P2 team hopes to solve drifting smoke problem

THE PROJECT to build new Gresley Class P2 steam loco 2-8-2 2007 Prince of Wales is continuing to apply modern techniques in its design. It has commissioned Frewer & Co Engineers of Dorking, Surrey, to examine the impact of the ‘Coandā effect’, the tendency of a fluid to follow a flat or curved surface, on the new loco. In order to ensure that 2007 does not suffer from drifting exhaust obscuring the view from the cab, which happened with the original design, the study is now underway.

In a separate development, the team is working with the University of Warwick to create a one-third scale 3D printed working model of the cambox for the Lentz-franklin valve gear. With around 120 parts, the cambox is one of the most complicated assemblies within the loco. The team also wants to be able to look at variations on the profiles of the rollers that actuate the tappets, which in turn actuate the valves, as this was a problem with original P2 2001 Cock o’ the North in 1934.