The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, which is building the new ex-LNER Class A1 Pacific No. 60163, continued to move forward during March and April 1993.

ENGINEERING UPDATE

Drawings – During the two weeks after Easter, the engineering team has been digitally scanning approximately 800 original A1 drawings into a Computer Aided Design (CAD) system at the National Railway Museum in York. The system, which consists of a digital scanner linked to a computer, enables electronic copies of the drawings to be made without damage to the originals. The scanned drawings can be converted into vector form for modification using the CAD system.

David Elliott, Head of Engineering of The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust commented, “The A1 Project is achieving yet another first in railway preservation by the use of CAD. The flexibility of this latest technology will allow us to save huge amounts of time in producing copies of drawings for component manufacturers and in making modifications to correct A1 faults such as rough-riding just as the LNER/Eastern Region would have done if steam had continued”

More Engineers join the A1 Project – Bob Meanley, a specialist in boiler design and project engineer working professionally on the design and construction of power stations, has joined the engineering team. Best known for his
work in the Birmingham Railway Museum where he is responsible for the design of the ‘Bloomer’ replica, Bob also designed the all-welded boiler for the Ffestiniog Railway’s new `Double Fairlie’  David Lloyd George.

Bob has agreed to be in charge of redesigning the boiler of 60163 to an all-welded design with a steel firebox, in order to comply with modern safety and manufacturing standards as well as to reduce cost, weight and maintenance.

Other valued recent recruits to the engineering team include Bob Alderman, an engineering programme manager with Westland Helicopters; Steve Bell, a safety consultant with the nuclear industry; Eric Layfield, who recently retired as power equipment engineer with Railfreight  Distribution having started his career as a premium apprentice at Doncaster works; and Ray Pettit who is a consultant in engineering information management systems.

CONSTRUCTION

Locomotive – The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust currently plans to begin the construction of No. 60163 with the laying of the locomotive’s frames in the UK in early 1994. The planned completion date for the 50th class A1 is Summer 1998 – the 50th anniversary of the roll-out of the first A1.

Tender – The construction of the tender has already begun with the acquisition of  Flying Scotsman’s spare tender (number 5332). The next stage in the construction of the tender is the grit blasting of the frames back to the bare metal. Drawings are currently being produced on the CAD system for the modification of the frames to accept roller bearing axleboxes and hornguides.

Support Coach – Due to the rapid decline in the number of serviceable Mk1 coaches owned by British Rail, the
A1 Steam Locomotive Trust has reached an agreement to purchase a vacuum braked Mark 1 BSK (Brake Second Corridor) for use as No. 60163’s support coach.

HUGE INTEREST IN A1 PROJECT AT EXHIBITIONS

The marketing team of the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust had a stand at the International Model Railway Exhibition in London over the Easter holiday and, thanks to the railway artist John Wigston, a presence on a stand at the York Model Railway Exhibition. Thousands of people were handed information about the project, with many asking how they could help.

Mark Allatt, Marketing Team Leader, commented,“We were delighted at the enthusiasm shown at both of these exhibitions for the A1 Project ranging from people who worked on, or even helped to build the A1s, to those, like
myself, who are too young to have ever seen one. One concern that I was happy to put to rest was that No. 60163 will definitely be built in the UK.”

CALLS FOR HELP

The Project received an excellent response to its appeal for help from people for CAD work, with at least a dozen volunteers and many more enquiries. However, in order for all of the activities to progress at the required rate, the A1 Project is looking for volunteers in  the following areas:

• Designers/draughtsmen (railway experience not essential) with CAD expertise.
• Quality Control Managers/Engineers to assist in ensuring that subcontractors manufacture to an acceptable standard and to supervise erection of the locomotive.
• Professional marketeers with experience in direct mail, advertising, public relations and sponsorship.

The Trust is also keen to contact anyone who may have ex-A1 artifacts and is prepared either to
donate them or lend them as patterns to assist manufacture.

SPONSORSHIP

The A1 Project is looking for the donation of IBM PC compatible computers. The minimum system requirements are ATs for administrative/basic CAD use and high specification 386 PCs for use as CAD workstations.

FIRST PHOTOGRAPH OF COMPLETED A1

The Trust revealed the first image of A1 Pacific No. 60163 as she will look after completion. This is taken, with permission, from a Colour-Rail original of No. 60156 Great Central on Doncaster Shed using the latest computer technology for the manipulation of the photograph. Other photographs of A1s and of various stages of the A1 Project are available.

David Champion, Project Manager for The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, commented, “The construction, in Britain, of No. 60163 will begin in early 1994 with the laying of the frames with the objective of completing the 50th Class A1 in the summer of 1998. Preliminary  work is now well advanced and we are seeking more covenantors to speed construction”

The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, which is building the new ex-LNER class A1 pacific No. 60163, has formed a new company, `The Locomotive Construction Company Limited’. This wholly owned subsidiary of The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust has been formed to build No. 60163 and other new and replica steam locomotives.

David Elliott, Managing Director of The Locomotive Construction Company and Head of Engineering of The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust commented, “We have formed The Locomotive Construction Company to build Peppercorn Class A1 No. 60163, the first mainline steam locomotive to be built in Britain since 1960, and after this has been completed, other new and replica steam locomotives. In this way we can pass on directly to future projects the valuable experience accumulated in building No. 60163.”

THE PRE-CONSTRUCTION PHASE

Drawings

Before the construction of No. 60163 can begin, copies of all the relevant design drawings must be obtained and any necessary updating/redesigning undertaken. To date, the Trust has examined almost 400 drawings located in the archives of the National Railway Museum (NRM) and produced a computerised catalogue of a further 300 drawings cross referenced from those already examined. It is anticipated that further research will reveal more drawings.

The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust has approached the NRM with a proposal to digitally scan the original drawings to provide a compact and convenient means of storage and reproduction. It will also allow the Trust to convert the scanned drawings into vector form for modification using a Computer Aided Design (CAD) system.

The effort put in by the Research and Development team, all of which has been donated free to the project, has been evaluated at £50,000 worth of professional time during 1992.

Research

The Trust continues to research into the background of the A1 design and their operations in British Railways’ service. Invaluable information has recently been provided by many contemporary railwaymen, including Mr J F Harrison, former assistant Mr A H Peppercorn (the designer of the A1s) during their design and Mr Peter Townend, Shedmaster at King’s Cross locomotive sheds during the late 1950s and author of books including East Coast Pacifics at Work and Top Shed.  Mr Townend has also accepted the position of Honorary Vice-President of The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust.

Company Procedures

In order to control the design and manufacture of the locomotive, manuals are being prepared to ensure the standardisation of areas such as quality, tolerances, dimensioning, material specifications, configuration control and contractual procedures. As well as being goodengineering practices, these controls will help to facilitate BS5750 accreditation whenappropriate.

CONSTRUCTION

Locomotive

The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust currently plans to begin the construction of No. 60163 in 18 months to two years time, once the redrawing is sufficiently advanced. The planned completion date for the 50th class A1 is Summer 1998 – the 50th anniversary of the roll-out of the first A1.

Tender

The construction of the tender has already begun with the acquisition of Flying Scotsman’s spare tender (number 5332). The severely corroded tender tank has been removed and the tender frames inspected. They are generally in good condition and will form a good basis for a tender for No. 60163. The next stage in the construction of the tender is the grit blasting of the frames back to the bare metal and the production of roller bearing axleboxes and hornguides.

CALLS FOR HELP

In order for all of the above activities to progress at the required rate, The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust is looking for volunteers in the following areas:

Designers/draughtsmen with access to CAD which can handle two dimensional DXF files.

Quality Control Managers/Engineers to assist in ensuring that subcontractors manufacture to an acceptable standard and to supervise erection of the locomotive.

SPONSORSHIP

The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust is looking for the donation of IBM PC compatible computers. The minimum system requirements are IBM ATs for administrative use and the following high specification for use as CAD workstations: 25Mhz 80386SX based personal computer with 80387 math coprocessor, 8Mb RAM, 128Kb cache, 100Mb hard disk, 1.44Mb 31/2″ disk drive, 250Mb cartridge tape streamer, 14″ 1024×768 pixel non-interlaced monitor, 1Mb SVGA video card, Mouse, DOS 5 and Windows 3.1.

The Trust is also keen to contact anyone who may have ex-A1 artifacts and is prepared either to donate them or lend them as patterns to assist manufacture.

David Champion, Project Manager for the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, commented, “The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust is now well placed to meet its objective of completing No. 60163, the 50th class A1, in time for the 50th anniversary of the completion of the first A1 in the Summer of 1998. We have put together the necessary expertise for building steam locomotives and have a dedicated and professional team. We are now seeking more covenantors to speed construction.”

The A1 Locomotive Project is to hold its next road show at the Railway Enthusiasts’ Club, 103 Hawley Lane, Farnborough, Hants on Friday 27th September at 19:30hrs.

The project is breaking new ground in the field of steam locomotive preservation with the construction of an entirely new main line steam locomotive – the first for over 30 years – hopefully by 1995.

Mark Allatt, co-ordinator of the Farnborough road show said, “It is appropriate that the road show is being held in Farnborough as the locomotive is to be named Tornado as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the Gulf War. After all, British Aerospace, one of the manufacturers of the Tornado fighter, and the RAE, are both based there.

He continued, The money is being raised by many people giving a little on a regular basis – £1.25 a week, less than a pint of beer. By mid-July, only eight months after the fund raising started, the value of covenants, donations and benefits in kind had totalled £460,000.”

During the evening road show there will be a progress report and an opportunity for questions and answers. The speakers will include Ian Wightmore, from the Isle of Wight Railway, and David Elliot, A1 Locomotive Project contracts adviser. Enthusiasts and supporters of the project are most welcome, as are those who are unaware of the project and its aims.

The A1 Locomotive Trust is to hold its second road show at the Railway Enthusiasts’ Club, 103 Hawley Lane, Farnborough, Hants on Tuesday 31st March at 19:30hrs.  The project is breaking new ground in the field of steamlocomotive preservation with the construction of an entirely new main line steam locomotive – the first for over 30 years – hopefully by 1995.

Mark Allatt, co-ordinator of the second Farnborough road show said, “It is now not a matter of if, but when, No. 60163 Tornado is built. We have now moved from the initial organisational stage into the pre-construction stage and have already bought Flying Scotsman’s spare tender to form the basis of our own. Several members have been working round the clock at the National Railway Museum in York to copy and index the 700 original drawings that will be needed to build Tornado.  We had such a good response at the Railway Enthusiasts’ Club last September that we are holding a second event to bring people up-to-date with the project. Anyone who is interested is most welcome.

He continued, “The money to build the locomotive is being raised by many people giving a little on a regular basis – £1.25 a week, less than a pint of beer.”

During the evening road show there will be a slide show on the A1s, a progress report and an opportunity for questions and answers. The speakers will include David Elliott, A1 Locomotive Trust contracts adviser. Enthusiasts and supporters of the project are most welcome, as are those who are unaware of the project and its aims.