£100,000 appeal for the cylinder block for new Gresley Class P2 steam locomotive No. 2007 Prince of Wales reaches 50% in just one month

The £100,000 appeal to make the cylinder block for No. 2007 Prince of Wales has reached 50% of its target in just one month. If the project is to remain on schedule to complete No. 2007 by 2021, the cylinder block has to be ordered in 2017. At its annual convention on 30^th September 2017, The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust set itself the challenge of raising £100,000 through The Cylinder Club from 100 supporters each donating £1,000 (plus Gift Aid) to the project in up to eight payments of £125 by standing order.

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 Trust decided to establish The Cylinder Club to raise an estimated £100,000 required to make No. 2007’s cylinder block.

In return for supporting this appeal, special benefits for members of The Cylinder 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 Cylinder Club badge
• Opportunity to join one of the teams building No. 2007
• First choice of other components to sponsor
• Special Cylinder Club day with Tornado
• Special signed/numbered print of John Wigston’s new painting of No. 2007 Prince of Wales alongside No. 2001 Cock o’ the North and No. 2002 Earl Marischal.

Artist John Wigston has been an active supporter of The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust since its launch in 1990, producing the first painting No. 60163 Tornado called ‘The return of an A1’ of which many supporters have a print. On Tuesday 17^th October John Wigston donated the original artwork for his new painting of No. 2007 Prince of Wales alongside No. 2001 Cock o’ the North and No. 2002 Earl Marischal to the Trust to raise funds for the project.

John Wigston's painting of Nos. 2001, 2007 and 2002 together

The work involved in designing the new cylinder block includes:

• Convert the original P2 class one-piece casting into a welded fabrication including Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to check for structural integrity
• Improve the layout of the valves to reduce the clearance volume (which affects cylinder efficiency)
• Re-route the steam and exhaust passages to physically separate them to prevent incoming steam from heating the outgoing exhaust
• Increase the size and improve internal streamlining of steam passages along Chapelon lines to increase maximum power and improve economy
• Reduce the overall width of the cylinder block to provide Prince of Wales with the widest possible route availability on the main line.

Manufacture of the cylinder block including:

• Producing the welded fabrication
• Stress relieving
• Grit blasting and painting with high temperature paint
• Machining
• Fitting cylinder liners and valve seats
• Manufacturing and fitting cylinder and valve covers
• Hydraulic testing the assembly.

October was a record breaking fundraising month for The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust with over £117,000 donated or pledged towards No. 60163 Tornado and No. 2007 Prince of Wales. The Cylinder Club welcomed 54 new members, donating £1,000 each, 12 A1 Covenantors, 12 P2 Covenators, one Boiler Club member, two Mikado Club members, two 163 Pacifics Club members, six Tornado Team (our children’s club for 5-15 year olds) members, over £2,500 in Dedicated Donations and over £17,000 in donation. These donations were thanks to our P2 Roadshow in Dundee, ‘The Tees Tyne Express’ railtour with No. 60163 Tornado and a number of visits to Darlington Locomotive Works.

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 £2.7m has now been donated or pledged. Our team at Darlington Locomotive Works has been focused on creating and assembling the boiler cladding over the past few weeks.

“We have now turned our attention to the cylinder block which is our next major design and manufacturing challenge. If we can raise £100,000 through The Cylinder Club over the next few months we are confident that we will be able to place the order for the cylinder block for No. 2007 Prince of Wales by the end of 2017 and remain on-track for completion of the new locomotive in 2021. Achieving pledges of over 50% of our target within the first month means that we are well on the way towards achieving this.  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 Cylinder 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 Cylinder Club, email enquiries@p2steam.com, call 01325 460163 or visit www.p2steam.com for more information.