A CAMPAIGN to raise money to build Britain’s most powerful locomotive has reached an important milestone, just over a year after it began.

Pledges for the construction of No. 2007 Prince of Wales reached £1.5m recently, ensuring that the project is well on course to hit its £5m target by 2021.

The engine will be assembled at Darlington Locomotive Works on behalf of The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust. The campaign has used a variety of incentives, including a “founders club”, to encourage donations.

Under the scheme, members of the founders club would receive exclusive gifts, such as a reserved seat on the locomotive’s first main line train, for a donation of £1000.

Over 600 people have also signed up to contribute regular donations to the project, with donations from this group now surpassing £100,000.

The inspiration for Prince of Wales came from the designs for Sir Nigel Gresley’s powerful P2 2-8-2 ‘Mikado’ passenger locomotives that were intended to haul 600-ton trains from Edinburgh to Aberdeen.

While Gresley’s design was never fully developed in the 20th Century, The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust is hoping to change this with the help of modern computer design and modelling techniques.

Prince of Wales will be the second steam engine to be built at Darlington, following on from a similar campaign by The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, which saw the construction of Tornado six years ago.

Most recent work on the project has involved modifying the height of the design to ensure the locomotive is able to travel on as many Network Rail routes as possible.

Further work is also being sourced to the local area, with some parts being constructed by companies in and around Darlington.

Mark Allatt, chairman of The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, said: “Reaching £1.5m marks a significant milestone in the project to build Britain’s most powerful steam locomotive.

“The next few months will see further major announcements as the construction of the locomotive gathers pace.

“We are now appealing to those who want to be a part of this exciting project to become covenantors, sponsors and volunteers to help us maintain this momentum.”

For more information about Prince of Wales, visit p2steam.com