Designed by Sir Nigel Gresley and built in Doncaster in 1937 and overhauled in 1938 after a collision, A4 Number 60019 “Bittern” has been restored  by and is operated on the Mid Hants Railway, the famous Watercress Line.

Bittern is a Pacific 4-6-2 locomotive, a member of the same family as the more famous A4 “Mallard” which still holds the world speed record of 126 mph for a steam locomotive.

These 1930’s A4 streamline engines were designed to pull expresses between London, Kings Cross and Scotland. Bittern worked out of Newcastle and ran between King's Cross and Newcastle pulling the famous Flying Scotsman train in that section.

Bittern is still with us, along with 5 others, and is currently certified for mainline use. There are many old photographs and movies of the famous A4 series of streamlined engines in general and Bittern in particular, but they do not prepare you for meeting this fabulous machine for real and in steam.

Steam engines come alive when they are in steam. They hiss, wheeze and pant when at rest in the station. They truly are living breathing machines and Bittern is one of the finest of these.

Today’s visit to MHR was one for travelling on the train headed by Bittern, enjoying the experience and wallowing is nostalgia rather than photography, but we took a few snaps as a record and they are posted here “Bittern”.