Sir Herbert Nigel Gresley (19 June 1876 – 5 April 1941) was a British railway engineer. He was one of Britain's most famous

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

engineers, who rose to become Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after London, Midland and Scottish Railway, LMS) of the "Big Four (British railway companies), Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It ope ...

(LNER). He was the designer of some of the most famous steam locomotives in Britain, including the LNER Class A1 and

LNER Class A4 The LNER Class A4 is a class of streamlined 4-6-2 steam locomotive, steam locomotives designed by Nigel Gresley for the London and North Eastern Railway in 1935. Their streamlined design gave them high-speed capability as well as making them ins ...

4-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The locomoti ...

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

engines. An A1 Pacific, '' Flying Scotsman'', was the first steam locomotive officially recorded over 100 mph in passenger service, and an A4, No. 4468 ''

Mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. It has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

'', still holds the record for being the fastest steam locomotive in the world (126 mph). Gresley's engines were considered elegant, both aesthetically and mechanically. His invention of a three-cylinder design with only two sets of

Walschaerts valve gear The Walschaerts valve gear is a type of valve gear used to regulate the flow of steam to the pistons in steam locomotives, invented by Belgium, Belgian railway mechanical engineering, engineer Egide Walschaerts in 1844. The gear is sometimes name ...

, the

Gresley conjugated valve gear The Gresley conjugated valve gear is a valve gear for steam locomotives designed by Sir Nigel Gresley, chief mechanical engineer of the London and North Eastern Railway, LNER, assisted by Harold Holcroft. It enables a three-cylinder locomotive ...

, produced smooth running and power at lower cost than would have been achieved with a more conventional three sets of Walschaerts gear.

Biography

Gresley was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland, during his mother's visit there to see a gynaecologist, but was raised in England at

Netherseal Netherseal (or 'Netherseale') is a village and civil parish in the English county of Derbyshire,OS Explorer Map 245: The National Forest :(1:25 000) :

, Derbyshire, a member of a

cadet branch A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets (realm, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...

of a family long seated at Gresley, Derbyshire. After attending school in

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

and at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...

, Gresley served his apprenticeship at the

Crewe works Crewe Works is a British railway engineering facility located in the town of Crewe, Cheshire. The works, which was originally opened by the Grand Junction Railway in March 1843, employed around 7,000 to 8,000 workers at its peak. In the 1980s ...

of the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

, afterwards becoming a pupil under John Aspinall at

Horwich Horwich ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire. It is southeast of Chorley, northwest of Bolton and northwest of Manchester. It ...

of the

Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&YR) was a major History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company before the Railways Act 1921, 1923 Grouping. It was Incorporation (business)#Incorporation in the United Kingdom, incorpo ...

(L&YR). After several minor appointments with the L&YR he was made Outdoor Assistant in the Carriage and Wagon Department in 1901; in 1902 he was appointed Assistant Works Manager at

Newton Heath Newton Heath is an area of Manchester, England, north-east of Manchester city centre and with a population of 9,883. Historically part of Lancashire, Newton was formerly a farming area, but adopted the factory system following the Industrial ...

depot, and Works Manager the following year. He became Assistant Superintendent of the Carriage and Wagon Department of the L&YR in 1904 and a year later moved to the

Great Northern Railway Great Northern Railway or Great Northern Railroad may refer to: Australia * Great Northern Railway (Queensland) in Australia * Great Northern Rail Services in Victoria, Australia *Central Australia Railway was known as the great Northern Railway ...

(GNR) as Carriage and Wagon Superintendent. He succeeded Henry A. Ivatt as CME of the GNR on 1 October 1911. At the

1923 Grouping The Railways Act 1921 ( 11 & 12 Geo. 5. c. 55), also known as the Grouping Act, was an act of Parliament enacted by the British government, and was intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, by "grou ...

, he was appointed CME of the newly formed LNER (the post had originally been offered to the ageing

John G. Robinson John George Robinson CBE, (30 July 1856 – 7 December 1943) was an English railway engineer, and was chief mechanical engineer of the Great Central Railway from 1900 to 1922. Early life Born at Newcastle upon Tyne, the second son of Matthew Robi ...

; Robinson declined and suggested the much younger Gresley). During the 1930s, Sir Nigel Gresley lived at

Salisbury Hall The de Havilland Aircraft Museum, formerly the de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre, is a volunteer-run aviation museum in London Colney, Hertfordshire, UK. The Museum's mission is to preserve and communicate the de Havilland Heritage to ens ...

, near

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

in Hertfordshire. Gresley developed an interest in breeding wild birds and ducks in the moat including

ducks. The Hall still exists today as a private residence and is adjacent to the

de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre The de Havilland Aircraft Museum, formerly the de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre, is a volunteer-run aviation museum in London Colney, Hertfordshire, UK. The Museum's mission is to preserve and communicate the de Havilland Heritage to ens ...

, with its links to the design of the famous

Mosquito Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...

aircraft during World War II. In 1936, Gresley designed the 1,500 V DC locomotives for the proposed electrification of the Woodhead Line between

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

. The

Second World War 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 ...

forced the postponement of the

project A project is a type of assignment, typically involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a specific objective. An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of events: a "set of interrelated tasks to be ...

, which was completed in the early 1950s. Edgar Claxton was Gresley's assistant throughout this project, working on power supply, equipment and systems, besides carrying out the trials. Gresley was appointed

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1920 and was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the

1936 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1936 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King Edward VIII to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the ...

King Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

. Also in the latter year, Gresley was awarded an honorary

DSc DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dyal Sin ...

Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

and presided over the

IMechE The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 110,000 membe ...

. Gresley died on 5 April 1941, after a short illness, and was buried in the Churchyard Extension of

St Peter's Church, Netherseal St Peter's Church, Netherseal is a Grade II* listed parish church in the Church of England in Netherseal, Derbyshire. History The church dates from the 13th century. The tower dates from the 15th century. It was rebuilt in 1874 under the direc ...

, Derbyshire. At this time, Gresley was serving as a Lieutenant Colonel in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

Railway Staff Corps. He was succeeded as the LNER CME by Edward Thompson.

Memorials

A memorial plaque to Gresley's achievements was unveiled at

Edinburgh Waverley railway station Edinburgh Waverley (also known simply as Edinburgh; ) is the principal railway station serving Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the second busiest station in Scotland, after Glasgow Central. The station serves as the northern terminus of the East C ...

in 2001. It was created by the Gresley Society and incorporates line drawings of his ''Flying Scotsman'' and ''Mallard'' locomotives. Following the redevelopment of the site previously home to Doncaster College, the square outside the new Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council Offices and Cast Theatre was named Sir Nigel Gresley Square, in honour of the designer of some of the most famous steam locomotives built at Doncaster Plant Works following a public poll of Doncaster residents. Sir Nigel Gresley Square was opened to the public in May 2012 as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations, by the Mayor of Doncaster Mr. Peter Davies and two of Nigel Gresley's grandsons. One A4 class locomotive, no. 4498 ''Sir Nigel Gresley'', was named after its designer. Built in November 1937, it was the one-hundredth Gresley pacific. A statue of Gresley was unveiled at

King's Cross station King's Cross railway station, also known as London King's Cross, is a passenger railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, on the edge of Central London. It is in the London station group, one of the List of busiest railway stations in ...

in London on 5 April 2016, the 75th anniversary of his death. Sculptor

Hazel Reeves Hazel Reeves, Royal Society of Sculptors, MRSS is a British sculptor based in Sussex, England, who specialises in figure and portrait commissions in bronze. Her work has been shown widely across England and Wales. Public commissions can be found ...

originally included a duck alongside Gresley in reference to his hobby of breeding water fowl and his bird-themed locomotive names such as ''Mallard'', but this was removed from the final design when two of Gresley's grandsons complained it was "demeaning". The

Wetherspoons J D Wetherspoon (branded variously as Wetherspoon or Wetherspoons, and colloquially known as Spoons) is a British pub company operating in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim ...

public house in

Swadlincote Swadlincote is a historic mining town in the district of South Derbyshire, in the county of Derbyshire, England. It lies within The National Forest (England), The National Forest area. It borders the counties of Leicestershire and Staffordshire ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

, is named ''The Sir Nigel Gresley'' in his honour. He was inducted into the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame in 2023.

Innovations

* Derived valve motion for 3-cylinder steam locomotives;

Gresley Conjugated Valve Gear The Gresley conjugated valve gear is a valve gear for steam locomotives designed by Sir Nigel Gresley, chief mechanical engineer of the London and North Eastern Railway, LNER, assisted by Harold Holcroft. It enables a three-cylinder locomotive ...

. * The largest passenger steam locomotive in the UK, the P2

2-8-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and two trailing wh ...

. * The largest steam locomotive in the UK, the U1 2-8-0+0-8-2

Garratt locomotive A Garratt locomotive is a type of articulated steam locomotive invented by the engineer Herbert William Garratt that is articulated into three parts. Its boiler, firebox, and cab are mounted on a centre frame or "bridge". The two other p ...

. * The "locomotive that won the war", the V2

2-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels, six coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels. This arrangement is commonly called a Prairie. Overview The maj ...

. * The first steam locomotive to officially achieve 100 mph, the A3 " Flying Scotsman" 4-6-2. * The fastest steam locomotive in the world, the A4 "

" 4-6-2 (126.3 mph). * Another A4, "

Silver Link is a Japanese animation studio. It was founded by ex-Frontline animation producer Hayato Kaneko in December 2007 and is based in Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, ...

", previously holding the world speed record for steam locomotives (112 mph) * The experimental high-pressure

LNER Class W1 The LNER W1 No. 10000 (also known as the ''Hush-Hush'' due to its secrecy) was an experimental steam locomotive fitted with a high pressure water-tube boiler. Nigel Gresley was impressed by the results of using high-pressure steam in marine app ...

"hush-hush"

4-6-4 , under the Whyte notation for the classification of locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels and four trailing wheels. In France where the type was first used, it is known as ...

locomotive * The Silver Jubilee Express * The articulated railway carriage, first used with some conversions of East Coast Joint Stock (ECJS) carriages in 1907, soon followed by conversions of GNR carriages; new articulated carriages being built for the GNR from 1911. * The

corridor tender A gangway connection or corridor connection is a flexible connector fitted to the end of a railway coach, enabling passengers to move between coaches without danger of falling from the train. Origins: Coaches in British and American railways Th ...

to allow longer non-stop running

Locomotives designed by Gresley

GNR

''See: Locomotives of the Great Northern Railway'' * GNR 536 Class (LNER Class J6)

0-6-0 is the Whyte notation designation for steam locomotives with a wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. Historically, this was the most common wheel arrangement used o ...

(1911) * GNR Class H2 (LNER Class K1)

2-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. T ...

(1912) * GNR Class J21 (LNER Class J2)

(1912) * GNR Class O1 (LNER Class O3)

2-8-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. ...

(1913) *

GNR Class H3 The Great Northern Railway Class H2 and H3 (classified K1 and K2 by the LNER) was a class of 2-6-0 steam locomotive designed for mixed-traffic work. The class was created as a locomotive which could haul heavier goods trains at speeds of up ...

(LNER Class K2)

(1914) * GNR Class J23 (LNER Class J51) 0-6-0T (1915) *

GNR Class H4 The Great Northern Railway (Great Britain), Great Northern Railway Class H4 (classified K3 by the London and North Eastern Railway, LNER) was a class of 2-6-0 steam locomotive designed for mixed-traffic work. The type was a more powerful dev ...

(LNER Class K3)

(1920) *

GNR Class N2 The Great Northern Railway (GNR) Class N2 is an 0-6-2T side tank steam locomotive designed by Nigel Gresley and introduced in 1920. Further batches were built by the London and North Eastern Railway from 1925. They had superheaters and pisto ...

0-6-2T T, or t, is the twentieth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is d ...

(1920) *

GNR Class O2 The Great Northern Railway (GNR) Class O2 was a class of three-cylinder 2-8-0 steam locomotives designed by Nigel Gresley for freight work and built by the GNR from 1921. Further examples were built by the London and North Eastern Railway (LNE ...

(1921) * GNR Class J23 (LNER Class J50) 0-6-0T (1922) * GNR Class A1

(1922)

LNER

''See: Locomotives of the London and North Eastern Railway'' *

LNER Class P1 The London and North Eastern Railway Class P1 Mineral 2-8-2 Mikado was a class of two steam locomotives designed by Nigel Gresley. They were two of the most powerful freight locomotives ever designed for a British railway. It was initially inte ...

(1925) *

LNER Class U1 The London and North Eastern Railway Class U1 was a solitary Garratt locomotive designed for banking coal trains over the Worsborough Bank, a steeply graded line in South Yorkshire and part of the Woodhead Route. It was both the longest and ...

Garratt A Garratt locomotive is a type of articulated steam locomotive invented by the engineer Herbert William Garratt that is articulated into three parts. Its boiler, firebox, and cab are mounted on a centre frame or "bridge". The two other ...

2-8-0+0-8-2 (1925) *

LNER Class J38 The London and North Eastern Railway Class J38 was a class of steam locomotive designed for freight transport. They were designed by Nigel Gresley and introduced in 1926. A total of 35 were built at the LNER's Darlington Works in 1926 and they ...

(1926) *

LNER Class J39 The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Class J39 was a class of medium powered 0-6-0 steam locomotive designed for mixed-traffic locomotive, mixed-traffic work throughout the former LNER system between London and the north of Scotland. Hi ...

(1926) *

LNER Class A3 The London and North Eastern Railway Gresley Classes A1 and A3 were "Pacific" steam locomotives designed by Nigel Gresley for passenger work. They were initially intended for use on the Great Northern Railway (GNR), but became a standard desi ...

(1927) *

LNER Class D49 The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) D49 Class is a class of 4-4-0 steam locomotives designed by Nigel Gresley. They were named after fox hunts and shires. One, 246/62712 ''Morayshire'' has been preserved on the Bo'ness and Kinneil Rail ...

4-4-0 4-4-0, in the Whyte notation, denotes a steam locomotive with a wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels. First built in the ...

(1927) *

LNER Class B17 The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Class B17, also known as "Sandringham" or "Footballer" class was a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotive designed by Nigel Gresley for hauling passenger services on the Great Eastern Main Line. In total 73 w ...

4-6-0 A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abs ...

(1928) *

(1929) *

LNER Class V1 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 ...

2-6-2T T, or t, is the twentieth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is d ...

(1930) *

LNER Class P2 The London and North Eastern Railway Class P2 was a class of 2-8-2 steam locomotives designed by Sir Nigel Gresley for working heavy express trains over the harsh Edinburgh to Aberdeen Line. As they were to serve on Scottish expresses, they wer ...

(1934) *

(1935) *

LNER Class V2 The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Class V2 2-6-2 steam locomotives were designed by Sir Nigel Gresley for express mixed traffic work across the British railway network. They were built at the LNER workshops in Doncaster and Darlingto ...

(1936) *

LNER Class K4 The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Class K4 is a class of 2-6-0 steam locomotives designed by Nigel Gresley for the steep grades of the West Highland Line. West Highland Line challenge The North British Railway (NBR) West Highland ...

(1937) *

LNER Class V3 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 ...

(1939) *

LNER Class V4 The London and North Eastern Railway Class V4 was a class of 2-6-2 steam locomotive designed by Sir Nigel Gresley for mixed-traffic use. It was Gresley's last design for the LNER before he died in 1941. The V4s had similarities in their appeara ...

(1941) * LNER No. 6701 Bo+Bo

electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a Battery (electricity), battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime mover (locomotive), ...

(1941)

Arms

References

External links

Comprehensive biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gresley, Nigel English mechanical engineers 1876 births 1941 deaths 20th-century British engineers British Army officers British Army personnel of World War II Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English railway mechanical engineers Great Northern Railway (Great Britain) people Hadley Wood Knights Bachelor Locomotive builders and designers London and North Eastern Railway people People educated at Marlborough College People from Leicestershire (before 1897) People from Watton-at-Stone Royal Engineers officers Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame inductees