FIRST ‘NEW’ PARTS HOOKED FOR GRESLEY ‘V4’

Mallard may never steam again – but metal has been cut to resurrect another Gresley design, with the first new parts delivered for new ‘V4’ 2-6-2 No. 3403.

The set of 12 tender spring hooks, produced by Unilathe of Stoke-on-Trent for £4,320, were part of a much bigger order from Network Rail for replacement components for its fleet of snowploughs, built on ex-LNER 4,200-gallon tender underframes.

The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust – builders of the ‘V4’ – ‘piggybacked’ on the NR order to reduce unit costs, along with the B17 Steam Locomotive Trust, which is constructing Gresley 4-6-0 No. 61673 Spirit of Sandringham.

A1 trustee Mark Allatt commented: “The opportunity to manufacture the tender spring hooks at such an advantageous price was too good to refuse, even if it is at least a year sooner than planned.”

Although the hooks were the first new parts ordered by the A1 Trust for the ‘V4’, they were not the first to be acquired – the group had already purchased a complete set of tyres and a chimney from David Buck, owner of ‘B1’ No. 61306 (SR475).

The A1 Trust is also cooperating with the Gresley Society Trust, owners of ‘N2’ 0-6-2T No. 1744, to manufacture the patterns for the 5ft 8in driving wheels shared by both locomotives – the 1921-built ‘N2’ requiring replacement wheels as part of its forthcoming overhaul.

Long-standing A1 Trust volunteer Colin Vickridge is organising the production of a set of cabside window frames for the ‘V4’, as he did for ‘A1’ Tornado and ‘P2’ No. 2007.

The next steps will be to scan 366 ‘V4’ drawings into the trust’s computer aided design system, which will take place over the next two months. The drawings were acquired from Malcolm Barlow, who led a now-defunct project to build a ‘V4’ in the 1990s, for which the tyres and chimney acquired from Mr Buck were originally produced.

A formal launch of the project is anticipated in spring 2020, and it is estimated that the ‘V4’ will be built in five years at a cost of around £3 million.

DAVID CABLE Gresley ‘N2’ 0-6-2T No. 1744 requires new 5ft 8in driving wheel castings as part of its forthcoming overhaul to main line standards, with the new-build ‘V4’ project to benefit. On August 4, the GNR locomotive was being dismantled at its North Norfolk Railway base, and the contract for the overhaul has been awarded to Northern Steam Engineering. It is hoped to have the engine back in steam in 2020 for its centenary the following year.

A1SLT It may not look much, but this is just the start. These 12 tender spring hooks have been produced for new-build ‘V4’ 2-6-2 No. 3403.