New build Steam Locos. The U.K forges ahead

kevsmith Oct 7, 2015

  1. fordy744

    fordy744 TrainBoard Member

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    I don't understand this fascination with building new engines... especially when there are so many original ones laid up in deadlines or out the back of a shed out of sight. If we had restored all the originals to running order and adequate funds were available to do the inspections and 10 year overhauls then I could see the point, but to me it's diluting efforts, and funds, away from more worthy causes... just my two cents.
     
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  2. kevsmith

    kevsmith TrainBoard Member

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    Due back in steam in the near future are sixteen former main line locomotives and five industrial designs so we don't really have any dilution of resources in that way. Against that eight locos boiler certificates expire this year so they will go off line

    Amongst those due back are two GWR Halls 4-6-0s 4953 Pitchford Hall and and 6989 Wightwick Hall, Schools class 4-4-0 Repton, Four Bulleid pacifics and a couple of the very useful British Rail 4MT 2-6-4Ts
    On the new build front latest updates are

    Brighton Line Atlantic 'Beachy Head' expected in steam 2020. The team are considering doing a Brighton line K class mogul next.

    The NER G5 0-4-4T has had the crank axle ordered

    The P2 2-8-2 has had the Cad design for the complicated boiler lagging completed and an order for the tender frames, costing £142,500, placed

    The Patriot kit of parts is now being assembled with only one part of the valve gear for the inside cylinder needing to be manufactured

    On the downside the bogie for the GWR Saint 4-6-0 requires a rethink, as on a trial fit it was found to be at risk of hitting the cylinder drain cocks . As an example of the level of detail these guys go to they are replacing the smoke box rivets which are currently snap head ones to countersunk in keeping with Churchwards original design

    Over your side of the pond the T1 Duplexi has had a second Boxpok driving wheel cast and an original whistle has been donated to the project

    Kev
     
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  3. kevsmith

    kevsmith TrainBoard Member

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    Seems it is catching on all over the world. Apparently in Australia there are two new builds as well.

    The Victorian Steam loco company are recreating a V class 2-8-0. The originals were built by the Baldwin loco works in 1900. Cab components are already under construction at their Melbourne workshops

    In Adelaide a guy called Glen Smythe is building a South Australian Railway Z class 4-4-0 all by himself! He has made the frames and a nearly complete tender and has the first two driving wheels cast. Once he has a rolling chassis he is moving it to a preserved railway to give him room to make the boiler. He estimates about another ten years work to finish it

    Kev
     
  4. kevsmith

    kevsmith TrainBoard Member

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    So.

    The Patriot project has had a setback as LNWR Crewe have decided that they will not be assembling the boiler due to a shortage of experienced boiler makers. The good news is that it looks odds on that the chassis will be finished by October. The coupling rods have been fitted and the steam brake cylinder is due delivery mid July. A new contractor for the boiler will be announced later in the year.

    The B17 project 'Spirit of Sandringham' has now got a full kit of parts for the chassis and an appeal has been launched for the driving wheels. This is being done on a 'Sponsor a Spoke' appeal each wheel will coast £10,000 and you can pledge £500 for a spoke.

    The 3MT 2-6-2T 82045 Boiler will be built next year with a projected steaming date of 2019

    The Brighton Atlantic 'Beachy Head' has had the smoke box front and door trail fitted.

    Most excitingly the narrow gauge Baldwin 2-4-2T Lyn, Replica for the Lynton and Barnstable railway original steamed for the first time on July 4th an did a few moves up and down Alan Keefs work's yard. The cab is due fitting before a second steam test

    Kev
     
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  5. Alan

    Alan Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Exciting times indeed Kev, but I cannot help but wonder if the available funding is being spread rather too thinly.

    The two new locos I really want to see are a P2 and a B17. The latter class was a firm favourite of mine in my trainspotting prime!

    I just hope I live long enough to see them running.
     
  6. kevsmith

    kevsmith TrainBoard Member

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    I agree, but two B17s and two P2s seems a bit excessive. Personally, if I won the lottery big time, it would be a Lancashire and Yorkshire 'Highflyer' 4-4-2 with its massive 7'3" drivers. As these had two different size boilers, large and small diameter and easily interchangable , you could build both and as one boiler goes out of ticket drop the other in.

    [​IMG]

    We can dream Eh?

    Kev
     
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  7. Alan

    Alan Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    How many of us have those dreams?!

    But not a fan of L & Y.......
     
  8. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    When a boiler certification expires, what tests and work must be performed?
     
  9. kevsmith

    kevsmith TrainBoard Member

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    Full strip out, thickness testing particularly round the firebox throatplate, crack testing and weld repairs. Depending on spec the stays are either inspected or replaced. Full retube. Now interestingly the latest trick is to do the retube just before the loco re-enters traffic as the clock starts ticking when they go in! Hence leaving it to the last minute before installation

    Start of the process-Lifting an 8F 2-8-0 boiler for despatch to the boiler shop

    [​IMG]

    Kev
     
  10. kevsmith

    kevsmith TrainBoard Member

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    Here's an update

    The Brighton Atlantic 'Beachy Head' has the bottom half pretty much complete with the valves set. The donor GNR boiler is having its foundation ring riveted and should start getting tubes soon. The Bluebell Railway is aiming for a debut in 2020

    I was surprised to find that the GCR D7 4-4-0 is further on than I thought. The frames are being machined now and should be ready for wheeling in eighteen months.

    The GWR Saint 4-6-0 is being prepared for boiler testing atDidcot

    A £100,000 appeal for the cylinders has been launched for the P2 2-8-2 'Prince of Wales' The cartazzi trailing wheelset has had the tyres fitted and the crankaxle has been delivered to Darlington.

    82045, the standard tank, has had the firebox throatplate pressed and the leading axleboxes are having their manganese liners welded on

    Best news of all, the Lynton and Barnstable's 2-4-2T 'Lyn', arrived at the L&B and was due to be the star of the Steam gala. The culmination of a £650,00 project ongoing since 2009 the unique 1'11 1,2 " gauge Baldwin design looks immaculate

    Not directly loco related but both of the P2 2-8-2s look like getting new permanent homes. The A1 trust who were responsible for the LNER A1 'Tornado' s construction and are building 'Prince of wales' are looking to get the former Stockton and Darlington four road goods shed at Whessoe Road in Darlington to house both locos.

    Meanwhile P2 'Cock of the North' has been slated to be built in a new £14m museum complex approved for construction in Doncaster, home of the LNERs massive loco works. The frames for this project are currently at the South Yorkshire Air museum. The museum will also house the immense railwayana collection held by Doncaster grammar school.
     
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  11. autocoach

    autocoach TrainBoard Member

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    Excellent. Nice to see this on a North American forum. As a modeler of both the Southern Railway in North Cornwall prior to nationalization and the Southern Pacific about 1950 I can appreciate replication efforts in both my areas of interest.
     
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  12. kevsmith

    kevsmith TrainBoard Member

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    Update.

    The Patriot Boiler is back on track. A contract has been signed with a new firm of boilersmiths based at the Midland Railway centre. The two founders of the firm are former chargehand boiler smiths working for LNWR at Crewe with work recommencing this month with a projected completion date of early 2019.

    The boiler for the GWR Saint 4-6-0 was steamed for the first time in 'Out of frame' tests at Didcot.

    Enough donations have been received to cast the first driving wheel for the LNER B17 'Spirit of Sandringham. the fund raising stand was much evident at the Shoeburyness show last month. The volunteers do a sterling job spreading the word about the project

    [​IMG]

    Of the two P2 2-8-2 projects the 'Prince of wales' group have raised £117,00 in the month of October and now have 180 of the 200 memebers required to wheel both the loco and tender. 60% of the £100,000 needed for the cylinders has been attained Bringing the total raised so far to £2.7m of the estimated £5m needed to bring the loco to completion.

    The other P2 'Cock of the North' has launched an appeal for £100,00 to assemble the frames within two years at the new Doncaster railway heritage centre due to open in 2020

    The other society seen at Shoeburymess was the Holden GER F5 2-4-2T group

    [​IMG]

    Pictures of the Cad drawings and some of the components already sourced were on display

    More next month

    Kev
     
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  13. kevsmith

    kevsmith TrainBoard Member

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    Just an update as I've been quiet on this front for a while

    The mmbers involved in the Standard 3MT tank are being asked to vote on a proposal to register it for main line use once completed. up to press the frames have been lowered onto the wheels and sourcing the components for the pony truck are going on

    The Patriot boiler is expected to be trial fitted by the end of the year and work is cyrrently going on drilling for the firebox crown stays. The design for the crest that will sit above the 'Unknown Warrior' nameplate has been chosen

    The boiler cladding for the Brighton Atlantic is being manufactured by Apprentices at the Premier group in Coventry

    The P2 2-8-2 has had the boiler barrel components posed on the frames, the trailing driving wheels have been pressed onto the axle , the disitnctive cab spectacle plates have been fabricated

    over 50% of the money has been raised tor the second driving wheel for B17 'Spirit of Sandringham'

    The Saint 4-6-0 has had the boiler lagging and cladding fitted

    The thing that too me most by surprise was the announcement of yet another new build. A Great Western County 4-4-0! These taper boiler, outside cylinder machines will be amongst the most esoteric of the new builds but the team behind the project have enough material from other locos to give them a head start.

    Over the other side of the pond by the way, the Pennsy T1 team have assembled the first and section section of the boiler barrel at Continental fabricators in St Louis and the firebox tubeplate is well under way in Chatanooga

    Kev
     
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  14. kevsmith

    kevsmith TrainBoard Member

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    So quick update

    The GWR Grange 4-6-0 only needs about £40K to finish it, Expect it to be in Steam at Llangollen in Spring 2019

    The contract for LNER P2 2-8-2 'Prince of wales' boiler has been placed with RAW Meiningen in Germany. They built the boiler for the newbuild A1 Tornado which started this whole thing off and this boiler will be identical and interchangable with Tornado's. There will be some minor mods based on LFE from the original.
    Writing another thread in the G scale forum I found this picture I took of a live steam gauge 1 model of a P2 (top) at the Model Engineer exhibition in the early 1990s

    [​IMG]

    There was a display of the Patriot with the boiler installed at Crewe Heritage Centre to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Armistice but in other news it was announced that the project will be moving from Llangollen to either Tyseley of bury for completion.
    I've let the trust have a copy of all my father's photos of the Patriots, all of which are unpublished, to use in their future publications to help out

    Kev
     
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  15. kevsmith

    kevsmith TrainBoard Member

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    Bit to hasty to enter 'post reply' as the minute I did it I found the rest of my notes

    So.
    The County 4-4-0 has made big progress as the order for the frames was placed in July 106 years after the last of the class left Swindon works

    The GWR Saint 4-6-0 'Lady of legend' is very, very close

    The GWR County 4-6-0 (Confusing I know) has got to the stage where the modified LMS 8F boiler is really progressing. An original double chimney has been donated and the order for the Smokebox, smokebox saddle, smoke ring tubeplate and rear ring should have been placed by now

    The B17 trust has finished the design for the rolling chassis and the frames are well under way in wales

    Going off at a tangent, the desire to recreate the pioneer LMS diesel Co-Co 10000 has placed a half page advert in the magazines. They have the Class 58 donor chassis, an original 165VT power unit and are selling the 58 cabs to raise some funding

    In surprising news a company has been formed to build a new Gresley V4 2-6-2. I'll update on that when I get more info but I do know they have some bits already including a set of 5ft 8 inch driving wheel tyres

    Steam railways magazine has started to run a Health Check on the new build projects starting with the LNER standard locos so.

    P2 ''Prince of wales- Progressing wonderfully
    P2 ''Cock of the North not so good with slow progress
    B17 'Spirit of Sandringham' suffering from slow fund raising
    B17 'Manchester United' is a pile of bits with the owning group admitting they are concentrating more on repatriating British built locos from South Africa at present

    Kev
     
  16. kevsmith

    kevsmith TrainBoard Member

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    So

    Edwardian Elegance reborn, The Saint

    [​IMG]

    and the Patriot displayed with its boiler

    [​IMG]

    Kev
     
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  17. kevsmith

    kevsmith TrainBoard Member

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    Been a long time since I've updated this. Covid 19 had a drastic effect on the U'K heritage rail industry and all mty plenned visits this year got binned but I've got some updates from some of the groups

    The Great Western railway 4-4-0 County of Glamorgan has had the frames cut out. The ploystyrene patterns for the cylinders are made. An original chimney has been donated, it had a big crack in it but specialist contractors have welded it up. The spring hangers have been cast. The standard number 4 boiler is coming off former 2-8-0T number 5227 and various other demics have donated one set of pony wheels, a tender chassis and reversing lever

    Bad news on the Patriot 4-6-0. a weld repair on the keyways on the driving axles was found to have no supporting paperwork so three of the wheels have to come of again. The front bogie is going to have a bit of a redesign to make it closer to the original Patriot design

    Covid has spoilt the plan to have the Great Western Grange 4-6-0 in action this year but the new smokebox has been fitted but fingers are crossed for early next year

    In Meiningen works in Germany the two LNER Diagram 118 boilers are due to be delivered before the end of the year. One is a spare for 'Tornado' the other for the new build P2 2-8-2. The P2 has had the two intermediate coupling rods delivered

    The B17 steam loco trust have moved their two original tenders to a new base in Sheffield

    The F5 0-4-4T trust have had a legacy donation that willpave the way for the completion of the rolling chassis

    Kev
     
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  18. kevsmith

    kevsmith TrainBoard Member

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    Not done an update for quite while. The pandemic hasn't helped anybody really, but here goes. Including some you won't have heard of yet

    Standard 3MT 2-6-2T Now has the front and rear pony trucks fitted,. Smokebox and cylinders and most of the cab

    Southwold railway (3 Ft gauge) 2-4-0T in December just need some details adding and last few coats of varnish

    'Big Dave' new build 2 ft gauge Bagnall 0-4-0ST delivered to the West of Fife munitions railway in November

    New build Ffestiniog 0-4-0+T 'Mountaineer' ( 2 ft gauge) could be recognisable chassis by Easter

    Corris railway 0-4-2T ( 2 ft 3 inch) has had the boiler trial fitted

    The six driving wheels for the new build B17 4-6-0 'Spirit of Sandringham' have been ordered. The frames have been moved to Sheffield for assembly to commence but the 61662 group have abandoned their B17 project and donated their 4,200 Gallon tender to this project

    F5 2-4-2T has now got Smokebox, Cylinders and running plate in situ

    The Hawkesworth County 4-6-0 is having the tender assembled and the cylinders have been cast

    The other GWR County, the earlier 4-4-0, has had the cylinders and coupled wheels cast

    The P2 2-8-2 cylinders are being fabricated and the boiler is due delivery from RAW Meiningen in Germany in the summer of 2022

    The 'Night Owl' 2-8-0 has been moved to Tyselely shed for front end assembly

    The biggest set back has been the Patriot 4-6-0 'Unknown Warrior' which has had the nickname 'The Unknown Workload' bestowed on it following the discovery of multiple manufacturing defects. All six driving wheels have cracks. The cylinders have been fitted incorrectly with the mill scale not removed from the frames and mounting bolts that were far too lose in the holes. The earliest completion date has been put back to December 2026 although the boiler should be complete by 2024

    What is apparent is that the narrow gauge projects are really quick. Mountaineer is only expected to take three years in total

    I've not been able to get any pictures of these but hopefully this summer will be a bit more productive

    Kev
     
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  19. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Does the foundry have any liability in these casting processes?
     

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