The LNER Encyclopedia

The following image was recently posted on the A1 trust's facebook page, thought it might be worth sharing here



to sum up, the modifications include Gooch valve gear for the inside cylinder (which is moved back to drive the center axle), feedwater heater in the smokebox. gas-producing firebox with enlarged combustion chamber, welded boiler superstructure, lemprex exhaust and modified/equalised suspension.

It would have been an beast of a locomotive, and it would cirtainly have been interesting to see how it would compare to a normal A1, especially when experiments done by Mr. Porta with a Hunslet Austerity showed an increase in steaming capacity from less than 6000 lbs to 12,000 lbs https://www.martynbane.co.uk/modernstea ... terity.htm

There does seem to be a rise recently in Porta's proposal when he Tornado knew was getting seriously under way.

The best details I could ever find recently have been Martyn Bayne's OLD site. Still available along with much else on Porta, Nigel Day etc. Exactly:

www.martynbane.co.uk/modernsteam/ldp/60163.htm

However, under the aegis of the Advanced Steam Traction Trust a transcription of Porta's unpublished papers is due to be soon available.
Go to www. advanced-steam.org & then scroll down under "Books for Sale" to the second to last which will include his scheme with
concentrated drive from his papers.

I'm sure the A1 trust were well advised to do what they did, certainly Porta's concept would have had barely any grandfather rights.
But it is tantalising: there is some careful detailing and simply what Porta did do worked decidedly well - as what Nigel Day & Ian Gaylor design reliably does now.