New-build P2 is wheeled and £350,000 electrics ordered

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THE team behind A1 Steam Locomotive Trust’s project to build new Gresley P2 2-8-2 No. 2007 Prince of Wales has agreed a £350,000 order for a state-of-the-art electrical system.

The mechanism is based on that fitted to the trust’s A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado, and includes systems that generate and store electricity, together with lighting and instrumentation apparatus, plus all current railway safety and communication procedures, and also the new systems that will soon be needed on the Network Rail lines.

Wheely there: The world’s fastest-growing standard gauge new-build steam locomotive project, P2 No. 2007 Prince of Wales, now has all eight driving wheels beneath it. MANDY GRANT

In order to complete No. 2007 Prince of Wales by 2021, the trust needed to start work on the electrical network during the third quarter of 2018 and at its most recent board meeting, the trustees reviewed the proposed system’s architecture, key equipment locations, wiring and interconnect, power generation & supply, essential lamps, systems and instrumentation.

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The P2’s electrical system will improve on that fitted to Tornado and will be based on key principles, including dual-redundant power supplies, electronic battery management, steam turbine and axle-driven generators, all-LED lighting, structured trunking system for wiring, military specification components for reliability and optimised equipment locations for minimum wiring.

Systems will be moved from the engine to the tender where practical and conventional wiring will be used for power and lighting. A bus-based communication system is being considered for instrumentation, along with wireless connectivity where required.

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