HISTORIC 1912
L.M.S. NO.1 DYNAMOMETER CAR 45050 TO BE CONSERVED, RESTORED AND INTERPRETED THANKS TO A HERITAGE LOTTERY FUND GRANT
The Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust is absolutely delighted to be able to announce that our application for HLF Funding to conserve and restore the L.M.S. No. 1 Dynamometer Car 45050 to its 1938 condition has been successful.
At a meeting of the East Midlands Committee of the HLF, held on 4th March last chaired by Tony Hams, OBE, a Heritage Grant of £154,000 was secured towards a total project cost of £178,400. As part of the requisite Partnership Funding for the project, the Trust has already provisionally secured a grant in support of the special conservation costs of the vehicle and also a further grant from the Regional Museum Fund, administered by Renaissance East Midlands, for two internal video cameras to enable virtual access to the vehicle. The Trust itself is committed to contributing volunteer labour in support of the interpretational and educational aspects of the project and cash from existing funds as part of the overall project costs.
45050 in 1938. It is to this condition that the vehicle will be restored.
This unique and historically important vehicle, designed by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway’s Chief Mechanical Engineer George Hughes and built by the company in 1912, marked a highly significant scientific advance in its first use of a mechanical integrator to combine speed with drawbar pull/push to give units of work done. Early work on such cars began in 1818 with George Stephenson’s swinging pendulum wagon, continued with Charles Babbage’s first primitive dynamometer car of 1838-9, and those of D. Gooch (1846-7), F.W. Webb (1894), J.A.F. Aspinall (1896), G.J.Churchward (1901) and W. Worsdell’s N.E.R. copy of 1906. Amongst this distinguished company, the Hughes car stands out as the one directly linked to Babbage’s early work on mechanical computing. Ownership of the vehicle passed to the London, Midland & Scottish Railway Company at grouping, and enabled high standards of accuracy to be achieved in the 1930s during the high-speed testing of locomotives such as Sir William Stanier’s 4-6-2- express passenger engines, of which one of each type is in the Trust’s collection.
6200 'Princess Royal' on the first 'Special Limit' test run from Euston to Crewe
15th August 1933 with 45050 L&Y Dynamometer Car attached between the tender and train.
When completed 45050 will be on static display in the Trust’s ‘West Shed Experience’ museum complete with four full-sized mannequin figures, one animatronically activated (like the existing figure of Sir William Stanier in the museums gallery dedicated to him), whilst two active video cameras mounted in the roof, controlled from a ground level booth and with both zoom and rotational facilities, will enable all visitor’s to obtain live ‘virtual access’ to the interior as they listen to a background soundscape mimicking testing actually in progress. It is also intended to arrange for the images so created to be accessible via the trust’s worldwide website www.prclt.co.uk . A new film about the car’s fascinating history, including historic still photographs and film footage, will be further amplified by new footage to be shot during a special run on the adjacent Midland Railway – Butterley tracks with surviving members of the former Testing & Performance Section’s staff at Derby on board to simulate a test actually in progress.
Educational use of the vehicle
Once the vehicle is restored it will become an additional and attractive new exhibit in the Trust’s ‘West Shed Experience’ museum. The Trust will actively promote its use as an important educational tool for both general visitors and special groups, including:
Schools
One of our aims is for the restored dynamometer car to be utilized by schools as a valuable educational tool, due to its scientific and engineering links. The dynamometer car and its related subject areas has direct links to the National Curriculum and will play an important role in the development of teaching resources and activities for visiting school groups.
Special Interest Groups – e.g. railway societies, specialist engineering groups
The scientific and technological importance of this vehicle is also widely recognized, as is evidenced by the number of letters of support for the project received from many outside bodies. In addition to forming part of the general ‘West Shed Experience’, the restored dynamometer car will be of particular interest to members of groups with either a personal or professional interest in this vehicle and its history, including railway enthusiasts and todays railway testing engineers.
As well as visitors being able to have special guided tours inside the vehicle, we will also be able to offer special events and activities such as lectures, displays and temporary exhibitions. Some of these activities will be linked to the annual National Science & Engineering Week.
45050 stands outside West Shed 26th July, 2006 pictured in her condition prior to restoration.
We are extremely grateful for the award by the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore
this wonderful historic vehicle to its former glory. As you will see above, the Trust
has £24,400 to find for its contribution to the project.
This is to come from many volunteer hours and donations from interested parties.
We would be most grateful for any donations to help us complete
the restoration thereby enabling the survival
of this important vehicle.
If you would like to help, please send a cheque payable to:
'45000 Restoration Appeal'
with '45050 Appeal' written on the back to:
'45050 Appeal'
The Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust
POBox6233
TheWestShed
Ripley
Derbyshire
DE54AD
If you are a UK taxpayer please GIFT AID your donation
and make it worth more to the Trust at no extra cost to you!
Please email us and a Gift Aid form can be sent back to you.
Any enquiries about the project please call:
Kate Smith, Curator, on 01773 743986
Or email: westshed6233@btconnect.com
PLEASE CONTINUE READING FOR MORE DETAILS
ABOUT THIS EXCITING PROJECT
Working Life - Restoration - Preservation
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