
60008 was built in 1937 and entered service as 4496 with the name Golden Shuttle although it was originally intended that it be named Sparrow Hawk which was later given to 4496. It was renamed Dwight D. Eisenhower after World War II and renumbered 8 in 1946 under Edward Thompson’s LNER 1946 renumbering scheme. After nationalisation in 1948 British Railways renumbered it 60008.
Like all the early A4 locomotives prior to Mallard, Golden Shuttle was released to service with a single chimney and side valances covering the wheels. The valances were removed to aid in maintenance during a general overhaul in 1942. Experimental Automatic Train Control equipment was fitted in 1950 and a double chimney and Kylchap double blastpipe was installed to help performance, during an overhaul in 1958. A Smith-Stone type speed indicator was fitted to 60008 in 1960.
Motive power depot allocations.
Date Arrived | Depot |
September 1937 | Doncaster |
September 1937 | Kings Cross |
December 1939 | Grantham |
June 1950 | Kings Cross |
April 1957 | Grantham |
August 1957 | Kings Cross |
June 1963 | New England |
60008 was withdrawn from service at New England (Peterborough) in July 1963 and was donated to the United States of America and sent to Doncaster Works for cosmetic restoration.
The following spring, it was shipped to the US via New York where it arrived in May 1964. It was then transported by rail to the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin. States
In October 1990 it was moved to Abilene, Kansas for the celebrations of the centenary of Eisenhower’s birth. The move both ways was done as a special train at slow speed, since the locomotive and two cars from the command train used the British vacuum braking system incompatible with the American air-braked trains.
The locomotive is displayed with two British passenger carriages once used as part of Eisenhower’s Command Train. These have been restored to the condition they were in when used by Eisenhower.
In 2012, the National Railway Museum announced plans to repatriate the engine, along with 60010, which has been preserved in Canada, as part of a plan to reunite all six preserved A4s of the class for the 75th anniversary of the class’s world record breaking 126 mph run. Both 60008 and 60010 were loaned to the National Railway Museum for a period of two years, returning to America in early 2014.
While at York the locomotive was cosmetically overhauled, and received a new coat of authentic BR Brunswick Green paint to replace the inaccurate shade applied during a repaint at Green Bay. The background on the Dwight D. Eisenhower nameplates was also changed from a red colour to a black colour.
60008 arrived back at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay in 2014 was put on static display as part of a World War II themed exhibition.
Home Base | Current Status | Owner |
National Railroad Museum in Green Bay -USA | On static display | National Railroad Museum |









- 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley (LNER 4498, LNER 600, LNER 7 & BR 60007)
- 60009 Union of South Africa (LNER 4488, LNER 590, LNER 9 & BR 60009)
- 60010 Dominion of Canada (LNER 4489, LNER 591, LNER 10 & BR 60010)
- 60019 Bittern (LNER 4464, LNER 603, LNER 19 & BR 60019)
- 60022 Mallard (LNER 4468, LNER 707, LNER 22 & BR 60022)