Class G5 Locomotive Company Limited
‘G5 Project’
Introduction:
The ‘Class G5 Locomotive Company Limited’ has been founded by a group of like-minded Northern railway enthusiasts, who intend to recreate a full-size prototypical North Eastern Railway Class O (LNER Class G5) 0 – 4 - 4 Passenger Tank Locomotive, initially for use on ‘Heritage’ Railways, for example, Weardale and Wensleydale, but later on the main-line.
Description:
Wilson Wordsell designed these superb locomotives in 1893. Between 1894 and 1901, 110 locomotives were authorised, all being constructed at the North Road Works of the ‘North Eastern Railway’ in Darlington. They became the standard ‘North Eastern Railway’ passenger tank locomotive until 1907. All, but two of the locomotives survived into the 1950’s, the last one being withdrawn in 1958. Not one of these locomotives was preserved & the class became extinct.
What is remarkable is that these locomotives ran for over 60 years, with only minor modifications, only to be withdrawn when replaced by the, then new, ‘first-generation’ diesel multiple units.
Aims & Objectives:
The ‘Class G5 Locomotive Company Limited’ has the intention to build a new locomotive, from scratch, initially for ‘Heritage‘ use, over a three-year period. The proposed completion date is September 2010.
The locomotive is being built in distinct units, i.e. boiler, bogie, wheel sets, frames etc. Each unit will be paid for on completion and will belong to ‘The Company’ from the onset. This will minimise the risk to both the ‘Company’ and the supplier. The boiler and bogie will be the first two units to be completed.
Work on boiler construction is at a very advanced stage and the bogie only requires its wheelsets for completion. The frames complete with buffers & buffer beams, cast iron cylinder blocks, safety valves, ‘Westinghouse’ pump and much of the brake gear are on site in Darlington.
Upgraded Standards:
In February 2009 we took the major decision to build the locomotive to main-line standards. This development will enable ‘The Company’ to obtain main-line certification status for the locomotive. This decision was a logical progression, taken in the knowledge that David Elliott, of ‘Tornado’ fame, has joined our design team. This new goal of building to main-line standards has significantly increased the final build cost, but will maximise and help secure our income for the future.
An in-depth financial review, undertaken in August 2009 by David Elliott, has confirmed that the final revised cost for the completed new build to be £800,000. At present, we are financially on target and are at the ‘half-way’ stage of the project.
Rationale: why build a G5?
There is an increasing shortage of first-class, available steam locomotives of this size and capability. Most small to medium sized locos are 60 + years old, with all the problems associated with age. In addition, many of the preserved industrial-type locomotives are either too small, or do not have the capacity to cope with longer runs, or heavier trains.
With the obvious exception of the ‘Great Central Railway’, the majority of ‘Heritage’ railways are of the ‘Branch-line’ type. These railways tend to run either short, or medium length trains, sometimes double-headed to increase capacity. The ‘G5’ Passenger Tank locomotive will be able to comfortably handle 4 –5 bogie coaches, unassisted. This would suit most ‘Heritage’ Railways and will be the ‘ideal’ locomotive for this purpose.
In addition, with main-line certification, this locomotive will be capable of undertaking short to medium length main-line working on secondary lines.
We anticipate a high demand for the services of this locomotive. Wherever it goes, the ‘G5’ will be a massive ‘crowd-puller’ and will certainly improve the revenue prospects for any ‘Heritage’ railway, it may visit.
Choice of Builder:
The ‘Great Northern Steam Company Limited’ Darlington, County Durham, has been selected as the builder for our locomotive, including the boiler. This well-established firm is some 800 yards away from the site of the old North Road works. They are in full possession of all the necessary skills & capacity to complete this locomotive within the proposed timescale of 3 years.
Locomotive Design:
We are already in possession of over 130 of the original set of drawings for the locomotive; these add both accuracy and authenticity to the project. Further extensive re-design and updating of existing drawings has been undertaken by the Design Team and is ongoing at the present time.
This locomotive will include ‘state of the art’ technology, including an ‘all-welded’ steel boiler, in order to enable the loco to fully comply with modern ‘Pressure-Vessel’ regulations. These plans are now fully inspected, approved and are registered at Lloyds for insurance purposes.
This development will not detract from the external appearance of the locomotive, which will appear as built in the 1890’s, apart from the location of the ‘Westinghouse’ pump, on the tank, rather than in the cab and a steel buffer beam, rather than wood, which tends to split. The locomotive will be fitted more robust ‘Group-standard’ buffers, rather than those originally fitted.
In addition, the original bogie design has been updated to modern main-line standards and re-drawn, as have the frames. These drawings are in use for their construction.
Reconditioned ’Ross-pop’ safety valves, ‘Westinghouse’ pump & gauge, bell-type whistle, Davies & Metcalfe vacuum brake ejector valve, as well as other original type components have been purchased.
In addition, other historical items have also been promised, or obtained. Other components are also in the pipeline for purchase. These include a ‘Wakefield’ lubricator and a pair of ‘Gresham’ injectors, as originally fitted.
Constitution & Members:
‘The ‘Class G5 Locomotive Company Limited’ consists of individual private ‘Director Shareholder’ members, each committed to units of £50,000 each. It is possible to make payment by staged instalments. Each unit consists of blocks of £5,000 each. There are six fully signed up members at present.
We are looking for no more than another six ‘Director Shareholder’ members, in order to help us complete this exciting project. These ‘shareholders’ will have the protection of a shareholders agreement and could become full ‘Voting’ Directors, should they wish to do so.
In addition, we have several ‘minority stakeholders’ who are helping to support this project. These stakes consist of individual units, available at a price of £5,000 each. We are looking for no more than twenty such stakeholders by the completion date.
The Company is VAT registered and is eligible for Tax-relief through the Enterprise Investment Scheme at a current rate of 20%.
We are confident that this project will be completed within budget and on time. It could be you!
Timescale:
We anticipate that the Locomotive will be available for hire from January 2011.
Contact us
Having read the above, if you are still seriously interested in becoming a stakeholder, please contact one of the following:
Mike Wood on 0191 3734317. (Evenings after 7.30 pm.)
Bernard Morris on 01969 623719.
Roger Womersley on 01484 648644.
Thank you for your interest!
