The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust has announced that the first of the new boilers for London and Northeastern Railway P2 Class No. 2007 Prince of Wales is due to be delivered this autumn.
The Trust's team, led by its Chairman Steve Davies, was in Germany earlier this month to meet with the boiler manufacturer, DB Meiningen, to discuss progress.
Construction of the boilers is now at an advanced stage, and because of recent issues with Tornado's boiler both The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust and DB Meiningen are taking care to ensure that all works are to the correct standard. To that end, the involvement of the German certification body Technischer Überwachungsverein (TÜV) is important.
The boiler is now nearly ready for its tubes to be fitted, but before this can be done all the necessary certification paperwork, material tests, and other sign-offs must be completed. Once Technischer Überwachungsverein is satisfied that all necessary activities have been completed satisfactorily, work can quickly proceed with installing the tubes followed by a full hydraulic test.
At Darlington, the monobloc is expected to be delivered shortly, followed soon after by the boiler. Once these are in place, the considerable progress made on constructing Prince of Wales will be clearly visible.
As the Trust works towards the planned delivery date, it is still fundraising, and the best way to support the project is through joining the Trust's The Boiler Club. This is the backbone for the construction of the locomotive as each donation takes it one step closer to steaming of the locomotive. One-off donations are welcome, and the Trust thanks all those who have already made a donation.
The Trust has an online donations system here for signing up as a P2 Covenantor, whilst support for the project can be shown by joining any of the P2 Clubs here, or contributing to The P2 Support Coach Appeal at https://www.a1steam.com/p2supportcoach/.
A Boiler Club is also running with a target of 300 members, which has nearly been reached 90% of the money needed to fund the boiler, which is Prince of Wales' most expensive component, has already been raised. The Trust needs to reach its target of 300 members by this autumn and is appealing for support who wants to see the project complete. Applications to join The Boiler Club can be made here.
