This page is a digest of progress to date building the new Gresley Class P2 No. 2007 Prince of Wales.
Headline news: Tender tank delivered to DLW – Daniela Filová
Progress building Britain’s most powerful steam locomotive continues at Darlington Locomotive Works and includes:
- Frames: engine’s frames and cab substantially complete; cab side and spectacle window frames fitted; manufacture of the pony truck frame at North View Engineering Solutions Ltd (NVES) approaching completion
- Cylinders & valves: 3D CAD design of the cylinder block and valve gear substantially complete; weld details and assembly order being finalised, manufacturing drawings of cylinder block under way; updated poppet valve gear design almost complete; components in manufacture
- Smokebox & fittings: smokebox assembled and trial fitted to the frames; chimney fitted
- Boiler: boiler design study completed and approved by TüV Sud notified body; forged foundation ring corners manufactured; superheater header cast & machined; boiler cladding manufactured; boiler order placed with DB Meiningen for delivery in 2021; foundation ring forgings and regulator castings despatched to Meiningen; minor re-design of the banjo dome to suit the P2 cladding has been completed by DBM; most components made and boiler erection under way
- Fittings: many non-ferrous fittings are being cast and machined
- Brakes: work well advanced on manufacture of brake rigging and spring gear well underway
- Wheelsets: crank axle re-designed to comply with modern standards and manufactured; all engine wheelsets complete and fitted to engine
- Motion: all heavy motion ordered from Stephenson (Engineering) Ltd; first four forgings completed, with machining of middle coupling rods complete – next pair of rods underway
- Pipework: design well advanced and installation under way
- Electricals: significant progress on electrical system with system architecture design frozen, electrical trunking layout design almost complete, battery boxes built and fitted to frames, stainless steel conduit and junction/access boxes procured, individual conduit sections cut and bent as required, prototype of new axle driven alternator to be tested shortly; GSMR radios acquired
- Tender: frames being assembled by ID Howitt at Crofton; tank constructed at NVES and painted to undercoat at DLW; wheelsets returned from South Devon Railway Engineering to DLW
- Finishing: nameplates and chime whistle delivered
- To-date, over £2.5m has been spent and £3.0m raised of the required £5m.
Fundraising progress to date:
- Our ‘P2 for the price of a pint of beer a week’ Covenant scheme has attracted over 930 Covenantors to-date
- The Boiler Club now has 200 of its 300 people target
- The Tender Club (78/250 people each donating £1,500) is starting to gain traction
- The Turbogen Club (15/40 people each donating £1,000), our newest mini-club, is generating interest
- The P2 Support Coach Appeal (8/100 people each donating £1,000), founded in August to fund the acquisition and overhaul of a support coach for No. 2007 Prince of Wales, has got off to a great start
- The Motion Club has reached its initial target (175 people each donating £1,000) and will remain open until all the heavy motion is delivered
- The Pony (Truck) Club reached its initial target of 20 supporters (each donating £1,000) and will remain open until the pony truck is fitted. We have decided to extend the club by a few members to cover the considerable certification costs associated with the modified pony truck design
- In addition, our Dedicated Donation scheme has already raised over £400,000
- The Founders Club (to get the project to the point of assembling the frames raised £450,000 from 350 supporters), The Mikado Club (to wheel the locomotive raised £250,000 from 200 supporters, The Cylinder Club (to fund the design and manufacture the cylinder block raised £120,000 from 100 supporters) have all now closed having reached or exceeded their targets
- Over £2.5m spent and £3.0m raised of the required £5m.