Oct 12th Meeting Notes The Clan Project
For our 1st session in the new season Ian Henderson gave a presentation about Hengist Clan no 72010 to a surprisingly small but select audience.
Ian outlined his background as a pilot at BAE followed by an engineering career before moving onto the background to the Clan project.
The original 10 were built in 1951/2 and withdrawn between 1962/66.They were given an undeservedly bad press by many people but as only 10 were built and they were all based in either Carlisle or Glasgow many people did not get the opportunity to fire them properly as they could not get the proper training. They often ran on poor coal and a major problem was that although designated a class 6 they were expected to do class 7 duties, so there is a case for a new Clan
Ian outlined why it is better to start from scratch rather than repair an existing structure as one can then incorporate all the improvements necessary in addition to being less expensive
In addition, most current preserved stock is aging fast requiring expensive repairs Ian gave a very strong case for a rebuild of a Clan.
After a very interesting introduction Ian covered in some detail how the new build was being undertaken, with a dedicated company being set up, Standard Steam Locomotive Co Ltd in 1996 to build 72010.
Continuing his presentation, he showed many detailed illustrations and pictures of work in progress showing the sheer hard work going into this project. He also outlined the many improvements which will be incorporated in the new build. Technical details such as air braking, cab improvements, new electrical systems (AWS, TPWS,OTMR,GSM-R,ETCS)along with modern draughting systems will, provide a modern low maintenance locomotive with go anywhere availability.
You would assume that a technical engineering presentation would be dull and uninteresting but Ian completely confounded these notions with a superb skilful session.