On July 3, 1938, LNER A4 streamlined Pacific No. 4468 Mallard reached 126mph, setting a world steam speed record that has never been broken.
It was the zenith of not only a great decade in which glamorous express trains competed to see which could travel from London to Scotland in the fastest time, but also the steam age itself. Author Robin Jones tells the story not only of LNER chief mechanical engineer Sir Nigel Gresley's Pacifics and Mallard's...