All posts by GeneralSteamNavigation

The National Lottery Heritage Fund Bid Outcome

We announced at our Annual General Meeting in June 2024 that we met the deadline and submitted our highly detailed National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) Stage One application. The application was completed along with our strategic application partners; The Swindon and Cricklade Railway, and our planned home for main line running The Yeovil Railway Centre.

The board thanks all our members that assisted with the funding of the Stage One application.

Unfortunately, we have been advised that our stage one bid has been rejected on the basis that the proposed programme, planned within the constraints of the NLHF’s guidelines, would, in their opinion, take much longer and cost considerably more. This would place the long term sustainability of the project at risk. The bottom line was that the substantial cost of our project, together with its complexity and inherent high risk, did not represent value for the NLHF.

Whilst we can’t go forward with this application the NLHF has stated they would be happy to offer us advice with a smaller, less complex and lower risk project. We are therefore already in discussion with the NLHF regarding the viability of a 2nd application that, alongside the engineering work, would place an emphasis on community engagement, young people, skills development, apprenticeships and diversity. The NLHF recognised the quality and detail of our application and submitting a scaled down and less complex application should not incur much additional cost.

Whilst the outcome is of course disappointing, the vast amount of work and content that was completed and necessary for the bid is just as relevant and necessary for the project going forwards and puts us in a stronger position than we were prior to making the bid.

The board is currently reviewing the future structure, personnel and options for the project and initiating discussions with both existing and potential new strategic partners.

We aim to provide more details of the strategic plan for the future and progress on engineering in the next issue of the members magazine The Packet.  We will also confirm if our follow up conversations with the NLHF have been constructive and will result in us pursuing a 2nd application. Our initial EOI was rejected, and we were invited to make some changes and resubmit, which led to a pass at that stage.

Whilst the outcome is of course disappointing, we reiterate that the work, content and involvement of our strategic partners within the application is hugely beneficial to the project and the current board remain committed to the aim of recreating General Steam Navigation to her original as-built condition complete with air smooth casing and Bulleid’s unique patented chain driven valve gear.

if you are not already a member, for details on how to join and click here.

National Lottery Heritage Fund Stage one application submitted

Having had our Expression of interest accepted by the London and South Panel of the National Lottery Heritage Fund in June 2023, we announced at our Annual General Meetings on Saturday 29th June 2024 that we met the deadline and submitted our highly detailed Stage One application that comprised of an over 20,000 word application along with 93 separate supporting documents. This application has been completed along with our strategic application partners; our restoration home, The Swindon and Cricklade Railway, and our planned home for main line running The Yeovil Railway Centre.

We hope to learn if we have been successful with the application to move making a Stage Two – development application in late September 2024.

Further details on the application will be with the next issue of our members magazine The Packet, if you are not already a member, for details on how to join and click here.

GENERAL STEAM NAVIGATION NEW AILSA TROON LIMITED EDITION N GAUGE WAGONS

General Steam Navigation limited edition wagon range increases with new Ailsa Troon 20t mineral wagons in N Gauge marking the anniversary of the building of the Medway Queen Paddle Steamer.  Produced in cooperation with the Medway Queen Preservation Society.

In the 1930s the General Steam Navigation Company (GSN) worked closely with the New Medway Steam Packet Company and in 1936 acquired the New Medway Company outright. These new wagons are part of the cooperation between the General Steam Navigation Locomotive Restoration Society and the Medway Queen Preservation Society, based on Gillingham Pier.

The paddle steamer, Medway Queen, was built by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company of Troon and launched on St. George’s Day (23rd April) 1924, the two societies have commissioned a further joint batch of N Gauge 20T mineral wagons in an Ailsa Troon livery in either green or brown from Dapol to mark the anniversary.

Sales will directly help the restoration of locomotive 21c11 / 35011, General Steam Navigation, and of PS Medway Queen.

The N Gauge 20T wagon cost £14.30 each. 

The post and packing price is the same for buying a single wagon or both colour versions together.

These and all our Limited Edition wagons are  available from the General Steam Navigation website online store at https://35011gsn.co.uk/online-shop.html 

GENERAL STEAM NAVIGATION NEW AILSA TROON LIMITED EDITION WAGONS

General Steam Navigation limited edition wagon range increases with new Ailsa Troon open wagons in 00 Gauge marking the anniversary of the building of the Medway Queen Paddle Steamer.  Produced in cooperation with the Medway Queen Preservation Society.

In the 1930s the General Steam Navigation Company (GSN) worked closely with the New Medway Steam Packet Company and in 1936 acquired the New Medway Company outright. These new wagons are part of the cooperation between the General Steam Navigation Locomotive Restoration Society and the Medway Queen Preservation Society, based on Gillingham Pier.

The paddle steamer, Medway Queen, was built by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company of Troon and launched on St. George’s Day (23rd April) 1924, the two societies have commissioned a further joint batch of 00 7 Plank Open Wagons in an Ailsa Troon livery in either green or brown with coal load from Dapol to mark the anniversary.

Sales will directly help the restoration of locomotive 21c11 / 35011, General Steam Navigation, and of PS Medway Queen.

The 00 Gauge 7 plank open wagon complete with coal load cost £12.90 each. 

The post and packing price is the same for buying a single wagon or both colour versions together.

These and all our Limited Edition wagons are  available from the General Steam Navigation website online store at https://35011gsn.co.uk/online-shop.html 

Happy 2024 – Winter Engineering Report

Firstly, we wish all our members and supporters a very happy 2024,  it promises to be a very busy and important one for 35011 General Steam Navigation, as we prepare, finalise and submit our National Lottery Heritage Fund application, we are working extremely hard behind the scenes with  strategic application partners to meet the rapidly deadline of June 2024!

Winter Engineering Report 

Our Engineering update that follows is a extract from the main Engineering report that is published in our Members magazine The Packet, if you are not already a member, if not why not? To further support the project and receive your own copy of The Packet, Why make it a new years resolution to join us by clicking here, it’s simple and can be one resolution you keep! 

Boiler & Firebox

This has now been cleaned and inspected, The news is not all bad, but as we intend to run on the main line we have to juggle repairing verses replace.  The front tube plate will need replacing, and some, if not all, of the rear tube plate will need replacing. Crucially, the boiler barrel itself is fine, though it may require some small bits of work. The firebox will need a replacement bottom edge  as the metal is too thin,  all the repair welds will need checking as they are indicative of cracking. So we probably look to replace the box entirely.

Frames

As part of the process of preparing the frames for unrebuilding, we are slowly removing, cleaning up and replacing the “nuts and bolts”
retaining the cylinders to the chassis where possible.
It is a slow process, many of the bolts have not been moved since 1959, but it will save money and time later when we are ready to install the new middle cylinder.
Similarly, our volunteers have been cleaning up the frame stretchers, so we can better assess their condition and suitability for
retention or replacement.

Leading bogie

Preparing the leading bogies ahead of its full restoration

Our volunteers have been prepping the leading bogie for restoration and preparation for mainline running. The general condition of the
bogie is good, we are working on releasing the side control unit,
and the rest of the bogie is ready for restoration. As discussions and thoughts around installing European Train Control System (ETCS) coalesce (more information in The Packet) we may need to add some bracketry to the bogie to mount the forward Balise Transmission Module.

Behind the scenes
As well as just the visible physical engineering our Engineering sub committee have of course also been very heavily involved  in producing the over 17 work packages, to date that  detail the specifications and costs to support our National Lottery Heritage Fund application

Engineering Strategy
Also included in the latest issue of our members magazine The Packet is our full Engineering  Strategy,  join us by clicking here, to receive your full copy of The Packet

If you are also interested in getting involved more directly with the Engineering side of the project in any way, especially if you have any experience with Bulleid pacifics (but not essential) Contact Us here.

General Steam Navigation welcomes visit by Justin Tomlinson, MP for North Swindon

General Steam Navigation CIC (GSNCIC) welcomed Justin Tomlinson, MP for North Swindon, who visited Blunsdon at the Swindon & Cricklade Railway to view 35011 General Steam Navigation and discuss the current application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The application is focussed around the reconstruction and restoration of the Merchant Navy Pacific to original Bulleid condition, making it unique in preservation. Whilst the work on 35011 meets the “Saving Heritage” element of the bid, the other key Heritage Fund investment principles will be partially addressed with a new building at Blunsdon (which will be a Swindon & Cricklade Railway asset) to encompass engineering facilities together with training and education spaces.

L to R – Jon Netting (Treasurer – General Steam Navigation), Cllr Matt Vallender, David Tucker (Heritage Consultant), Justin Tomlinson MP, Robert Battersby (Architect), Nigel Willoughby (Trustee S&C Rly), Cllr Mark Clarke, Cllr Jason Mills, Gerry Leyman (Chair – General Steam Navigation CIC), Mike Abbott (Chair – S&C Rly).

Justin was accompanied by 3 local councillors, Mark Clarke (Cricklade Town), Matt Vallender and Jason Mills (Swindon Borough).

Following the visit Justin said “We will all be working together as they prepare their National Heritage Lottery fund bid. The Swindon & Cricklade Railway is a much loved and popular local service, so I have no doubt there will be strong local community support for this bid.

I have fed in a number of suggestions on how to strengthen the bid including working with a wide a range of local community groups, including all the local schools, Parish Council’s and the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

As someone from a family of steam enthusiasts, I am very excited to be supporting this fantastic bid”.

General Steam Navigation announces new patron – Dr Alice Bunn OBE FIMechE FRAeS CEng

General Steam Navigation Locomotive CIC (GSNCIC) announce that Dr Alice Bunn has agreed to become patron of the project to restore the Bulleid Merchant Navy pacific locomotive 35011 to her original condition.

Dr Alice Bunn on site at Blunsdon with Jon Netting (Treasurer) and Gerry Leyman (Chairman) of the General Steam Navigation CIC.

Dr. Alice Bunn OBE (FIMechE FRAeS CEng) is the Chief Executive of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE). She has previously served as the International Director at the UK Space Agency. Alice is responsible for increasing the UK’s global influence in science, security, and trade through space. She has a background in metallurgy and has worked in various organisations such as the Science Museum, London, and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Alice has also played a significant role in international collaborations and agreements related to space missions and satellite imagery.

Alice sits on the Board of EngineeringUK; is Chair of the Professional Engineering Committee; is President of the UKSpace trade association; acts as advisor to Orbitfab; and sits on the World Economic Forum Future Council on space technology. She is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, has a PhD in Metallurgy from Darwin College, University of Cambridge and received an OBE in the 2022 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to the UK space sector and to charity.

Alice joins the General Steam Navigation project at a pivotal time, lending credibility and support to the GSNCIC’s Heritage Fund Lottery application and will help raise the profile of the project to put the steam back into General Steam Navigation at a national level.

As Chief Executive of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Alice has a direct connection with O V S Bulleid, who was President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1946.

On becoming patron Alice said, ‘Whilst engineering technology is more important than ever for our future, we can always learn lessons from the past which is why I am delighted to take up the role of patron for this project’.

Dr Alice Bunn is presented with a print of General Steam Navigation in original condition by Jon Netting

Alice visited Blunsdon to look over General Steam Navigation in early October where she met members of the General Steam Navigation directors / Society Trustees and the Swindon and Cricklade Railway where the locomotive is based. Alice learned more about the ongoing work to restore and reconstruct General Steam Navigation to its pre rebuilt air smoothed condition, making it unique in preservation. Alice was made an honorary member of the Restoration Society and presented with a print of General Steam Navigation in original as built condition.

SUMMER 2023 ENGINEERING UPDATE

Summer Engineering Update

Welcome to this Summer 2023 engineering update from the General Steam Navigation project.  Progress has been made on various engineering fronts on the project over the past few months and with some of our background efforts about to bear fruit we’ll have some brilliant work to share over the coming months.

Boiler
Since the last packet, there has been no further progress on the boiler, but we are working on scheduling the boiler washout. This was originally planned for February, but was postponed due to a combination of personal circumstances.
Mother nature had a go at helping with the washout recently, but photos from inside the boiler show everything remains dry. The Boiler washout actually took place at the beginning of August with the grateful assistance of our friends within the Swindon  & Cricklade Railway  Steam loco department.  Details of the Boiler Inspectors preliminary inspection report will be in the next issue of our Members Magazine The Packet,  if you not already a member join here today to get the latest news first. 

Trailing Truck
Progress on the trailing truck has been slim since provided in the last Members Magazine The Packet, as the NNRE have had other tasks taking higher priority. Following the previous issue of The Packet, we have had some helpful insight into the weldability of gunmetal (and leaded gunmetal) which is proving very useful.

Crank Axle
Physical progress with the crank axle continues to be impacted by geopolitical events causing volatility in the price of steel, after discussions with our friends in the B17 Steam Locomotive Trust project & A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, with whom we were planning to place a group order for A4T forgings for the stub axles, we are pausing the ordering process until we have greater certainty over the price. Whilst it is disappointing to not be placing an order for these crucial parts of our locomotive, it feels more prudent to wait, saving us money in the long run. During this self-imposed delay, we continue to use the time to produce the engineering justification for manufacture of the stub axles in A4T & the sweep webs in 817m40, so that when we are happy with prices, we can proceed.
We are also continuing with the initial design of the new chain-driver sprocket to fit the balanced crank axle design. The design fitted to the original unbalanced crank won’t fit the balanced crank design, as the stub axles are wider & the mounting points were changed. There was a design for the sprocket for the balanced crank axle, but it is not in any drawing collection that we are aware of, and is assumed lost. The design we are working on will be based upon the original sprocket along with the mounting design for the eccentric fitted on rebuilding to drive the inner motion, as we know the mounting points were broadly the same.

Leading bogie
Work has started on taking off the removable parts of the bogie, to reduce the work that would be done when it is sent away. The key component is the side control unit.
Our leading bogie was attached to the frames via a pin and bush arrangement, similar to the trailing truck. On both of these, the pin is firmly attached to the frame of the locomotive, but the bush can slide laterally within the side control unit. Either side of the bush is a spring in compression. As the locomotive enters a curve, the frames will want to continue in a straight line, whilst the bogie will follow the curve. This will compress the spring on the outside of the curve, and extend that on the inside of the curve, helping to steer the front of the locomotive through the curve. We have started taking the side control unit apart, so it can begin to be cleaned & restored.

Frames
The main activity at recent working weekends, beyond the leading bogie, has been on the frames. As we will eventually need to remove all three cylinders from the frames as part of the process of replacing the middle one, we are starting to remove, clean and replace/refix all the nuts & bolts that hold the cylinders to the frames.
This will mean that when we are ready to remove the cylinders, we should be able to detach them quickly. It will take some time to do this, but will save time in the long run. The middle cylinder is being replaced, with a new one to be manufactured to the original design, with outside admission. Removing the outer ones will make removing the middle one easier, and will give us the opportunity to

This an extract of the full report that appears in the Members Magazine The Packet, if you not already a member join here today to get the latest fullest news first. 

General Steam Navigation limited edition wagon range increases

General Steam Navigation limited edition wagon range increases with new livery open wagons wagon in 00 Gauge and 20t mineral wagons in N Gauge. Produced in cooperation with the Medway Queen Preservation Society.

Continuing the cooperation between the General Steam Navigation Locomotive Restoration Society and the Medway Queen Preservation Society (a GSN shipping Co ship) following the success of their previous wagons in both 00 and N gauges further new limited edition 00 gauge 7 plank open wagon and new 20t steel sided mineral wagons  have been produced to raise fund for both societies.
Both wagons are produced by Dapol with the lettering General Steam Navigation, Blunsdon & Gillingham Pier (the locations of the two Societies) and Number 23.  The wagons in both scales are  available in either red or grey.

The 00 Gauge 7 plank open wagon complete with coal load cost £12.90 each. The N Gauge 20t Steel sided mineral wagons had two side doors per side and an end door which facilitated easy unloading and came into service in the 1920’s and were used well into the 1970’s.  These new N Gauge 20t  wagons cost £14.30 each.

A small number of the previous limited edition 00 Gauge 14T rectangular tank Wagons, in either grey or bauxite for £17.50ea, and also N Gauge 7 plank open in black are also still available for £12.40 each, whilst stocks last.

All our Limited Edition wagons are  available from the General Steam Navigation website online store at https://35011gsn.co.uk/online-shop.html