4464 Bittern at 90mph!!! The Need for Speed!

LNER A4, 4464 BIttern made history as it became the first Steam engine in preservation to offically run at 90mph. These shots and much much more will be included in the forthcoming documentary: "BITTERN: The Need for Speed" as part of the "MALLARD 75" celebrations. Which will include at an depth look at the preparations and build up to the main events in June & July, along with interviews with the crews & officals at this historic event in railway preservation history.

[willr]

Its a lovely sight to see a garter blue A4 with full valancing doing the exact thing its designer conceived it to do again - continuous high speed running.

[lasalleman]

Love the steam trains speeding by at night.  Reminds me of those old pre-war films.

[thomaspahlke]

This is my favorite locomotive, very beautiful. Best greetings from Germany.

[Hieik]

Oh, and write/speak they did. One of my neighbors in Illinois was a man names Harold Westphal, and he was a locomotive engineer back in the late steam era, he worked an engine on the Milwaukee Road, #265. It ran the hiawatha from Chicago to Minneapolis/St Paul via Milwaukee, and he would tell at points in Wisconsin between Wisconsin Dells and LaCrosse that he would top 110-120 to make time into Minneapolis.

It was also said that Casey Jones had been doing 75-90 MPH moments before his wreck.

[rosegrovempd]

Great capture. Fantastic to see the A4 doing exactly what it says on the tin! Seemed to be running well within herself. Thanks for capturing the moment, Regards Dave.

[EssexLocomotiveEnthusiast]

 shame that shes not a 90mph a4 any more, during the test run and the runs, she proved just what an amazing engine she is and the amazing talent of her designer.

[MrAtariable]

When i was a kid, i always wanted to be a train driver. These men were my heroes. They rode steel and tamed the elements of fire and water.

[hurleyfunbags]

Excellent shots. That's a new sound to me - never heard an A4 going that fast before. Looking forward to the Mallard event; I am visiting York on 6th July. I will also be buying your documentary. Thanks for capturing this magnificent spectacle.

[speediracer]

That must have been awesome to see in person. Wish the US would lighten up and let the steamers open a bit more than they can currently. Great video!

[Patriot]

Salivating at that!  F.R.A. needs to let preserved steamers here in the States run that fast on track that can handle it!  We've got several preserved, operating ones that were designed capable of 80-90+ mph, just nobody with the cajones/spine to push 'em that hard.

[steamengineshooray]

Finally, true speed, well done Gresley, you made the finest engines in the world.

[spitfirebird]

This loco is underrated, along with all the other preserved a4s. Union of South Africa and Bittern will always be my favorite british express locomotives. Long live the A4s!

[SiByeDye]

Couple of great shots! An A4 doing what it was designed to do. And doing it well!

[grahamrankin]

Absolutely magnificent ! We are all so privileged to have such a superb proud heritage in this country. Heartfelt thanks to the devoted enthusiasts who continue to make such events and sights possible. More power to everyone's

[Karadauk]

A lovely sight.  I was in Aberdeen in the mid 60's and we had a number of A4's on shed at Ferryhill, Bittern amongst them occasionally, and, as we weren't so Health and Safety conscious then, we used to get a few footplate trips on them hauling the mainline expresses.  The noise level on the footplate is incredible, even at slow speeds, about 40 mph, you can barely hear the whistle being sounded.  I made a recording on 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley and coming into Forfar station there was a long blast on the whistle approaching the level crossing and you can only hear it if you listen for it very carefully.

[johnbrandom]

GO GIRL THIS IS WHAT MADE BRITAIN GREAT BRITAIN, WONDERFUL ENGINEERING FROM SIR NIGEL GRESLEY

[AshHill]

The A4's have proved in the past they're more than capeable of over 100 Mph. Its about time they were givern the chance to prove they can still do it. Heres hopeing next time they let the driver push her a bit harder, looks like she wasen't even struggleing.

[JDPuss]

Its nice to see one of these running flat out instead of 15mph on a preserved railway

[Gigawatt-]

Great bits of footage. Virtually the same shot in the day time and at night. Fantastic contrast showing the two one after the other. Like a banshee screaming off into the night.

[theeveningstar]

Just seeing her dart past like that is a sight to behold!