LMS Patriot Class 5551 ''The Unknown Warrior''

No.5551 The Unknown Warrior is a steam locomotive which is under construction as a "new-build" project, based on the Llangollen Railway in Denbighshire, Wales. Unlike other new builds this engine will be a replica of the original engine which was withdrawn in June 1962 and scrapped in October of the same year, but unlike the original engine which never received a name during its career with the LMS & BR the replica will be named "The Unknown Warrior". All of the original un-rebuilt LMS Patriot Class locomotives were withdrawn by November 1962 and the whole class was withdrawn by December 1965 with none of the engines (un-rebuilt or rebuilt) surviving into preservation.

PAGE CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY

Original engine

The original 5551/45551 was built at Crewe Works in May 1934 and unlike many other members of her class which were given names, she alongside nine other class members wasn't named. Shed's that she was allocated to over the years included: Crewe North (5A), Carlisle Upperby (12B), Camden (1B), Willesden (1A) & Edge Hill (8A). Edge Hill being the last shed she was allocated to, being transferred there in June 1961 and remaining there for twelve months until withdrawal the following year in June 1962, she was later cut up for scrap in October of the same year.

Overview

The locomotive is being built by The LMS Patriot Project ^[1] at the Llangollen Railway. Following the success by the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust which built the LNER Peppercorn Class A1 60163 Tornado it was decided to construct another long lost class of engine, in this case the LMS Patriot Class. Like the A1 "The Unknown Warrior" is being built with differences as the plan is to run the completed engine on the mainline, so one main difference being the modifications to the tender so that more water and less coal can be carried. It is also planned to have an entirely British-built boiler constructed for the engine which is at present (2017) ongoing.

As of April 2017 the engineering update shows that the engine has had its wheels fitted and also the brake system, pistons, valves, motion plus boiler are all being worked on.^[2]

Name, number and liveries

The original 5551/45551 never carried a name during its career under LMS & BR ownership, a poll was set up to choose a name for the new engine with example's of nameplates being: Patriot, Hero, Remembrance, Wilfred Owen, British Legion & The Falklands. Following a final vote to decide on the engines vote the name which received the most votes and would be carried by the locomotive was "The Unknown Warrior" (the tomb in London which holds and unidentified soldier who was killed on the battlefront during the First World War).^[3]

The liveries that the original Patriots wore included: LMS Crimson Lake, LMS Black, BR Black & BR Green. At present during the locomotive's construction, the engine currently wears crimson lake on the left side of its cab and BR Green on the right, this being to give an idea to the public of what she would look like in either livery when completed and running. It was announced in November 2016 during the Patriot Group's annual meeting at Crewe Heritage Centre that the first livery that "The Unknown Warrior" would wear on completion would be LMS Crimson Lake, with the three remaining liveries applied at later dates.^[4]

Project milestones

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

• Aug 2008 (Aug 2008): Project Launched
• Mar 2009 (Mar 2009): Cutting of frames commences
• Sept 2010 (Sept 2010): First driving wheel cast
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• Nov 2016 (Nov 2016): Loco's first livery confirmed

Design

Although most parts that are being manufactured for "The Unknown Warrior" are brand new, a number of parts off fellow preserved engines will also be used. An example of parts that will be used in the construction of the Patriot include the leading front wheelset from an LMS 8F 2-8-0 no 48518, a set of LMS Fowler Tender's (both of which being from Woodham Brothers scrapyard at Barry Island) are also going to be used in the project. Examples of new parts that will be constructed for "The Unknown Warrior" alongside the frame include the driving wheels and the second fowler tender (the first having usable parts but not fit for re-use itself due to corrosion).

Frames

On 31 March 2009, two frame plates were cut at Corus Group plc Steel, Cradley Heath in the West Midlands. Measuring 39 ft in length 4 ft high and 1 1/8 in thick (28 mm), the frame plates were then taken to the Boro Foundry, at Lye, West Midlands, for machining and drilling, before being taken to the Llangollen Railway Works where assembly is in progress. The dragbox has been fitted to the frames, the front buffer beam fitted, the bogie bolster has been cast and has been fitted, all five of the five frame stretchers have been cast and are fitted to the frames.

Wheels

In September 2010, the first driving wheel was cast at the Boro Foundry, using the pattern made for LMS Jubilee Class 45699 Galatea. The two classes share the same size 6'9" driving wheels. The six new driving wheels have been cast by The Boro Foundry Stourbridge and machined and assembled by the South Devon Railway,^[5] who machined and fitted the plain axles, crank axle, tyres, and crank pins. The six driving axle boxes have been cast by Johnson Porter of Stourbridge, machined at FHT Southam Warwicks and final machined and fitted to the wheels at Tyseley Locomotive Works.

Cylinders

The three cylinders have now been cast and machined and were fitted to the frames during January 2015. This is the first use of polystyrene patterns (made by Premier Patterns of Smethwick), for locomotive cylinders which were cast at Coupe Foundry Preston and machined at Harco Engineering of Brierley Hill. The motion girders, motion brackets, cylinder covers and slidebar have now been fitted and sandboxes fabricated.

Bogie

All the components for the bogie have been manufactured and it is being assembled at Tyseley Locomotive Works with completion scheduled for November 2015. The remaining wheelset was assembled by the South Devon Railway in Buckfastleigh Devon. The locomotive has become a 4-6-0 now that the bogie is completed.

Tender

An ex LMS Fowler tender that remained at Woodham Brothers Barry Scrapyard and was later stored in the ex EWS wagon depot, has been secured for use with 'The Unknown Warrior'. The frames were in very poor condition and were cut up following the acquisition of the second tender (see below). The Project has now purchased a second tender from the East Lancs Railway, Bury. The frame plates are in good enough condition to be used along with four of its axle boxes, two of which have received major remedial work. The wheelsets and springs were removed from the Barry tender and have been refurbished. A new tank will be built as the original was badly corroded, having suffered the ravages of the sea air at Barry for a number of years. The new tank will also be redesigned to give greater water capacity to help with mainline running. Most of the work on the tender will now be carried out by Rowlescourt Engineering of Alfreton Derbyshire, where renovation of the frames should be completed by the end of November 2015. Work on assembling the tender tank will begin at Rowlescourt in January 2016.

Boiler

At The LMS Patriot Project's 2010 AGM on 14 November, it was announced that the boiler for 'The Unknown Warrior' will be built by LNWR Heritage at Crewe. The new boiler will be of traditional construction with a copper firebox. A fundraising campaign for the boiler for £1/2million has been launched. The smokebox and front tubeplate have been manufactured and were fitted to the locomotive in July 2013. The copper firebox is under construction at L&NWR Heritage at Crewe and is expected to be complete by the end of 2015, with construction of the boiler proper scheduled to begin in January 2016 with completion scheduled for the end of 2016.

Miscellaneous parts

Much of the engine's motion has been reclaimed from scrapped Jubilee class locomotives and will be refurbished over the next year. A new connecting rod has been forged and machined and other items are currently being sourced. There have been a number of parts offered to the project as well, such as 4 original LMS buffers from a scrapped crane at Ruddington (GCR N), original LMS lamps, a genuine whistle, the surviving chimney from 45539 E C Trench and many other smaller components.

Completion

The completion date is planned for 2018 with formal dedication planned for the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. The engine like 60163 Tornado and fellow Llangollen based new build locomotive 6880 Betton Grange is being built for mainline running.

References