Although delayed by Covid-19, the pony truck frame is making progress at North View Engineering Solutions in Darlington. The main elements (frame and steering arm) have been fabricated and parts for the crosshead machined.
The modification of the pony truck from the original swing link side control to the later V2 class type of spring side control represents a significant design change in a safety critical part of the locomotive. Whilst we have done a considerable amount of work to ensure that the new design will be stable and safe, to certify the locomotive it will be necessary to have an independent review of the design. Ricardo Rail has been retained to carry out this work building on the Vampire ride and track force model which was commissioned from the Resonate (formerly DeltaRail) before the P2 project was formally launched and provided the basis for the new pony truck design.
All photos by Daniela Filová.
The tack-welded pony truck
The pony truck steering arm
Machining the pony truck crosshead
The milling machine set up for the cannon box
Ian Matthews machines the cannon box spring links
The steering arm pivot point
The fully welded pony truck following NDT
The pony truck crosshead after NDT