LNER Class A4 4488 Union of South Africa

Union of South Africa
Union of South Africa passes Condover
Type and origin Power type Steam Designer Nigel Gresley Builder Doncaster Works Serial number 1853 Build date 16 April 1937
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-2  • UIC 2'C1h3 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Leading dia. 3 ft 2 in (0.965 m) Driver dia. 6 ft 8 in (2.032 m) Trailing dia. 3 ft 8 in (1.118 m) Boiler pressure 250 psi (1.72 MPa) Cylinders Three Cylinder size 18.5 in × 26 in (470 mm × 660 mm) Loco brake Vacuum Train brakes LNER/BR: Vacuum
Performance figures Tractive effort 35,455 lbf (157.7 kN)
Career Operators LNER, BR Class A4 Number in class 15 of 35 Numbers LNER: 4488, LNER: 9, BR: 60009 Official name Union of South Africa Withdrawn 1 June 1966 Restored 1989 Current owner John Cameron Disposition Static display at John Cameron's Farming and Railway Visitor Centre

60009 Union of South Africa is a LNER Class A4 steam locomotive built at Doncaster Works on 16 April 1937. It is one of six surviving A4s. Its mainline certification expired in April 2020. As the locomotive is subject to a boiler inspection, it was moved to the East Lancashire Railway as the original plan was to keep it running there until the end of boiler certificate and then send it somewhere else for static display, but a cracked boiler tube forced it into retirement prematurely. It was briefly renamed Osprey during part of the 1980s and 1990s due to political opposition against apartheid in South Africa at the time.