QuestionS - The LMS10000 Design Sponsorship scheme
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Q - Is this necessary?
A - Yes. Heritage railways require certain standards to be met before they will permit locomotives to run on their rails. For most classes, the certification work was inherited from British Railways. Since this is a unique design, a D16/1 based on a class 58, it needs new paperwork.
Q - Couldn't this certification work have been done years ago?
A - Not really. We've spent a lot of time sourcing and securing the parts required for the locomotive. It wouldn't have made sense to spend money on detailed design and acceptance work before we knew that the necessary components were available, as changes to the parts could have meant having to repeat that work later.
Q - Why are you raising the money now? Can't it wait?
A - The design and approval process must be completed before we can build the loco. We all want to see the loco built!
Q - Who is involved in the work?
A - We have contracted TUV to work on risk analysis and Mott MacDonald to create CAD from which gauging analysis, structural performance modelling and other aspects needed to gain clearance of the design.
Q - How much will this cost?
A – We have allowed £679,000 (at today's 2026 prices) for the project, although we'd obviously like it to cost less! The final cost will depend on a number of factors, not least inflation, as well as the availability and cost of components and any unforeseen challenges along the way.
Q - How long will this take? When can I expect to see the loco run?
A - Our aspiration is to see LMS10000 running within ten years. We have a detailed plan that could see the locomotive completed in around five years if funding were not a constraint, but the actual timescale will depend on fundraising and the challenges of breaking new ground with a complex project of this kind.