National Railway Museum seeks Mallard crew for anniversary

Mallard broke the world speed record for steam on 3 July 1938

A search for people who crewed the record-breaking steam locomotive Mallard has been launched by the National Railway Museum.

The museum, in York, is looking for the engine's former drivers and firemen as part of its Mallard 75 celebrations.

The loco broke the world speed record for steam in 1938 at 126mph (203km/h).

Bob Gwynne, from the museum, said: "We wanted to ensure we could capture their experiences of working as scheduled crew on the East Coast Main Line."

The museum is hoping to host former Mallard crew in October as part of its celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the record run.

On that historic day in 1938, Mallard was driven by Joe Duddington, of Doncaster, who has since died.

'Nothing like steam'

The A4 Class Mallard was designed by Sir Nigel Gresley and built in Doncaster in 1938.

Several former Mallard crew have already been in touch with the museum, a spokesman said.

Bernard Bell, 89, a former driver and fireman from York, started working on the railways as a 16-year-old in 1939.

"I've worked on diesel, but there's nothing like steam and the Gresley locos were the best of them all," he said.

"Many of us aren't as young as we used to be, it makes sense to get in touch."

Mr Gwynne, associate curator at the museum, said: "We are actively searching for drivers and other crew of A4 locomotives from the British Rail era which started in 1948."

The museum is also looking for the crew that worked on the locomotive in 1988 during the 50th anniversary of the record run, said Mr Gwynne.

By the time Mallard retired on 25 April 1963, it had covered almost 1,500,000 miles (2,400,000 km) of track.

Earlier this year, the loco was recognised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers as "an example of British ingenuity".