Class P2 - Earl Maischal

Class P2 No 2002 Earl Marischal. In my view the crowning achievement of Sir Nigel Gresley's career as a locomotive designer was the P2 Class. Everything seems to be just "right", even though it was a small class with three different configurations. No 2002 is my favourite of a favourite class. From the photographs the locomotive exudes power and grandeur. It was typical of Thompson's pettiness that they were rebuilt into very ordinary Pacifics when they would have been immensely useful on the East Coast main line where they could have hauled 600 tons and more of overcrowded trains with ease. My note on Thonpson's spitefulness on the Great Northern page applies here.