NER ‘O’/LNER ‘G5’ 0‑4‑4T No. 1759
Group: Class G5 Locomotive Company Limited
Project launched: 2008 Project cost: £1.25 million
Raised to date: £900,000 Estimated completion date: 2022 Number of supporters: 300
Location: Hackworth Industrial Park, Shildon To run: Preserved railways and main line
Mission statement: “To recreate a North Eastern legend and run it.” Officially launched the same year that Tornado first steamed, the ‘G5’ is now ten years old but is one of the most advanced new-build projects. Furthermore, having raised £900,000 against a £1.25 million budget, the project is on track to meet its target by the estimated steaming date of 2022, and it is receiving assistance with design work from A1 Steam Locomotive Trust Chief Engineer David Elliott.
The group says the reason for building a ‘G5’ in the first place is because “there is an increasing shortage of steam locomotives of this size and capacity available for use on preserved railways. Most small to medium-sized locomotives are over 60 years old, with all of the associated problems.
“This class of locomotive was designed specifically as a branch line engine so will comfortably handle four or five bogie coaches and will therefore be an ideal solution for most preserved railways.”
This is sound reasoning, which begs the question: why does the group also aspire to take No. 1759 onto the main line, particularly as the ‘G5’ is only rated as power class ‘1MT’?
Class G5 Locomotive Company Ltd CEO Richard Maughan says: “It is our intention that it will be available for preserved lines with the occasional Sunday afternoon jaunt, say, from Darlington to Stanhope or on the Blyth & Tyne to Ashington.”
A ‘G5’ on the main line would be quite a spectacle, and there’s nothing precluding tank engines from the national network, but can the ‘G5’ find itself a niche on the national network in the 2020s and beyond? Furthermore, why add the unavoidable expense of fitting items like the TPWS, OTMR and GSM-R necessary for main line running when No. 1759 will likely spend the majority of its time at 25mph on preserved railways?
The group’s website concedes that: “This significantly increases the final building cost but will help to maximise and secure our income for the future.”
Unlike most other new-build projects, which elect to build the frames as the first major component, the group opted to acquire the boiler first, to show that the project was serious.
In the ten years since the project’s launch, the group has also acquired the frames, cab, smokebox, running plates and gussets, wheels, tyres, axles, complete bogie, motion bracket and coupling rod forgings, plus a number of fixtures and fittings, while the all-important crank axle is currently nearing completion.
In the next year, the group aims to complete the frames and driving wheelset, and have the main locomotive structure erected two years later. The ‘G5’ could be running in four years.
Ricardo Rail is handling the ‘G5’s’ main line certification, while consultancy firm Mott Macdonald is carrying out a number of the locomotive’s engineering studies, but none of this is possible without funding.
The project has several fund-raising streams, including offering shares in the locomotive and The Motion
Club – an idea borrowed from the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust – to fund the
connecting rods, eccentric rods, valve rods, expansion links, eccentrics and associated components.
Richard explains: “We are seeking 150 people to give £600 each and are already a third of the way there.
“The Class G5 Locomotive Company is an Enterprise Investment Scheme, not a charity. As we are not a trading company, we only spend the new funding we have received and don’t owe anyone any money. Last year we generated around 5% of the total build cost. We are receiving more interest this year as the project advances and this is being reflected in a higher level of monies being received.”
Once the locomotive is completed, what does the future hold for the ‘G5’? Richard says: “Hire charges, fares, sales of merchandise and the ongoing support from directors, shareholders and friends of the project will finance the ongoing running of the locomotive”, while the group has mooted the possibility of building a second ‘G5’ (see SR461).
Looking further ahead, however, Richard adds: “It would be really nice to see a ‘J37’ or an ‘A8’ built next!”
For now though, the group is wise to focus on completing No. 1759 and proving its usefulness.