TEN YEARS ON: ‘PATRIOT’ NEEDS FINAL £250,000 FOR BOILER
FUNDS ARE URGENTLY NEEDED AS A NEW CONTRACTOR IS SOUGHT LMS-PATRIOT PROJECT
Ten years since the LMS-Patriot Project was launched in Steam Railway, the group is making a final £250,000 push to complete the boiler of No. 5551 The Unknown Warrior. On August 23, a decade since Chairman David Bradshaw first mooted the idea of a new-build Fowler ‘5XP’ in SR338, the project announced ‘Raising the Pressure’ - an appeal for £250,000 to finish and install the boiler. Since the original £½m boiler appeal started in May 2012, approximately £300,000 has been raised - but the extra sum is to cover the additional costs of cladding the boiler and fitting it to the locomotive. Specific parts can be sponsored, from firebox stays at £7 each to the superheater header at £2,200. Donations can be sent to: LMS-Patriot Company Ltd, The Hub, 17 Eastgate Street, Stafford ST16 2LZ or donate online at www. lms-patriot.org.uk Funds are now urgently needed as the project seeks a new contractor to build the boiler, following the announcement that LNWR Crewe was ceasing work on its construction. A number of quotes have been obtained, and the group is now comparing these estimates before opening discussions with a shortlist of candidates. Until the new contractor is confirmed, it isn’t known exactly how much it will cost to finish the boiler - or indeed whether The Unknown Warrior will make its target steaming date of the Armistice centenary on November 11 2018. But, says David Bradshaw: “We need to get the appeal rolling now, as it could be a month or two before we sign the new contract.” In the push to finish the 4-6-0’s bottom end at Llangollen by October, parts for the inside motion are currently being prepared for assembly, with the eccentric strap completed, and the big end bearing and eccentric sheaves being machined.