‘P2’ boiler barrel rolled in Germany
Almost three-quarters of funds donated or pledged towards £5m Gresley 2-8-2.
The boiler barrel for ‘P2’
No. 2007 Prince of Wales has been produced, as funding for the new Gresley 2-8-2 nears the three-quarter mark.
Deutsche Bahn’s Meiningen Works has rolled and welded the barrel sections for the ‘P2’s’ boiler, together with those for a spare boiler for ‘A1’ No. 60163 Tornado that it is constructing in parallel.
In addition, the firebox tubeplates have been drilled, the dome covers pressed and machined, the firebox foundation rings forged and welded together, and a full set of superheater elements completed.
Almost £3.75m has been donated or pledged towards the construction of the new ‘Mikado’, representing nearly threequarters of the engine’s total £5m construction cost.
The £1m order for the two boilers was placed in June 2019, with the first due to be delivered this year and to be fitted to Tornado at its next overhaul, while the second will be delivered in 2021 for the ‘P2’.
Ordering both at the same time has saved the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust a six-figure sum, and the ability to rotate the boilers will ensure that both locomotives can be in traffic with a third boiler under overhaul at any one time.
They are being funded by the £600,000 Boiler Club, with additional funding coming from recent legacies to the trust. The Boiler Club needs to recruit 300 supporters, of which it currently has 190, pledging approximately £460,000 including Gift Aid. Details of this and other fundraising schemes can be found at www.p2steam.com or by calling 01325 460163.
At the ‘P2’s’ construction base of Darlington Locomotive Works, Ian Matthews has been preparing the tender tank for painting and has started fitting its handrails, while the design of the pockets for the marker and tail lights is almost complete. Unlike Tornado, the ‘P2’ does not have electric head and tail lights, and will instead have LED lights designed to resemble LNER oil lamps; however, these require modifications to the original lamp bracket design, which is too close to the tank to allow for the clamping screw which holds the light straight.