P2 Locomotive Company and related matters

I reckon Gresley just told the draughtsman to design it like that for no functional reason whatsoever, chuckling to himself as he left the drawing office "they'll still be scratching their heads about that one long after I'm gone". A bit like how Stroudley woke up once in the middle of the night and said "I know! I'll call it improved engine green!"

Tom

 

Who needs drawings when you have a website full of photos. The shape of the frame plates suggests ' ill just put the finishing curve in and...oh, run out of space, well lets truncate it for now and get on with the rest and smooth it out when I get a minute.... now, where was I ....... what you 've cut the frames already ?

 

A bit like the draughtsman at Swindon designing the 72xx bunker, ' got a bit of room there just stretch that out a bit , as not to waste the paper, there we go'

 

[QUOTE="Jamessquared, post: 1731510, member: 2811".........A bit like how Stroudley woke up once in the middle of the night and said "I know! I'll call it improved engine green!" Tom[/QUOTE]
So that's why LBSCR colour lights were blue, brown and pink!

 

So, a further update on the WS, many more shiny bits appearing....

https://www.p2steam.com/2017/03/22/more-machined-components/



Foxy

 

I've got a question for the P2 project.

When Tornado was built, it was obviously hoped to be able to run it first and foremost on the ECML, which is the spiritual home of the A1s. After 60009's pioneering run from King's Cross to Peterborough in 1994, it was very apparent that this was no pipe dream.

However, by shaving the odd inch off here and there, Tornado has ended up very gauge-friendly for an 8P rated loco and soon after its main line début it began to turn up all over the place, on lines which had never seen an A1 before as well as the ECML. (See image below if anyone is interested - taken at a location associated with Schools class 4-4-0s or Bulleid Pacifics but definitely NOT with Peppercorn Pacifics.)

My question is simply this:- given the popularity of Tornado right across the country, will the P2 have as good a route availability? From what I have read, my assumption is that its dimensions and especially the eight-coupled wheelbase may limit where it can go compared with the go-almost-anywhere Tornado, but is this true?

Thanks

 

I asked David Elliott whether the P2 would ever be able to run on the NYMR and he told me that the intention was that it would be designed to have the same route availability as the A1. Whether it has been possible to achieve that in practice I don't know, though.

 

Thank you for your reply. A P2 will certainly be something different and if 2007 can tour as much of the country as Tornado, it will certainly attract a lot of interest.

 

In theory, Tornado would never have been allowed on the original NYMR either. This is a preservation era thing where preserved lines have improved things for heavier locomotives. I reckon there will be a few places the A1 can go that the P2 can't due to the wheelbase, but they'll be few in number. The P2 will be the same height and I believe have the same nominal width as the A1 so all should be well throughout the system. Certainly it is slimmer across the cylinders in theory than the originals.

 

Can't quite work out how the new Cylinder Dia of 19.75 Inches was arrived at - this seems to give a higher than necessary TE figure (more than anything else express passenger wise, including the original P2's, A2, W1) Perhaps the Maximum rather than the initial bore is being quoted here for 'Marketing purposes'. The cylinder composite construction design is certainly a bold step and presumably some space age lagging material will also be required to keep the outer dimensions down.

 

I recall something about increased end float in the driving axles being incorporated into the design of the new P2 to help it to go round bends, but I can't remember where I heard it.

 

And certainly an 8 coupled wheelbase is better suited to curves than a 6 or 10 coupled wheelbase of the same length. but at the end of the day 20 ft is 20ft...

 

After an exceptional month's fund-raising, The Mikado Club has been extended and work has started on the assembly of the crank axle - you can read the story here.



Foxy

 

Foxy, will the FEA report be available for our perusal at some point?? Pleaseeeeeee???

 

Does the crank axle have roller bearings too please?

If so, how are they housed on the short stub axles?

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Tornado also has a crank axle, uses short stubby housings.

 

As above, same as Tornado's.

 

Thanks..

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<fx: sitting with stupidly large grin on face here>

 

Thanks to the likes of the Green Howards here the project is making amazing strides... but, the pace has to be maintained. As for the FEA, you'll have to ask David Elliott!

Foxy