The P2 Steam Locomotive Company have launched The Pony Truck Club in order to raise funds towards completing the leading pony truck for their new build London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) P2 Class No.2007 “Prince of Wales”.
Seeking to raise £20,000 from 20 supporters providing £1000, the leading pony truck is a crucial component in 2007’s chassis, undergoing modifications from the original design used on the engines 2001 to 2006.
By using experience from the LNER’s experiments with the V2 Class pony truck and data obtained from virtual tests with thanks to contractor DeltaRail using Vampire software, the Company has designed the best suited leading pony truck for 2007. The new design is based on the modified V2 Class truck, with the addition of side control springs and roller bearings.
On the construction front, the wheelset has been completed ready at Darlington Locomotive Works for the next phase of building the leading pony truck, fitting the cannon box. With design work complete, the Company have ordered the truck’s frame from North View Engineering Solutions in Darlington.
If you chose to join The Pony Truck Club, the trust are offering the following benefits:
- Exclusive Pony (Truck) Club rosette
- Opportunity to buy a ticket (seat already reserved) on one of the first trains hauled by 2007 “Prince of Wales”
- Reasonable access to 2007 at all times (DLW is currently closed to visitors due to the coronavirus)
- The first choice of components to sponsor as a Dedicated Donations
- Special supporters’ day with “Tornado”
- Exclusive Pony Truck Frame engineering drawing signed by David Elliott and Daniela Filová, the design team
- Invitation to witness the fitting of the pony truck to the engine
What did the officials say?
Mark Allatt, The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust Trustee, 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, over £3.5m has now been donated or pledged – 70% of the required £5m.
We recently turned our attention to the pony truck which has been an area of major redesign. Significant progress has been made with both the wheelsets and the frames. We now need to raise a further £20,000 through The Pony (Truck) Club over the next few months. This will allow us to remain on-track for completion of the new locomotive within the next three years. We are following Government guidelines with regards to the coronavirus and, whilst our office-based staff are now working from home, our workshop staff are contining to work at Darlington Locomotive Works where they are taking all necessary precautions. However, as many of our supporters and volunteers are from vulnerable groups, the Works is currently closed to non-essential staff.
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 Pony (Truck) Club or a ‘P2 for the price of a pint of beer a week’ Covenantor. It’s time to get on board!”
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