THE first wheelset for new-build Gresley P2 2-8-2 No. 2007 Prince of Wales is now complete.
The Cartazzi wheelset has had its wheels pressed onto its axle by South Devon Railway Engineering at Buckfastleigh and its tyres were due to be shrunk onto the wheels by late August.
The completion of the wheelset has been hailed a significant milestone in the £250,000 wheeling of the new locomotive by its builder The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust.
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At the same time, another landmark has been passed in that the trust has raised half of the money needed to build the £5 million locomotive.
Pledges towards the building of the P2 have already reached £2.5 million in less than four years since the project’s launch in September 2013 – and No. 2007 is already over a quarter complete in terms of engineering effort, with more £1.3 million spent to-date.
What is the world’s fastest-advancing standard gauge new-build project has been fuelled by the project’s successful fundraising campaigns.
In just three years since the launch of the project’s ‘P2 for the price of a pint of beer a week’ (£10 per month) covenant scheme, to which over 830 have signed up, funds either already donated or pledged by standing order have already passed
£2 million.
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