New £6m P2: Cylinder block construction is now well underway
THE fabrication of the cylinder block for the new £6 million Gresley P2 2-8-2 No. 2007 Prince of Wales has begun.
Howco Group Plc is using steel castings supplied by William Cook Cast Products Ltd, with delivery scheduled for spring 2022.
The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust is aiming to raise an initial £250,000 from 250 supporters each donating £1000 (plus Gift Aid) for the block via The Cylinder Manufacturing Club. The club has already raised £27,000 (plus Gift Aid) just two months after being launched.
The trust's engineering team has completed the work involved in converting the original class P2 monobloc casting into a welded fabrication – the final of four principal areas of major redesign (pony truck, valve gear, crank axle and cylinder block) of the original Gresley design.
The work included Finite Element Analysis to check for structural integrity; improving the layout of the valves to reduce the clearance volume (which affects cylinder efficiency); rerouting the steam and exhaust passages to physically separate them to prevent incoming steam from heating the outgoing exhaust; increasing the size and improving internal streamlining of steam passages to increase maximum power and improve economy; and reducing the overall width of the cylinder block to provide Prince of Wales with the widest possible route availability. The trust commissioned Frewer & Co Engineers Ltd of Dorking, Surrey, to undertake a Computational Fluid Dynamics analysis of the inlet and exhaust steam passages.
William Cook has made substantial progress with the cast steel steam ports, having manufactured all the patterns and cast the outside cylinder steam ports.
Designed and rebuilt
The most powerful express passenger locomotives to operate in the UK, the P2s were designed for the LNER to haul 600-ton trains on the arduous Edinburgh-to-Aberdeen route. Sadly, the design was never fully developed and they were rebuilt by his successor, Edward Thompson, into ungainly Class A2/2 Pacifics in 1943/4 and scrapped by 1961.
No. 2007, being built at Darlington Locomotive Works, will be the seventh member of the class.
Despite the impact of Covid-19, progress on the project is moving forward rapidly. Construction and assembly work continues on all fronts, including the boiler, wheelsets, tender, heavy motion, pipework and electricals. Design work for the extensively modified and improved cylinder block is complete, with the focus now turned to the adaptation of the Lentz rotary cam poppet valve gear to overcome deficiencies in the original design.
Fundraising is also moving forward well, with the monthly ‘P2 for the price of a pint of beer a week' covenant scheme having attracted more than 1000 participants. The Boiler Club has recruited 228 members of its initial target of 300, while the Tender Club has reached 106 members of its 250 initial target. The P2 Support Coach Appeal has 56 supporters out of a targeted 100, and the Motion Club has passed its initial target of 175 members and will remain open until the final heavy motion is delivered. The Injectors Club, launched only in June, has already recruited 14 members out of 50, and the trust's P2 Dedicated Donation scheme has also raised more than £440,000.
So far, more than £4 million of the estimated £6 million required to complete No. 2007 within the next two years has been raised.
Incentive scheme
Members of The Cylinder Manufacturing Club will have the opportunity to buy a ticket on one of the first trains hauled by No. 2007, receive an exclusive print of the general arrangement drawing and 3D CAD image of the redesigned cylinder block, get first choice of components to sponsor as a Dedicated Donation, have reasonable access to No. 2007 at all times, and will be invited to a special supporters' day with Peppercorn A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado.
Trustee Mark Allatt said: “The commencement of the fabrication of the redesigned and improved cylinder block for our new Gresley P2 No. 2007
Prince of Wales is a very significant milestone in the project.
“If you would like to see a new P2 sooner rather than later, I would encourage potential supporters to get on board The Cylinder Manufacturing Club.”
➜ Supporters can join The Cylinder Manufacturing Club by visiting www. p2steam.com/support/the-cylindermanufacturing-club, emailing enquiries@p2steam.com, or calling 01325 460163.