Photo of 60121: uncredited image from website of Richard Roper
Artist's impression of 5AT by Robin Barnes
Photo of 1022: uncredited image from website of the Didcot Railway Centre
One of the major attractions of almost all the many tourist railways in the UK and throughout the world is the continued use of steam traction. Most lines in the UK use locomotives that were previously in revenue earning service, either with British Rail or with any one of a number of industrial operators. However, the newest of these locomotives is now coming up to half a century old, and the possibility of constructing replacements against such time as maintenance of the originals becomes untenable is being seriously considered.
A number of small, specialized engineering firms are still regularly building steam locomotives for narrow gauge and miniature railways, but the construction of an all new, main line steam passenger locomotive is a major project. It is pleasing to note, therefore, that there are a number of such projects in progress in the UK. To date, the author is aware of three:
Peppercorn A1 Pacific 60121 Silurian at King's Cross on 18th August 1962
After 18 years of effort, in 2008 the trust suceeded in its aim of completing the construction from scratch a modern replica of an A1 Pacific, designed by AH Peppercorn for the London & North Eastern Railway but ultimately contructed in 1948/49 by the then newly formed Britsh Railways. All the original examples were scrapped by 1966.
The new locomotive, 60163 Tornado, made its debut on the Great Central Railway, Loughborough in August and is expected to start main line running later in the year.
An artist's impression of the 5AT locomotive
The most ambitious of the three projects aims to build a completely new design of steam locomotive, optimized for performance and efficiency according to the most modern principles introduced in the late 20th Century by the French designer André Chapelon and subsequently developed by LD Porta in Argentina and David Wardale in South Africa.
The project is still at a feasibility study stage, but benefits from a detailed set of Fundamental Design Calculations prepared by David Wardale. The dimensions of the locomotive are based on those of the British Railways Standard Class 5, itself a derivative of the famous Stanier "Black 5" design for the London, Midland & Scottish Railway. However, all major components and operating parameters of the new locomotive have been completely redesigned and this really should be considered a new design.
Hawksworth County Class 1022 County of Northampton
This project was initiated in the early years of the 21st century to recreate a locomotive of the County class designed by FW Hawksworth of the Great Western Railway. The original design made use of components that were readily available at Swindon Works towards the end of the Second World War. These included frames from Hawksworth's own "Modified Hall" design (a development of the Collett "Hall") and boilers constructed at Swindon for wartime freight locomotives based on the Stanier 8F design. The first locomotive of the County class entered traffic in 1945. All were scrapped in the 1960s.
The 1014 Project was not strictly a new build project as it was intended use components from existing locomotives; however, the end result would recreate a locomotive of which no examples survive. The replica would use "Modified Hall" frames and the boiler of a Stanier 8F, from which the Swindon design was derived. A new set of wheels would be required, as these were slightly larger than those of the "Hall". Many components had been obtained, some funds had been raised and construction work started. However, at the time of writing (late 2008) it appears that the project is moribund.