Mallard’s sister spruced up ahead of a family reunion

Mallard’s sister A4 class locomotive Union of South Africa received a spring clean in the museum’s north yard ahead of its display alongside the garter blue record breaker in the Museum’s Great Hall from tomorrow.

This is the first of many family reunions for Mallard, as it awaits the arrival of its transatlantic twins Dwight D Eisenhower and Dominion of Canada.

In March, the museum reached agreement with museums in Canada and the US to bring the two A4 class locomotives over for two years.

They are due to arrive at Liverpool Docks by the end of this month or early October.

In 2013 there will be a series of events to mark the 75th anniversary year of Mallard officially becoming the fastest steam locomotive of all time.

Steve Davies, director of the National Railway Museum, said: “We wanted to do something really special to mark the 75th anniversary and what could be more spectacular than an international family reunion for the A4s?

“When these mighty machines were exported across the Atlantic in the Sixties, no one thought they would ever come back,” he added.