BR Standard Class 8 - Preservation

Preservation

After withdrawal, the "Duke" was initially selected for the National Collection, though it was later decided that only the cylinder arrangement was of interest. One of the outside cylinders was removed for display at the Science Museum; the other was removed to restore balance in readiness for scrapping. The locomotive was purchased by Dai Woodham, though it was initially sent to the wrong scrapyard. After retrieval, the "Duke" languished for many years in Woodham Brothers scrapyard at Barry Island, South Wales, before enthusiasts purchased the locomotive in 1974, forming the Duke of Gloucester Steam Locomotive Trust. Restoration began in earnest, though with many components missing, the most expensive of which being the Caprotti valve gear, it took 13 years of effort on the part of enthusiasts, with assistance in the guise of sponsorships from industry, to return the locomotive to near as-built condition. One of the very few compromises made was replacing the previous steel cylinders with spheroidal graphite iron.

Two significant construction errors were discovered during restoration:

• The chimney was too small compared with other locomotives of similar size, resulting in poor boiler draughting at times of high steam demand.

• The firebed (grate) air inlet dampers had not been built to the drawings; they were too small, resulting in poor air supply and inefficient combustion.

These errors were corrected and the opportunity taken to incorporate some other improvements, including the previously recommended Kylchap exhaust system, which has finally unlocked the locomotive's true potential as a powerful express passenger locomotive. When the "Duke" was first allowed to haul a full load on the main line, it became immediately obvious that the boiler was now producing steam at a more efficient rate and that the reborn "Duke" was unrecognisable from the failure that was experienced under British Railways ownership With these modifications, the "Duke" is now one of the most powerful steam locomotive ever to run on Britain's railways, past or present (the LMS Coronation Class Pacifics held that title under British Railways auspices). The "Duke" never actually achieved the 3000 cylinder horse power figure that was recorded by the Princess Coronation Class); ironically, it is now more powerful than the English Electric Type 4 diesel locomotives which replaced it in service. The locomotive can now be regularly seen hauling enthusiasts' special trains around the country.

In preservation, the "Duke" had held an impeccable operational record for reliability; however on 9 June 2007, the engine operated a railtour from Preston to Carlisle returning via Settle, where, for operational reasons, the locomotive's start position was changed to Carnforth. Little over 30 miles (48 km) into the journey, the locomotive was stopped at Penrith with leaking tubes in the firebox and removed from the train. The engine was then withdrawn for overhaul before a return to service in January 2008. As the locomotive now bears little mechanical resemblance to that which operated under British Railways, it has also been used as a test bed, incorporating several other modifications and innovations. These are intended to investigate how much further the locomotive's performance can be enhanced, therefore raising speculation surrounding the capabilities of an entire batch of Standard class 8 "Pacifics" had history been different.