The LMS Patriot Project has sent RailAdvent an update on the project to build a new London, Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS) Patriot Class steam locomotive, No. 5551 The Unknown Warrior.

Construction is being carried out at Vintage Train’s Tyseley Locomotive Works in Birmingham, and has been there since December 2024, after the initial stages of building the locomotive took place elsewhere.

The latest work has seen the locomotive’s frames reassembled, and the forward expansion link bracket assemblies and expansion links fitted.

The left-hand and right-hand reinforcement plates on the frames have been fitted, but first, their attachment holes needed to be reworked.

Colin Hall, the project’s Chairman, announced his intention to resign in August 2025, but a new Chairman has not yet been appointed.

Several applicants have been interviewed for the position, and those interviews led to Iain Gould joining the project’s Board.

However, the LMS-Patriot Company is still looking for a suitable applicant for the position of chairperson, and is keen for anyone interested in being appointed to the position to contact them.