Appeal launched to keep the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust project on track

The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust is looking to secure £100,000 worth of investment to make the cylinder block for new Gresley class P2 No. 2007 Prince of Wales.

With a completion date of 2021, the trust needs to raise the money to ensure they are able to order the unit before the end of the year.

In an attempt to fund the project, the volunteers have created The Cylinder Club where 100 supporters can each donate £1,000, plus Gift Aid, to the project in up to eight payments of £125 by standing order.

Mark Allatt, P2 Project Director and Trustee, The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, said: “We are delighted with the level of support that the project to build Britain’s most powerful steam locomotive has received since its launch.

"Thanks to our supporters’ continued generosity, more than £2.6m has now been donated or pledged. Our team at Darlington Locomotive Works has been focused on creating and assembling the boiler cladding over the past few weeks.

“We now want to turn our attention to the cylinder block which is our next major design and manufacturing challenge. If we can raise £100,000 through The Cylinder Club over the next few months we are confident that we will be able to place the order for the cylinder block for No. 2007 Prince of Wales by the end of 2017 and remain on-track for completion of the new locomotive in 2021.

“I would encourage all steam enthusiasts who haven’t yet contributed to this exciting project to help us to meet these deadlines by becoming a member of The Cylinder Club or a monthly ‘P2 for the price of a pint of beer a week’ covenantor.”

The project aims to demonstrate how the design can be fully realised through use of modern computer design techniques, enabling the new locomotive to deliver its full potential hauling passenger trains at high speed across today’s national network.

For more information about project, email enquiries@p2steam.com, call 01325-460163 or visit www.p2steam.com