LNER B17 Class 61673 Spirit of Sandringham
61673 Spirit of Sandringham is an LNER B17 class 4-6-0 steam locomotive which is being built in Llangollen on the Llangollen Railway by the B17 Steam Locomotive Trust. Similar to that of 60163 Tornado which was built as no original members of the LNER Peppercorn A1 class were preserved, no original B17's were preserved.
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 61673 'Spirit of Sandringham's mainframe at the Llangollen Railway complete, 24/02/2019. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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61673 is being built at the Llangollen Railway by the B17 Steam Locomotive Trust and the plan is once the engine is completed 61673 will operate on heritage railways as well as be certified for main line use out on the national network hauling railtours across the UK.
Background
The original B17's were built from 1928-1937 with the construction of the seventy three engines being split between :- North British Locomotive Company, Darlington Works & Robert Stephenson and Company.
By 1960, withdrawal of the class was well underway with only seventeen remaining in service at the start of the year, the final original B17 to be withdrawn was No.61668 "Bradford City",which was withdrawn in August 1960 and cut up not that long after withdrawal.
The longest working life of a B17 was 31 years by No.61608 "Gunton" & the shortest being 21 years for No.61667 Bradford".
It was announced in Steam Railway magazine issue 349, on 1st May 2008 that a group planned to built two B17's (one being a replica of 61662 "Manchester United" while the other would be numbered 61673 and given the name "Spirit of Sandringham".
No.61673's construction is now being undertook in Llangollen by the B17 Steam LocomotTruat,ject while the replica engine is now being built at a private site by the 61662 appeal.[1]
Name, number and liveries
A small number of B17's wore the LNER's famous Apple green livery as well as NE unlined and lined black, and for a brief period one even emerged in LNER Apple Green with British Railways lettering on the tender. However B17's were mainly seen in BR green with either the early emblem (pre 1956) or the later crest (post 1956). It's not yet known which livery the completed engine will wear first and it's expected that a decision will be reached near to when the engine is completed.
Project milestones
- Apr 2015: Frames rolled at Tata Steel.
- Apr 2015: Nameplates and Smokebox numberplate cast.
- Sept 2015: Completed frames delivered to Llangollen.
- Jun 2016: Drag box assembly begins.