P2 boiler shell passes x-ray test
WORK AT Meiningen, Germany, to build two new boilers for the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, one for its new P2 2-8-2 2007 Prince of Wales and a spare for A1 4-6-2 60163 Tornado, has passed a crucial stage. The outer firebox and boiler shell have passed their weld tests. The process uses photographic negative material in long strips attached to the inside of each weld and the x-ray transmitter (on a tripod) beaming through the weld from the outside. The inner firebox will be checked separately, before it is assembled.
The boilers were due to be delivered in January 2021 but the schedule has slipped due to COVID-19 restrictions, although the Trust is still aiming for the P2 to steam during 2022, go into traffic by the end of 2023 and be ‘front and centre’ during the Stockton & Darlington Railway’s bi-centenary celebrations in 2025.