£450,000 appeal launched to fund the tender as order placed for construction of the tender tank

The Trust has recently announced a new £450,000 appeal to fund the manufacture the tender for new Gresley class P2 No. 2007 Prince of Wales. The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust has set itself the challenge of raising £450,000 through The Tender Club from 250 supporters each donating £1,500 (plus Gift Aid) to the project in up to 15 payments of £100 by standing order. The Trust is also pleased to announce that the order to manufacture the tender tank has been placed with North View Engineering Solutions of Darlington. The tender frames are currently under construction by I D Howitt of Crofton, Wakefield.

If the project is to remain on schedule to complete No. 2007 by 2021, the Trust needs to take delivery of the tender frames and tank in autumn 2019. Following the success of The Founders Club (to get the project to the point of cutting the frames), The Boiler Club (to fund the construction of the boiler), The Mikado Club (to wheel the locomotive), The Cylinder Club (to make the cylinder block), The Motion Club (to fund the heavy motion) and the Dedicated Donations scheme the Trust has decided to establish The Tender Club to raise an estimated £450,000 required to manufacture No. 2007’s tender.

In return for supporting this appeal, special benefits for members of The Tender Club include:

• Opportunity to buy ticket (seat already reserved) on one of the first trains hauled by No. 2007 Prince of Wales
• Reasonable access to No. 2007 at all times
• Opportunity to buy exclusive Tender Club badge
• Opportunity to join one of the teams building No. 2007
• First choice of other components to sponsor
• Special Tender Club day with Tornado
• Special limited-edition print of Stephen Bainbridge’s ‘Locomotives of the future’ painting

The tender for No. 2007 Prince of Wales is based closely on the tender built for A1 class No. 60163 Tornado. The original P2 tenders were to the 1930s non-corridor design built for the new A3 Pacifics being built at that time.

The water capacity of the original design was 5,000 gallons, which at a typical consumption of 45 gallons per mile would provide a range between water stops of 80 miles (with as safety margin). The tender for Tornado was re-designed to increase the water capacity to 6,250 gallons which increases the range to about 110 miles. The additional water capacity is at the expense of a reduction in coal capacity from 9 tons to 7½ tons.

The tender tank will be a fully welded structure made from weathering steel (as used on motorway bridges and the Angel of the North) to provide improved resistance to corrosion. The main visible differences with the new tender when compared to that of Tornado will be the curving inwards of the side sheets at the front to match the shape of the cab sides, and the extensive use of half round beading along the front and top of the sides and the top of the back of the tank.

Mark Allatt, P2 Project Director and Trustee, The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, commented, “We are delighted with the level of support that the project to build Britain’s most powerful steam locomotive has received since its launch. Thanks to our supporters’ continued generosity, over £3.2m has now been donated or pledged.

“We now want to turn our attention to the tender which is our next major manufacturing challenge. We have now placed the order for the tender tank with North View Engineering Solutions of Darlington and the tender frames are well underway by I D Howitt of Crofton, we now need to raise £450,000 through The Tender Club over the next few months. This will allow us to remain on-track for completion of the new locomotive in 2021.

“I would encourage all steam enthusiasts who haven’t yet contributed to this exciting project to help us to meet these deadlines by becoming a member of The Tender Club or a monthly ‘P2 for the price of a pint of beer a week’ Covenantor. It’s time to get on board! This year will see further major announcements as the construction of new Gresley class P2 No. 2007 Prince of Wales gathers pace.”

To become a member of The Tender Club, email enquiries@p2steam.com, call 01325 460163 or visit www.p2steam.com for more information.