Heritagerailway.co.uk 79
Right:No.2007’s
tenderwheelsand
axlesreadyfor
dispatchtoSouth
DevonRailway
EngineeringRICHARD
PEARSON/A1SLTNo.2007’stenderframesat IDHowitt.
NIGEL FACER/A1SLTWithitsboilercladdinginplace,P2 2-8-2
No.2007Prince of Walesstandsinside
DarlingtonLocomotive WorksonJune15.Now
we needtheboilertogoinside–andthetender
togobehind!ROBINJONESSteamstarof the21stcentu ry:the50thA1 PeppercornPacific,No. 60163Tornado,buildsupaheadofsteam
asitpreparedtodepartfromYorkwithth e‘YorkshirePullman’to ScarboroughonJune15.ROBI NJONES
ChristeningNo.2007Prince of Walesfive yearsago
wereJe nnyChapmanMPandGeraldLee,theformer
mayorofDarlington.LAWRIELOVELESS/A1SLT
DavidChampion(thenchairmanandnowpresident
ofTheA1SteamLocomotiveTrust) andthela te
DorothyMather(ArthurHPeppercorn’s widowand
formerpresident)formallystarttheconstructionof
TornadoonJuly13,1994.TEDPARKER/A1SLTperweek) covenant scheme –aloneestimated
to be worth over£1.3millionofthe money
neededto finish thelocomotive.Fundraising
Furthermore,separate‘clubs’ have been
set up to focus fundraisingonindividual
parts. With theP2, TheBoilerClub(to fund
theconstructionofthe boiler through300
supporters each donating £2000)has reached
178members withalmost £450,0 00 donate d,
TheMotio nClub(to fund forgingand
machinin gofthe heavymotio nthrough 175
supporters each donating £1000)has reached
141members withover£175,000 donate d,
TheTenderClub (recentlylaunchedto fund
constructionofthe tenderthrough250
supporters each donating £1500) hasreached
25 memberswithalmost£50,0 00 donate d,
andthe DedicatedDonatio ns scheme(tofund
numerous components)has raised around
£350,0 00 withnewparts beingfrequ ently
madeavailable for sponsorship.
Having reachedorexceededtheir targets,
TheFounders’ Club (toget theproje ct to
thepoint of assemblingthe frames raised
£450,0 00 from 350supporters);The Mikado
Club (towheel thelocomotive raised £250,000
from 200supporters);and TheCylinder
Club (tofundthe design andmanufacture
thecylinder block raised £120,0 00 from 100
supporters) have allnow closed.
P2 projectdirectorand trusteeMark
Allatt said:“Just as laying thekeelist he
formalrecognition ofthestart of aship’s
construction, thededicationofNo. 2007
Prince of Wales’frames five yearsago marked
theformalstart of cons truction of Britain’s
most powerful steamlocomotive.Weare
delighted with thelevel of supportthatthe
proj ectto buildBritain’s most powerful
steamlocomotive hasreceivedsince its
launch.Thanks to oursupporters’ continued
gene rosi ty,over£3.3m hasnow beendonat ed
or pl edged.”
However, even once thelocomotivesare
complete d, therecan be no let-up.Asreported
last issue,two newboilers,for useonboth
theA1and P2,have beenordered from DB
Meinin gen.
DavidChampionadded: “Inorder to ensu re
we have thefunds available forNo. 60163
Tornado’soverhauls we need to raiseinexcess
of £250,000 each year.To ensure we keep
Tornadoon themainlinewhereit belongs,
we wouldbedelighted to welcomeyou on
boardasacovenantor from as little as £2.50
each week.”
➜Fordetails of howtohelporwhere totravel
behindTornadovisitwww.a1steam.com or
[email protected]
01325460163.THEtrust hasannouncedthatsignificantprogresshas
beenmade intheconstruction ofthe 60 tontenderfor
No.2007.
Thetenderframescurrentlyunderconstructionby
IDHowittofCrofton, Wakefieldarenowfullyerected;
thebaseplatefor thetendertankbeingmanufactured
byNorthViewEngineeringSolutions ofDarlingtonis
nowcomplete; andthelast of thefourtenderaxleshas
arrivedatDarlingtonLocomotiveWorksfromUnilathe
of Stoke-on-Trent. Theappealtoraise£450, 00 0through
TheTenderClubhasalsoalready raised£50,000.
Thecompletedtendertank isscheduledtobe
deliveredto DarlingtonLocomotiveWorksinSeptember,
bywhichtimethetenderframesareduetobeonsite.
Thefourtenderaxles,eight4ft 2inwheels
(manufacturedbyprincipal sponsorWilliamCookCast
Products Ltd) andother associatedcomponentswillbe
dispatchedtoSouthDevonRailwayEngineeringfor the
wheelsetstobeassembled.
If theproject is toremainonschedule, thetrust needs
totakedeliveryofthetenderframesandtankthis
autumn.
MarkAllatt said:“Wehavenowturnedourattention
tothetenderwhichisourcurrentmajormanufacturing
challenge.
“Significantprogresshasbeenmadewithall threekey
partsofthetender–thewheelsets, theframesand the
tendertank.Wenowneedtoraiseafurther£4 00 ,000
through TheTender Clubover thenextfewmonths.
“I wouldencourageall steam enthusiastswhohaven’t
yetcontributedtothisexcitingproject tohelp ustomeet
thesedeadlinesbybecomingamemberofTheTender
Cluboramonthly ‘P2for thepriceof apint ofbeera
week’covenantor.”
➜To become amember ofThe TenderClub,which
offer sarange ofspecial benefitstomembers,email
[email protected],call 01325460163orvisit
http://www.p2steam.comNowlet’s help get
that tender behindtheP2!