On Wednesday 5th February, the National Railway Museum’s iconic Class A4 locomotive Mallard completed its journey to Locomotion, the National Railway Museum at Shildon, hauled by the Union of South Africa.
Mallard is to star in the final reunion of the six surviving sisters during the highly anticipated event Mallard 75 – The Great Goodbye in Shildon, which is taking place from 15th till 23rd February.
In 2013 around a quarter of a million visitors flocked to the National Railway Museum in York to mark the 75th anniversary of Mallard’s world record breaking run, by attending two ‘Great Gathering’ events showcasing Mallard and all five surviving sisters. HRH The Prince of Wales is Patron of the Mallard 75 season, the Museum’s celebration of British engineering at its finest.
The last major event in the National Railway Museum’s Mallard 75 season of events and activities, sponsored by Hornby, is the Great Goodbye in Shildon.
The big six will be displayed outside on real tracks with Sir Nigel Gresley, Bittern and Union of South Africa in light steam. The order of the six steam icons changes each day, so anyone making a repeat visit can get new photos for the album.
A gala dinner rounds off the season and contains a preview extract of ‘Steamsong’, a multimedia opera by John Kefala-Kerr, inspired by Mallard and the story of the A4s. This sensory experience includes live vocal and instrumental performance blended with the unique sounds of chime whistles and footage from the British Transport Film archive.
Shildon & District's local community newspaper.
