London & North Eastern class V2 “Green Arrow”

For fast mixed traffic, Gresley took his A1 and A3 Pacifics, shortened the boiler, switched the two-axle leading bogie for a single axle and fitted smaller 6 ft 2 in (1,880 mm) driving wheels. So they still had three cylinders, which were cast in a single piece. The LNER designated these locomotives class V2, while the first one numbered 4771 was named “Green Arrow” after a prominent express goods service.

They became the only successful British 2-6-2 tender locomotives and were not much slower than the Pacifics. Although their axle load of 22 tons limited their area of operation, their most suitable roles were fast goods and very heavy express service. In service they sometimes reached speeds of 90 mph, while one locomotive was even credited to have exceeded 100 mph on a test run.

Between 1936 and 1944, a total of 184 were built in Doncaster and Darlington. They fulfilled very important duties in World War II, but due to the reduced track maintenance the leading bogie had to be replaced by a new one. After less successful experiments with double chimneys in 1960, eight got a Kylchap exhaust. These had an output comparable to the Pacifics and were thus called “Super V2”.

However, Thompson's 4-6-0 class B1 had superseded the V2 in mixed traffic and became the new LNER standard locomotive in this role. The V2 were withdrawn between 1962 and 1966. 4771 “Green Arrow” is the only one that was preserved. It was operational until 2008 and is still waiting for a boiler overhaul.