As promised in the last Project Information, here’s a New Build LMS-design project, The LMS-Patriot (The Unknown Warrior) Project.

This week we will be looking at the background to the Patriot class, The LMS-Patriot Project’s aim, and progress so far with the project.

Background

The first two members of the Patriot class were completed in November 1930. They were designed by Sir Henry Fowler when he had two members of the Large Claughton class (Nos. 5971 and 5902) rebuilt after they were seriously damaged. It’s unclear how much of the damaged Large Claughtons survived into the new Patriots. The Patriots were essentially Crewe designed boiler on frames similar to the ones used on the Royal Scots and also sharing the same sized cylinders as the Royal Scots.

The Patriot proved successful in service, and this resulted in more being constructed under the new Chief Mechanical Engineer, William Stanier. The third locomotive was built in July 1932 and the last locomotive was built in May 1934, a grand total of 52 being produced.

Stanier had 18 Patriots rebuilt with 2A boiler, cab and tender all to his design. The locos that received this rebuilding were (4)5512/14/21–23/25–32/34–36/45. Smoke deflectors of Royal Scot design were added later. The rebuilt Patriots looked very similar to rebuilt Royal Scots. The rebuilt locos could haul heavier loads, thus making them classed as 7Ps from 1951 onwards, whereas the originally Patriots were classed as 6P5Fs from 1951 onwards.

All the original Fowler built Patriots were withdrawn and scrapped by 1962. The rebuilds lasted a few years longer but were all scrapped by 1965.

The Project and its aims

There are two aims of the project. The first is to rebuild a Patriot class, capable of running on the mainline. The second aim to create an engine which can be used as a National Memorial locomotive. This is why the name “The Unknown Warrior” was chosen for the locomotive. Unfortunately, disappointing news regarding the Crest was released in November. You can read this news here

The Project was launched at Llangollen Railway’s Spring Gala in April 2008. The first major step appeared a year later when in late March 2009, the main parts of the frame had been cut. This signaled the start of construction of the new Patriot class.

Progress

The project has advanced as of November 2017.  The last major part, the boiler, has just begun construction. The latest news on the boiler can be found here.

From the frame being delivered to Llangollen in the summer of 2009, progress has continued, with several suppliers being used for various parts. Virtually all of “The Unknown Warrior”‘s parts have been made from scratch.

Recent work at Llangollen has been focused on attaching components to the locomotive’s chassis, such as the Main Reverser Shaft and Intermediate Reverser Shaft.

If you would like to get involved or would more information, please visit the Patriot Project Website here

I hope you enjoyed this week’s Project Information, come back next week to read about a BR Standard class New Build project.

• Visit the Patriot Project Website
  For more information