The first Gresley class P2 No. 2001 Cock o' the North was completed in 1934 by the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) at its Doncaster works. It was the most powerful express passenger steam locomotive ever built for a British railway. Designed by Sir Nigel Gresley, the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the LNER who also designed the famous class A3 No. 4472 Flying Scotsman and world speed record holder class A4 No. 4468 Mallard, the class, which was eventually to number six, was constructed for use on the arduous Edinburgh to Aberdeen route. The P2's 2-8-2 'Mikado' wheel arrangement and 6ft 2in driving wheels enabled them to haul 600 ton trains on their own, replacing two older locomotives. However, the P2s never lived up to their potential. The advent of the streamlined trains in the late 1930s and then the second world war meant that the design was never fully developed and all six were rebuilt as class A2/2 4-6-2 'Pacifics' in 1943/44 by Sir Nigel Gresley's successor, Edward Thompson, following Gresley's premature death in 1941.

The P2SLC will build the 7th member of the Gresley P2 class steam locomotives, No. 2007, Prince of Wales. The project will demonstrate how the most powerful class of express passenger steam locomotives to operate in the UK can be fully realised. We will use modern computer design and modelling techniques to enable it to deliver its true potential hauling passenger trains at high speed across the national network.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Huw Parker is a serving Lieutenant Colonel with the Corps of Royal Engineers based in Bristol. He has previously owned his own steam locomotive and is a senior driver of steam and heritage diesel traction at the Llangollen Railway, where he has also served as a Director and Trustee. An active member of the Tornado Support Crew, he acts as the Responsible Officer on mainline tours and visits to preserved railways and also organises the other volunteers to support the engine. As an advisor to Trust he provides project management support to both the A1 and P2 project