| GWR 2900 Class 2999Lady of Legend | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.jpg) Lady of Legend in May 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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GWR 2900Saint Class 2999Lady of Legend is a British "new-build"4-6-0steam locomotive completed in 2019. It is a 4-6-0 standard gauge locomotive built to a 1902 design by George Jackson Churchward. It was constructed by the Great Western Society using the frames and boiler of4900Hall Class 4942Maindy Hall atDidcot Railway Centre in Oxfordshire, where it is now based.[1]Lady of Legend was constructed because all other members of the GWRSaint Class were scrapped, and due to the prevalence and influence of the class, it was decided that it was worthwhile to construct a new member of the class for modern audiences.[1][2]
The Great Western Society (GWS) was formed in the 1960s with the purpose of preserving former Great Western Railway steam locomotives, they are based at Didcot Railway Centre.[3] The project to construct a new 2900Saint was started in the 1970s by the GWS at Didcot under the name "the Saint Project", which was an ambition of the group since its inception.[2] Building a new2900Saint would replace a missing class that was not previously represented in preservation, all original examples having been scrapped. Therefore, they said, the new locomotive would "help educate and inform the public of the history of the Great Western Railway's steam locomotive designs."[4][2]
The 2900Saint class are now acknowledged by preservationists to have significantly influenced subsequent British steam locomotive development due to its advances in steam technology.[2] The class was used successfully by their designer, G. J. Churchward, to compare the features of the different types of steam locomotive found across Europe and North America, and therefore is the source of many of the design principles which would go on to be incorporated in subsequent GWR and eventuallyBritish Rail steam locomotive designs. All examples of this class would be scrapped between 1925 and 1953 due to the introduction of more efficient designs, such as theCastle class.[1]
The first attempt to build a new GWRSaint in the 1970s did not succeed. It envisioned a locomotive later in design than theLady of Legend that ended up being constructed, with curved drop ends at the front of the frames and beneath the cab, in the style introduced from No. 2911 onwards. Its failure was attributed to this design already being represented in preservation, and the fact that many thought it was "beyond the capability of preservationists" to entirely rebuild an extinct class.[2] The successful attempt was therefore assisted by the decision to base the new locomotive off of the frames and boiler of an existingHall class (4942Maindy Hall), which removed the necessity to cast all new frames, an otherwise costly part of constructing a new locomotive; and the success of60163Tornado, which helped shift public attitudes in favor of new-build steam locomotives and allowed the Great Western Society access to the capital necessary to construct 2999.[5]
4942Maindy Hall was a 4-6-0 locomotive of the GWR's4900Hall class. It was built in 1929 at Swindon and now forms the frames and boiler ofLady of Legend. After being withdrawn from service in 1963,MaindyHall was moved toWoodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry, South Wales in 1964. After ten years in the scrapyard, it was bought by Didcot Railway Centre in 1974, who also bought5900Hinderton Hall.[6][2][5]
After acquiring the locomotives, the Great Western Society decided to back-convert and rebuildMaindy Hall from scrapyard condition into a 2900Saint class. There are another ten members of the4900Hall class in preservation, including one in Didcot's possession, so the loss of aHall was considered acceptable by preservationists.[4] Historically, the firstHall class prototype was converted from 2925Saint Martin, so reverting aHall back to a 2900Saint was not only practical, but had a historical precedent.[4][2]
In order to convert aHall to aSaint, a number of modifications had to be made. For example, the size of the driving wheels for aHall are 6 feet (1.83 m), while the size of the driving wheels for aSaint are6 feet8+1⁄2 inches (2.04 m), the front bogie wheels are similarly larger on aSaint than those of aHall.[1] The conversion process began in January 2004, with the manufacture of new driving wheelsets and anultrasonic analysis ofMaindy Hall's frame.[7]
Other parts used in the construction of 2999 are original GWR parts that had, at one time, been fitted to Saints. Such examples include a connecting rod from 2906Lady of Lynn, and the whistle from 2910Lady of Shalott.[1] The chimney is also an original part, but is from a6800 class 4-6-0.[1]
The engine was largely constructed in an early configuration, with straight frames, lever reversing gear and a flush riveted tender tank, as these features were not previously represented in preservation.[2][1] For practical reasons, there are a number of components and features that are later in design than theLady series as they originally left the factory.[8]
The original height of the 2900Saint class was13 feet3+1⁄2 inches (4.05 m),[9] but the maximum height allowed for steam locomotives to work on the British mainline byNetwork Rail is 13 feet 1 inch (3.99 m), because ofoverhead line clearances. The height of 2999 was therefore reduced, compared to others in its class, to allow for this. Mainline operation also requires additional electronic equipment which none of the original members of 2999's class had, including:AWS,TPWS,OTMR,GSM-R andERTMS whichLady of Legend is not fitted with.[10] 2999 is not expected to operate on the mainline due the lack of this equipment, gauging concerns, and the 2019 decision from Didcot to cease mainline operations.[11] It has therefore exclusively operated on Britishheritage railways.[10]
The "Atlantic option" is an alternative wheel arrangement for 2999.[1][12] Although it is intended by the Great Western Society that the locomotive will run primarily in its 4-6-0 configuration as aSaint, it is planned to have the engine run for a period during its 10-year boiler certification as a4-4-2 Atlantic.[12] This means that the locomotive will have its reardriving wheels removed and replaced with a set oftrailing wheels. This mirrors the originalSaint class, of which 13 were built as 4-4-2s for comparative purposes, and only later converted to 4-6-0s.[1][12] This conversion will be accompanied by a name change.[13]
The Great Western Society decided, like 60163Tornado, to number the new locomotive as a new member of theSaint class, sequential to the highest-numbered originalSaint: 2998Ernest Cunard.[13]To name their locomotive, the Great Western Society ran a competition in conjunction with theSteam Railway magazine.[14] Many names were submitted, but the name eventually chosen wasLady of Legend. The name was chosen because an early production lot of Saints were named after historical, mythological or poetical 'Ladies', so the name would be in-keeping with the GWR's naming scheme. The judges also liked the "enterprising nature and legendary spirit" that the name tied to the project and locomotive.[14] Other names that were submitted in the competition included:Lady in Waiting,Lady Diana,Lady of Lourdes,Saint Dai,Maindy Court andLady of Maindy (in reference to donor loco 4942 Maindy Hall),Prince Charles,John Betjeman &Phoenix.[14][13]
When running as a 4-4-2 Atlantic, the locomotive is expected to carry the namesAtlantic orChurchward.[13]
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On 18 November 2018, for a series of photo charters prior to completion,[8] 2999 appeared in aBritish Railways black unlined livery while bearing the name and number of scrapped classmates; 2908Lady of Quality, and earlier in the same day, 2983Redgauntlet. The funds from the photo charters were used to complete the locomotive. It subsequently appears in GWR Brunswick green as 2999Lady of Legend.[4]
After fifteen years of construction, 2999Lady of Legend was formally launched on 5 April 2019 in a special event for supporters of the Great Western Society's Saint Project at Didcot Railway Centre. The locomotive subsequently operates from its base at Didcot and appears as a guest at heritage railways across the UK.[15][16]
