LNER A4 4498 'Sir Nigel Gresley' surprised many enthusiasts early last year when she returned to traffic wearing the striking LNER Wartime Black livery. However, this was only ever meant to be temporary. Following a short delay due to teething troubles from her latest overhaul, the A4 entered Crewe's paint shops in December 2022 to be returned to her familiar BR Express Passenger Blue livery, which she has worn since the mid 1990s.
The Nene Valley Railway saw a chance to capitalise on the locomotive's repaint, booking the star streak for two weekends in April, including the coveted Easter Bank Holiday. Barely a stone's throw from the East Coast Main Line at Peterborough, the NVR is no stranger to A4s, with all three operational examples having visited several times over the years. 60007 would haul four return trips between Yarwell and Peterborough across six days of public, in addition to an exclusive members day on Thursday 7th and a photo charter on the evening of Friday 9th, in aid of the Nene Valley's wagon group. As you'd imagine, the word quickly began to spread. Therefore, I decided to spend Easter Sunday on this unique heritage line in rural Cambridgeshire.
Demand to see the A4 was so great that on-the-day tickets were strictly limited due to the huge number of pre-booked passengers. Photographers and the general public flocked to the lineside to watch the locomotive pass. The weather also played its part, with bright sunny skies illuminating the landscape and amplifying the warm Spring heat. One advantage of the NVR is that much of the line runs adjacent to public footpaths, meaning I could take a long but leisurely walk from Peterborough to Wansford and back, filming the train as I went.
On the subject of filming, you will notice that my camera (a Panasonic VXF-990) did not always behave itself, struggling to focus and blurring out on several occasions. This unfortunate issue means that the footage isn't always up to the standard I strive to achieve, but hopefully, this can be overlooked in favour of the glamour and prestige of 'Sir Nigel Gresley'. For anyone else who has experienced similar problems with their camcorder, please do leave a comment. I'd love to know if there's a way to fix this fault.
I hope you all enjoy the video. Thanks to the Nene Valley Railway for another great day out, as well as Locomotive Services Ltd and the Sir Nigel Gresley Locomotive Trust for making the event possible. Happy Easter all! Feel free to comment and subscribe!
