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The London and North Eastern Railway Classes P3 and P2/2 were revisions of the Class P2. They are 2-8-2 Mikado steam locomotives which remain visually similar to each other, but are different in terms of technical details. The class is constituted of two members; 8100, or 60207, the sole original member, and 8102, oe 60208, the only rebuild of the class.
The P3 was designed in June of 1939 by Nigel Gresley, envisioned as a mixed-traffic locomotive specializing in passenger operations. The P3, while designed right after the P2, seeked to reduce the gradually increasing faults of the class, such as requiring severe maintenance and crank axles failing. While the P3 used poppet valves, similar to its predecessor's first classmate, it used Caprotti valve gear instead. The first would be built after trials proved a success in July of 1939, but due to the looming threat of the second World War, only one member of the class was completed. The decision to complete the class was later rejected due to the faults the sole P3 itself presented, such as requiring high maintenance and rare boiler overheating.
The P2/2, based on the P3 with the advancements of Thompson's designs, was originally planned to be an upgraded version of the A2/2, but during the rebuild of the remaining P2, 2002, the chassis was unusually left untouched during the rebuild, excluding the cylinders and valve gear. Reasons remain unknown. The rebuild would end up somehow performing better than the A2/2. Due to the fact that the Mikado arrangement was kept intact, railway workers and railfans jokingly named it "the A2/2 that never traded its driving wheel". The sole engine would take on mixed-traffic jobs by itself without any help.
During the Modernization Plan, the two engines would end up being sidelined and later brought to Barry for scrapping. 60208 would end up being saved and despite attempts and campaigns of also preserving 60207, it would end up being cut up in 1979 without any fanfare. 8102 currently resides in the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway, having been in operational service since 2000 and being the largest steam locomotive owned by the heritage railway. The locomotive provides tours around the railway and is the flagship of the railway.