April 1942, the night of the Baedeker raid on York. During the attack,

York station York railway station is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) serving the cathedral city of York, North Yorkshire, England. It is north of and, on the main line, it is situated between to the south and to the north. , the stat ...

and North Shed were bombed; during the attack No. 4469 and another nearby engine, B16 class No. 925 were damaged after a bomb fell through the shed roof and exploded between the two engines. The locomotive was severely damaged as a result of the explosion, but was recovered and towed to Doncaster shortly afterward. Due to the degree of damage, it was considered impractical to rebuild No. 4469, and the locomotive was condemned and later scrapped. Tender No. 5672, attached to No. 4469 since new in 1938, was stored at Doncaster until 1945, when it was then rebuilt, given the new tender number 703 and attached to LNER Thompson Class A2/1 No. 3696 ''Highland Chieftain''. The chime whistle was also removed and fitted to Y8 class 0-4-0T No. 560 as a trial.

Replacement and commemoration

Following the scrapping of No. 4469 ''Sir Ralph Wedgwood'', one of its damaged nameplates was rescued from scrap by a member of the Doncaster workshops staff for preservation at his home. It was later sold by his grandson in the early 2000s, with speculation that the

National Railway Museum The National Railway Museum (NRM) is a museum in York, England, forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historical ...

would seek to obtain it; the NRM subsequently were unable to purchase it and it became part of a private collection. A new set of nameplates were made two years later in 1944 and fitted to A4 No. 4466, formerly named ''Herring Gull'', and which carried these plates until withdrawn as British Railways No. 60006 on 3 September 1965 and scrapped on 31 October later that year. A plaque was placed on the spot where No. 4469 ''Sir Ralph Wedgwood'' was destroyed in 1942, now within the Great Hall of the National Railway Museum, by the Gresley Society on 29 April 1992 to mark the 50th anniversary of the raid.

References

External links

Photo and informationThe Gresley A4 Pacifics
LNER Encyclopedia
NRM archive image of 4469 heading for scrapping
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923051251/http://www.nrm.org.uk/img/nrm/worksphotos/Doncaster/1997-7396_DON_42_56.jpg , date=23 September 2017 4469 Individual locomotives of Great Britain Railway locomotives introduced in 1938 Scrapped locomotives