The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust has issued an update on progress to build P2 Class 2-8-2 No. 2007 Prince of Wales.

The trust has been concerned about the condition of the cannon box castings, and has reviewed the castings’ patterns to investigate what improvements could be made to make them more robust.

Proposed improvements included increasing the thickness of the walls or flanges to increase their strength, increasing the thickness of the walls around the mounting bolts, and ensuring the internal web positions matched those on the drawings.

The project team also looked at what allowance had been made during machining to clean up the mating faces and bearing locations, as well as the diameters of the castings.

The castings are the same as will be used on the new-build Class B17 4-6-0, so an extra pair of castings will be ordered by the B17 Trust to provide an economy of scale.

A meeting will now be arranged with the pattern designers and William Cook Cast Products, which is producing the castings, to determine the feasibility, timing, and cost of the proposed modifications.

The next major item to arrive at Darlington Locomotive Works will be the boiler, which has been delayed because of the pandemic.

Further checks are also being made to make sure its quality is up to standard, which was a concern after issues had been discovered with the overhauled boiler on Tornado.

Although frustrating, it is necessary to ensure that the boiler is constructed in line with the requisite standards and approved by TÜV Thuringen, the independent certification body.

It also protects the Trust’s investment, and is doubly critical when a pressure vessel is moved to another country.

Further complications have arisen because there have been changes in legislation since Tornado’s boiler was first built, and there have been further changes since Brexit.

DB Meiningen and TÜV Thuringen have now agreed on a way forward, with just a few items to be completed.

Although that should take no more than two weeks, there will be a further delay because of new cranes being installed in the boiler shop at DB Meiningen, which will delay completion by another two weeks. The Trust expects to receive the boiler at Darlington sometime this month.

The Trust recently received a donation of a pair of Stones Lamps to be fitted on the rear of 2007’s tender. These were fitted at the front and rear of most ex-LNER express locomotives.