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The Build so Far

February 2014

Construction begins

Construction of the new P2 commenced.  

April 2014

Frame plates are rolled

Frame plates that were to become No. 2007 Prince of Wales were rolled. The process started by Ben and Tim Godfrey, the grandsons of Sir Nigel Gresley.  

July 2014

Frames delivered to Darlington

Frames delivered to Darlington, doubler plates welded on, the frames erected on stands and Cartazzi frames bent and added.

December 2015

Assembly starts

Cab components delivered and assembly started.  The plate work for the smoke box ordered. 

February 2016

Pattern completed for the Kylchap double chimney

Wesley Atkinson at South Lincs Foundry completed the pattern for the Kylchap double chimney.  At DLW the cab had been set up on the footplate. 

March 2016

Proof-machined wheels delivered

Proof-machined wheels delivered to DLW; smokebox assembled.

December 2016

Liners fitted to the frames

Hornblocks and liners were fitted to the frames, final machining of the last frame stays.  The plain axles delivered from South Africa and machining of the canon boxes.

April 2017

£142,500 order with I D Howitt Ltd of Crofton

£142,500 order with I D Howitt Ltd of Crofton, West Yorkshire, for the assembly of the locomotive’s tender frames. 

April 2018

Wheelset assembled

South Devon Railway Engineering assembled the wheelsets. 

July 2018

Cladding fully fitted

Cladding fully fitted to the framework and an impression of a P2 in original form began to emerge at DLW.

September 2018

Orders placed for boiler and electrical system

Order placed with DB Meiningen for the boiler and a £350k order placed for the locomotive’s electrical system.

March 2020

Tender tank, grit-blasted and ready for paint

The tender tank, grit-blasted and ready for paint, delivered to Darlington and united with the Trust’s recently acquired accommodation bogies.  Work commenced on producing the heavy motion at Stephenson’s. 

December 2020

Machining the trailing coupling rods completed

In addition to the two intermediate coupling rods, we now had the two fully machined leading coupling rods.  Meanwhile, Stephenson’s had almost completed machining the trailing coupling rods. The inside connecting rod had been forged and the outside connecting rods were not far behind.

June 2021

£261k Cylinder Block ordered

£261k Cylinder Block ordered from Howco Engineering.