In case you missed it Flimsies, the A1 project in the UK has seen its boiler ordered:


Loco team chuffed with boiler order Feb 22 2005

By Tony Henderson, The Journal


A North-East project to build the first new mainline steam locomotive in Britain for more than 40 years took a major step forward yesterday.

The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust ordered the boiler for its Tornado locomotive from the workshops of the German Federal Railway.

And the trust appealed to railway enthusiasts in the North to help raise the final sum to complete the £2.25m venture.

The trust is building Peppercorn Class A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado at its Darlington Locomotive Works and when complete it will be used on charter trains operating on Network Rail.

A total of £1.3m has been raised through deeds of covenant, commercial sponsorship and a bond issue.

Trust chairman Mark Allatt said: "This is tremendous news for Tornado and the future of mainline steam in Britain.

"The boiler is the single most expensive component of Tornado left to manufacture and this order marks the overcoming of the last major engineering hurdle in the construction programme and one for which our many supporters have been awaiting for some time.

"With the boiler ordered, it is now a matter of when, not if, Tornado will be completed - and the achievement of our November 2007 target is simply down to how much money we can raise.

"We are now looking to railway enthusiasts throughout the country to help us complete Tornado.

"It's time those who have been waiting for final proof that this project will succeed to help us to finish the job - there are no more excuses left."

Jürgen Eichhorn, works manager at the plant which will make the boiler, said: "We are delighted and feel very honoured to have received the order for Tornado's boiler."

The A1 class of Pacific locomotives was designed by Arthur H Peppercorn for the London and North Eastern Railway and built in 1948-49.

They were the last of the East Coast Main Line's series of express passenger steam locomotives.

All the Peppercorn A1s were scrapped following the switch to diesel and the last one went in 1966.

The trust is raising money through Deeds of Covenant, at a cost of the price of a pint of beer per week, a £500,000 4pc unsecured bearer bonds issue and sponsorship agreements.

Wow - what is this in US $

What do I look like, a currency-exchange kiosk?

£2.25 million = approximately $4.2 million.

£1.3 million = approx. $2.4 million at today's rates.

And to type a "£" sign, hold down the Alt key while typing the four digit number 0163.