Had this idea actually been raised before? Although most of the replicas focus on small engines, the British have succeeded in building an A1 Tornado from scratch, and that is a pretty big locomotive. So how about a T1? Do original factory blueprints still exist? Well, at least it could be finally settled if it was faster than Mallard if it managed to be rebuilt.
Colonel--
Yes, it has been discussed, in a string I have just bounced up to the top of the forum index.
(((MODERATOR: Is it possible to consolidate these two strings?)))
I participated in the previous discussion, so the following may be a repetition of what I've already said, but...
(1) Like you, I'd love to see this done! And the British A-1 project ought to be an inspiration to American rail enthusiasts: if the citizens of a country with a quarter as many people as the U.S. can make a project like this happen, why can't we?
(2) Money is the big problem: you fund it, and it will happen. I don't have an estimate to offer, but this is surely a multi-million dollar task.
(3) A couple of other problems:
(i) Modern American steam locomotives had cast frames: single-piece steel castings that included the main structural frame of the engine, typically the cylinders, sometimes the air reservoirs... I think duplicating this in today's industrial environment might be harder than anything needed for a British-design steam locomotive.
(ii) It's no fun if we can't operate it, and most major railroads are at least CAUTIOUS about letting big steam loose on their lines. My guess is that a T-1's long rigid wheelbase would tend to make it less compatible with modern railroad infrastructure than, say, a New York Central J.
((((4) Just for the record... I'm a fan of GE diesel locomotives. How about trying to build a replica, not of some teakettle, but, say, of a Bush Terminal 60-ton, Ingersoll-Rand engined, switcher? Or of one of the high-nosed U25B prototypes?))) (Grin!)
Apologies if I sound negative. I think it's a neat idea... though not one Ihave much hope of seeing realized.