New-build LMS Patriot driving wheel to be scrapped due to cracking

ONE of the driving wheels for newbuild Patriot No. 5551 The Unknown Warrior will have to be scrapped because of cracking.

The Fowler 5XP’s centre and trailing driving wheels had to be removed from their axles at Riley & Son (E) Ltd of Heywood, to rectify previous welding work for which the necessary certification paperwork could not be found – but ‘a significant crack’ was then detected in one of the trailing wheels.

Despite efforts to repair it, the LMS-Patriot Project stated: “The cracking was found to be more serious and extensive than anticipated.” All the other driving wheels are also to be tested as a precaution, to check for any similar cracking.

How much a replacement wheel will cost and how it will be funded is not yet confirmed. Project chairman Colin Hall said: “Because we need to inspect the other wheels, that could fundamentally affect the cost of the whole thing – so we’re not yet at the stage where we’re getting quotes, or deciding what we need to do on top of our normal fundraising processes.”

“The cause of the cracking is not yet known,” he added, “but it is not believed to stem from the process of pressing the wheels off the axles.”

A replacement axle has been ordered for the trailing wheelset (the original having had to be cut through because the lefthand wheel proved impossible to remove) but because of the pandemic affecting the supply chain, the material cannot be delivered from South Africa until the autumn of 2022. The LMS-Patriot Project is seeking alternative suppliers.