FUNDING pledges for a steam locomotive to be built in the region have passed the £2m mark in just over two years.

Gresley class P2 steam engine Prince of Wales will be assembled at the same Darlington works as the famous A1 class locomotive Tornado.

The new locomotive is already one-third complete by weight, its rapid construction having been fuelled by the project's successful fundraising campaigns.

More than £2m has been raised since the launch, 18 months ago, of the £10 per month regular donation scheme.

The class P2 2-8-2 ‘Mikado’ locomotives were the most powerful passenger steam locomotives to operate in the UK, designed by Sir Nigel Gresley to haul 600 ton trains on the arduous Edinburgh to Aberdeen route.

Scrapped by 1961, the design was never fully developed and those behind the Prince of Wales project aim to demonstrate how modern computer design and modelling techniques can enable the locomotive to deliver its full potential.

Construction progress to-date includes:

• Frame plates for engine and tender rolled and profiled;

• Engine’s frames erected at Darlington Locomotive Works;

• All 20 wheels for engine and tender cast;

• All major engine frame stays, brackets, horn blocks, axle boxes and buffers cast and machined – 64 in total;

• Roller bearings for all engine and tender wheelsets and engine axles and crank pins ordered;

• Over 1,000 fitted and driven bolts ordered;

• Preliminary discussions held with boiler manufacturers;

Mark Allatt, chairman of the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust which is behind both Tornado and Prince of Wales, said: “We are delighted with the level of support that the project to build Britain’s most powerful steam locomotive has received since its launch.

"Thanks to our supporters’ continued generosity £2m has now been donated or pledged which has been converted into over one third of the new locomotive being now in existence by weight.

"With Tornado’s recent overhaul now complete, our team at Darlington Locomotive Works has resumed the erection of No. 2007 Prince of Wales’s frames, fitting the frame stretchers, horn guides and other components manufactured by external contractors over the past few months.

“We are hopeful that we will have completed the rolling chassis for No. 2007 Prince of Wales next winter and we remain on-track for completion of the new locomotive in 2021.

"However, to maintain this rate of progress we need to continue to raise in excess of £700,000 per year, which becomes more challenging as each year passes.

“I would encourage all steam enthusiasts who haven’t yet contributed to help us to meet these deadlines by becoming a monthly covenantor or joining The Boiler Club."

For details of how to help, visit p2steam.com