B17 Trust forges engineering links with University of Sheffield
THE B17 Steam Locomotive Trust, which is building new LNER 4-6-0 No. 61673 Spirit of Sandringham, has forged links with the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Sheffield.
It follows the project's move to Sheffield engineering firm CTL Seal, after the closure of the contract engineering business at its previous base of the Llangollen Railway.
Larry Sampson, the trust's director with responsibility for its community plan, explained: “For the past 25 years at least, it has been considered good practice for large organisations in any sector (private, public or voluntary) to have a community plan. This is how they intend to put something back into society in return for profit or support gained. In the B17SLT we have always felt that our community plan was to be delivered through educating and training young people. Thus we have been active in supporting young people in schools for the past three or more years.
“Little did we realise at the time that our move to Sheffield would change the way we do things forever. Not only do we have a manufacturing base with all the resources we need but we have also had offers of help from organisations not previously on our radar! This has involved the extension of our community plan to include higher education students.”
Students from the university have put forward suggestions for the redesign of the trust's LNER tender, to increase its water capacity and give the B17 a longer range than the original 80-100 miles, for 21st century main line operation.
The trust had written a design brief for the tender modifications, which was given to third year undergraduates to complete in their final academic year.
Said Larry: “This work is currently being evaluated but we are grateful for all the hard work which has gone into the proposed solutions. From our point of view it is good to get ideas from fresh minds coming to the task – a unique opportunity to gain fresh insight.”
In return, the trust supported the Faculty of Engineering with its entry for the 2021 Institute of Mechanical Engineering Railway Challenge
– a 7¼in-gauge energy-efficient locomotive – which won second place.
A plan has been drawn up for further collaboration with the university on topics including lubrication; the design of the B17's smokebox and chimney (including the effects of a self-cleaning smokebox and spark arrester, and the possibility of fitting a Kylchap blastpipe without affecting the outward appearance of the chimney); and consideration of fitting a rocking grate to the firebox and its effects on airflow.
In another engineering project, the trust has established a working group to renovate a 1920s LMS bridge stress recorder. Larry said: “It was obtained by our chairman Brian Hall, but we have been unable to find out in any significant detail how it works or anyone who has operated one. The group want to get it in working order to demonstrate its use and possibly donate it to a museum.”