2394 and 2393 in 1937 and 1938, respectively. Service and withdrawal The two P1s were only ever used between New England and Ferme Park, the only route deemed suitable for them by the Operating Department. In practice there were issues with running such large trains with such powerful engines. The large three-cylinder engines required a considerable effort on the part of the fireman and the booster was known as particularly hungry for steam requiring even more coal. As a result turns firing the P1s were considered as ones to avoid. It was also found that the heavier trains that the P1s could handle were too long for many of the passing loops resulting in delays to passenger trains. The result was that they were considered uneconomic as they were generally used in hauling trains of less than the for which they were built. In 1934, No. 2394 was experimentally tried on the 07:45 am semi-fast passenger train from Kings Cross to Peterborough as part of the planning stage for P2 class locomotive 2001 Cock o' the North. Although the engine was able to reach a maximum speed of , this put too much stress on the fireman who later commented that he was thankful not to have been going beyond Peterborough. In 1942, both engines were overhauled and their original boilers, then in very poor condition, were replaced with A3-type boilers and their cylinder diameter was reduced to , leading to an increased tractive effort of The valve motion was retained in its original short-lap travel configuration. This rebuilding, which took place in November and January 1942 for engines 2393 and 2394 respectively, saw them reclassified as Class P1/2. Due to the reduction of heavy freight trains after the Second World War, both engines were withdrawn and scrapped by Edward Thompson in July 1945, the first Gresley locomotives to be withdrawn and scrapped by intention. The six-wheeled tenders were modified with standard dragboxes to run behind new Thompson Class B2 4-6-0s Nos 2815 and 1632, while the boilers were removed and fitted to Gresley A1s No. 2557 Blair Atholl and 2565 Merry Hampton during their conversion from Class A1 to Class A3. References P1 2-8-2 locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1925 Scrapped locomotives Freight locomotives Standard gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain 1′D1′ h3 locomotives