60009 Union of South Africa, LNER A4 Class

Running number (BR/operator)	60009
Name	Union of South Africa
Locomotive class	LNER Class A4
Power type	Steam
Current location	Balbuthie Railway and Farming Museum
Owner / preservation society	John Cameron
Operating status	Static display at the owner's museum; not main-line certified
Current livery	LNER Garter blue
Withdrawn from BR	1966
Year built	1937

A preserved LNER A4 Class streamlined 4-6-2 Pacific, built at Doncaster Works in 1937 as LNER No. 4488. Withdrawn from British Railways service in 1966 and privately preserved.

60009 Union of South Africa was named for the Commonwealth dominion in a batch of A4s honoring British overseas territories, and worked the prestige East Coast Main Line expresses including the non-stop Flying Scotsman service. One of the six surviving A4s from the original class of 35, she has been one of the most consistently active on main-line excursion and heritage railway work in preservation, owned by John Cameron.

Now a static exhibit at the Balbuthie Railway and Farming Museum in Fife, the owner's own site. Withdrawn from main-line service in October 2021.

Location, livery and operating status last confirmed pre-2024 and subject to change. Check with the owning organisation or heritage railway for current information.

Notable history

60009 Union of South Africa was built at Doncaster in 1937 as LNER No. 4488, named for the Union of South Africa in a batch of A4s named for dominions and commonwealth nations. One of the locomotives that worked the non-stop Flying Scotsman service between King's Cross and Edinburgh. Withdrawn from BR service in 1966 and privately preserved by John Cameron; she has been one of the most active A4s on the main line and at heritage railway galas over several decades.

Additional notes

Current whereabouts confirmed August 2026 against heritage-press reporting: static at Balbuthie, Fife. Previously listed as Severn Valley Railway.

Other survivors of this class

60007 Sir Nigel GresleyNorth Yorkshire Moors Railway — 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley, owned by the Sir Nigel Gresley Locomotive Trust and operated by the A4 Locomotive Society. Based at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Returned to the main line in April 2022 after a long overhaul; recent appearances include the Bluebell Railway (Oct 2024) and the Greatest Gathering at Alstom Derby Litchurch Lane (Aug 2025).
60008 Dwight D. Eisenhower — 60008 Dwight D. Eisenhower, donated by British Railways to the United States in 1964. On permanent static display at the National Railroad Museum, Green Bay, Wisconsin. Briefly returned to the UK in 2013–2014 for the NRM's Great Gathering of all six surviving A4s.
60010 Dominion of Canada — 60010 Dominion of Canada (LNER 4489), donated by British Railways to Canada in 1967. On permanent static display at Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum, in Saint-Constant, Quebec. Returned briefly to the UK in 2012–2014 for the NRM's Great Gathering.
60019 BitternLNWR Heritage, Crewe — 60019 Bittern (LNER 4464), an A4 Pacific owned by Jeremy Hosking's Icons of Steam. It moved by road from Crewe to the Locomotive Storage site at the former Hornby factory in Margate in June 2018, and returned to Crewe in February 2025 for its boiler to be removed. A plan to send the chassis and frames to a private site in Yorkshire was reversed, and the locomotive is now to be overhauled in full at LNWR Heritage, Crewe, where it was lifted off its wheels in January 2026.
60022 MallardNational Railway Museum, York — 60022 Mallard (LNER 4468), the world's fastest steam locomotive (126 mph, 3 July 1938). Part of the National Collection on permanent display in the Great Hall of the National Railway Museum, York. Restored to working order for the 50th anniversary of her record run in 1988, but kept static since for preservation reasons.