A CLAN FOR ALL SEASONS

POSSIBLY not all readers will have heard of The ‘Clan’ Project, one of the many new-build steam projects currently being worked on.

We are building a new ‘Clan’ class locomotive to help complete the story of the British Railways Standard class locomotive designs, as sadly none of the original locomotives survived into preservation; the last one was withdrawn in 1966 after a working life of just under 14 years.

The ‘Clans’ were the smallest of the three classes of BR Pacific locomotives, being rated at a power classification of ‘6’, whereas the ‘Britannia’s’ were rated Class 7, with the sole representative of Class 8 being No. 71000 Duke of Gloucester.

Progress

Rated as a Class 6 locomotive means a ‘Clan’ has excellent route availability, giving it the ability to go almost anywhere on the British Rail system, a fact that will be exploited to is completed. It doesn’t have the major profile enjoyed by the A1/P2 consortium based at Darlington, or the ‘Patriot’, which should be completed in the coming months, but progress is steadily being made with the construction of , the 1,000th BR Standard class locomotive to be started.