Mallard A4 class, Pacific type locomotive. Pacific locomotives had 4 small carrying wheels at the front 6 big driving wheels, all coupled together and another 2 carrying wheels under the cab. The A4 class was built to power light express trains at speed from London to Newcastle and Edinburgh. They excelled at it cutting journey times and putting in some high-speed runs. For me this was the highlight of the trip out as the Flying Scotsman was in pieces in the workshop with only its chasis on view. However there was much more to see. The National Railway Museum here at York UK is advertised as the 'worlds largest. Mallard is a development of the Flying Scotsman design. Both were drawn up by the same man: Sir Nigel Gresley did not want to design just a high-speed locomotive - he wanted an eye-catcher that would tempt more people to travel by train. So he built a graceful, streamlined beauty with curves that caught everyones attention. In 1938, Mallard was chosen for a secret attempt at the steam speed record. The man at the controls was driver Joe Duddington, and he took Mallard on a hell-for-leather dash down a long incline on the East Coast Main Line between Grantham and Peterborough. A special recording carriage logged a top speed of 126mph. But its almost certain that other steam locomotives travelled faster, particularly in the United States where fast running had to be kept secret because it was illegal! It was a real pleasure for me and JeffG7BRJ to meet up with fellow RR member Mickuk50, great stuff! I think we could be planning another meet up next year ! All information given was gained from the Tour guide NRM.