V4, a new build project from the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, will be named Highlander, the trust has confirmed.
The name was unveiled at the A1SLT’s Annual Convention on the 22nd October and the new name was met with wide approval by the trust’s supporters.
Back in 2015, the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust announced that V4 No. 3403 would follow in the footsteps of A1 No. 60163 Tornado and P2 No. 2007 Prince of Wales.
A1SLT Chairman, Steve Davies MBE, commented, “The name Highlander perfectly matches the history of the V4 class, and we look forward to enjoying an emotional and spiritual rapport with Scotland’s railway scene and with the country’s proud people, as well as operating in all other parts of Great Britain”.
No. 3403 Highlander will be able to travel almost anywhere on the mainline network and will be adapted to run on the modern railways of today.
The locomotive is set to benefit from:
- Roller bearingns
- Dual braked (Air and Vacuum)
- Welded boiler
- Electrical system
- Increased water capacity
The project is set to be officially launched with a Founders Club in Spring / Summer 2023. More details of which will be announced soon.
Responses
The second of the original pair was never actually named ‘Bantam Hen’, even if referred to as such. Lost opportunity here?
Bantam Hen would not inspire as many donors as Highlander
An inspirational choice.
Just a quick note my late grandad was a driver at Eastfiled in Glasgow when Bantom cock was delivered
And had several trips up the west Highland line my late father was a
Fireman at Eastfiled in 1945 .
He said it was not a bad engine.
Such negativity! The more the better!
Thank you!
Lovely. But Britain is already awash with operational main-line steam locos, not all of which are able to earn much of a living due to over-supply. Do organisations like the A1 Trust ever stop to consider where and how their expensive new toys will ever cover even a fraction of their running costs?
I thought I was the only one to ask this question; pleased to see others live in the real world too. Are too many grey-haired men simply ‘playing trains’?
What a totally negative miserable comment.
What a wonderful potential project.
I have a smallest negative thought, is that these “new” locomotives are frequently attached to excessive numbers of fully loaded carriages. Videos exist of the embarrassing/uncomfortable/cringe Salisbury A1/A2 loco (with excessive numbers of carriages) being unable to climb modest inclines, without banking locos.