BUILDING A NEW VICTORIAN EXPRESS STEAM LOCOMOTIVE
The GCR 567 Locomotive Group has been formed to construct a classic Victorian express steam locomotive using original designs and modern techniques. Once combined with the carriages of the Great Central Railway Rolling Stock Trust it will re-create a typical Edwardian train from the early years of the Great Central Railway’s London Extension.
These elegant 4-4-0s, designated Class 2, were the pride of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR). Indeed the GCR’s legendary first Chairman, Sir Edward Watkin, was so pleased with his Class 2, it was immortalised as the locomotive which features in the company crest. While we’ll incorporate some minor changes, the new 567 will be externally indistinguishable from its predecessors.
The project is well underway at its base at the Great Central Railway (Nottingham) (GCRN) site in Ruddington just south of Nottingham. The frames have been constructed and the project has benefited from major donor components including a cylinder block, GCR tender and coupling rods. It is estimated it could be complete in ten years at a cost of around half a million pounds.
It is a very exciting new build project that you can be part of.
We have learnt from the successful new build projects which have gone before and now we are ready to bring the class back to life for the benefit of future generations.
