60009 Union of South Africa is a LNER Class A4 steam locomotive built at Doncaster Works on 16 April 1937.

Built by the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) in 1937 at Doncaster Works and originally numbered 4488, it was named after the Union of South Africa.

[1] This was due to the contemporary political opposition against South Africa, which undertook a controversial policy of racial apartheid from 1948 to 1994.

This livery was amended on 14 August 1943 when the "L" and "R" were removed to confuse potential spies, leaving the all-black locomotive with just "NE" on the tender.

On 4 August 1949, 60009 was repainted in the standard British Railways express passenger blue livery as 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley.

As with all 35 of the Gresley A4 pacific steam locomotives, Union of South Africa was fitted with streamlined valances, or side skirting, when it was built.

[2] Currently 60009 is fitted with a 1928 pattern streamlined corridor tender, allowing its cab crew to be changed whilst the locomotive is hauling passenger trains.

As the safety requirements were tightened after the Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash, Automatic Warning Systems was fitted to all locomotives.

Purchased by John Cameron in July 1966, 60009 was preserved on the now-defunct Lochty Private Railway in Fife, Scotland, travelling the 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of track near Anstruther.

In May 1994 the locomotive left its Markinch base for the last time, albeit on the back of a low loader bound for the Severn Valley Railway, Bridgnorth for repairs.

After a repair in January 2007 it left the Severn Valley Railway and went to Crewe for fitting of on-train monitoring recorder (OTMR) equipment.

[5] In April 2007 it returned home to Scotland with the Railway Touring Company's The Great Britain railtour, and hence to its new base at Thornton.

In 2008 continued to work with the Railway Touring Company, pulling trains running between York and Edinburgh on several occasions during the first half of 2008.

Union of South Africa appeared at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway LNER Festival 2008, along with 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley and 60019 Bittern, the first time that all three A4s had been together in preservation.

In light of the expiry of its boiler certificate, Union of South Africa arrived at Pete Waterman's LNWR Workshops at Crewe in 2010 to undergo an extensive overhaul.

In 2017 John Cameron announced that 60009 would be withdrawn when its boiler ticket expires and placed in the Farming and Railway Visitor Centre in Fife.