Field Report: The "Dominion of Canada" under restoration in England

One of the great locomotives in the collection at Canada's national railway museum, Exporail in St. Contant, Quebec is the Dominion of Canada, one of the famed Gresley-designed A4 Pacifics. Recently it was sent on loan to England for a cosmetic restoration and for the 75th anniversary of one of the engines in this class record-breaking speed run.

At the end of this posting, are pictures kindly provided by Adrian Ashby of the U.K. of the locomotive under restoration. 

There is also an extensive article on this locomotive in Wikipedia.  Here are a couple of excerpts below.  Click here for the full article.

Posting by Russ Milland; Photos by Adrian Ashby

Wikipedia extracts:

"60010 Dominion of Canada is an LNER Class A4 steam locomotive. She is a 4-6-2 locomotive built to the same design by Sir Nigel Gresley as the more famous Mallard. There were 35 A4 locomotives built in total. Originally numbered 4489, she was renumbered 10 on 10 May 1946, under the LNER 1946 renumbering scheme of Edward Thompson and, after nationalisation in 1948, British Railways added 60000 to its number so it became 60010 on 27 October 1948. ...........

She was donated to the Canadian Railroad Historical Association (CRHA) by British Rail. Since May 1966, 60010 has been preserved by the CRHA at the Canadian Railway Museum at Delson/Saint-Constant, Quebec, near Montreal. ...............

In 2011 the National Railway Museum in York announced that it would be bringing back 60010 (along with fellow A4 Dwight D Eisenhower 60008) to the UK for a 2 year period (the loco will return to Canada in early 2014) to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of classmate Mallard's record-breaking run. The event marks the first time that all 6 surviving A4s will have been together since Preservation, and for 60010, marking the opportunity to reunite it with fellow Coronation engine LNER Class A4 4488 Union of South Africa.

Both North American A4s will receive cosmetic restoration while in the UK, with 60010 returning to its original Coronation livery- LNER Garter Blue with her original number 4489, complete with side valances, single chimney, and stainless chrome trim, lettering and numbering. It will also be refitted with a Canadian-style chime whistle, and the commemorative bell that was originally removed when it was fitted with a double chimney and sent with the locomotive to Canada.  ...........

In September 2012, 60010 was sent from the Canadian Railway Museum down to the docks in Halifax, Nova Scotia where she was reunited with 60008, and both were shipped at the end of September."

Click on each image for a closer look!