The Book of the V2 2-6-2s (Includes the V4s)
In the years immediately after the 1939-45 war the Gresley era was symbolised daily not so much by the memory of his magnificent A3s and flying A4s, now enduring hard times, but by the numbers of unnamed, filthy black and inevitably anonymous large engines seen daily at work in their place on all manner of duties. The Pacifics, immediately after the 1939-45 war, were run down. Repairs had been carried out under the pressure of wartime using inferior materials, and the quality of fuel supplied had fallen, never to recover its pre-war level. New Pacifics began to appear, but the Gresley favourites looked shadows of their former selves. The anonymous and unnamed large engines looked very much like A3s, but there was a sense of youthful disappointment as they drew near, the quicker and often variable beat and the lack of a name confirming the worst. Later, the advent of an ABC, purchased with hard-earned pocket money, revealed all. These were the V2s, widely referred to as the engines that won the war, at least on the LNER, the famous 'Green Arrows'. They were universally popular, smooth riding, economical, free steaming and with a rare turn of speed, and they were the LNER's universal standby.
Hardback, 200 pages, around 300 illustrations
Condition: Good/Very Good
ISBN: 9781903266939
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Updated: 2 January 2025