COME ON, COME ON, DO THE LOCO-MOTION WITH ME – ALL HEAVY MOTION FORGINGS ORDERED

£210,000 appeal to manufacture the motion passes 25% in under two months

We have now placed a £220,000 order with Stephenson Engineering Ltd of Atherton, Manchester for the heavy motion for Prince of Wales. The order includes the forging, machining and heat treatment of the nine heavy motion rods - intermediate coupling rod LH/RH, trailing coupling rod LH/RH, leading couple rod LH/RH, outside connecting rod LH/RH and the inside connecting rod assembly (including strap, gluts and strap nuts and washers) – and the combined piston and rod. The motion is expected to be delivered in batches between December 2018 and December 2019.

In April 2018, The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust launched a new appeal to raise the funds to manufacture the motion for new Gresley class P2 No. 2007 Prince of Wales. The Motion Club was established with the aim of raising £210,000 from 175 supporters each donating £1,000 (plus Gift Aid) to the project in up to eight payments of £125 by standing order. In just seven weeks the appeal had already reached over a quarter of its £210,000 target.

If the project is to remain on schedule to complete No. 2007 by 2021, the Trust needed to order the motion in 2018. 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) and The Mikado Club (to wheel the locomotive), The Cylinder Club (to make the cylinder block), the Trust decided to establish The Motion Club to raise an estimated £210,000 required to manufacture No. 2007’s motion.

In return for supporting this appeal, special benefits for members of The Motion 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 Motion Club badge
• Opportunity to join one of the teams building No. 2007
• First choice of other components to sponsor
• Special Motion Club day with Tornado
• Special limited-edition version (signed/numbered) of Stuart Black’s drawing of No. 2007 Prince of Wales

The work involved in designing and manufacturing the motion includes:

• Redesign of coupling and connecting rods to use modern material (pre-war nickel chrome steel alloy proved prone to fracture
• Incorporation of late-pattern BR-type continuous white metal lined crank pin bearing bushes
• Use of the late-A1 design of inside connecting rod which overcame the tendency for the original design of inside connecting rods on LNER ‘Pacifics’ to big-end failure
• Open die forging of six coupling rods, two outside connecting rods and the inside connecting rod and strap
• CNC machining of all rods
• Manufacture of oil box lids, coupling rod knuckle pins, nuts and washers and bearing bush keys
• Casting of leaded gunmetal and phosphor bronze castings of crank pin bearing bushes
• Machining and white metalling of bearing bushes
• Fitting oil box tops
• Assembly of bearing bushes to rods
• Polishing rods

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 £3m has now been donated or pledged. Recently we have been focused on preparing to wheel No. 2007.

“We now want to turn our attention to the motion which is our next major design and manufacturing challenge. Raising 27% of our £210,000 target for The Motion Club in just seven weeks has given us the confidence to place the order for the nine heavy motion components whilst we work hard to raise the remaining £150,000. This means that we 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 Motion 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 Motion Club, email enquiries@p2steam.com, call 01325 460163 or visit www.p2steam.com for more information.