Sold February 2026 Back to Archive

Built by Fowlers in 1931 as a Showman’s engine for Frank McConvile of West Hartlepool, King Carnival II was later converted for road haulage by Pickfords, subsequently passing to John Thompson Ltd of Wolverhampton, who used it to deliver the large industrial boilers they manufactured - it is in this form that the engine has been modelled.

The engine was rebuilt in 1968 by Mr J Conner when it was converted back to Showman’s specification, in which form it remains in preservation, along with two other original Super Lions — The Lion and Supreme — as well as the magnificent replica of Onward, the only one of the four original engines lost to preservation.

Built over a period of sixteen years and representing some 5,200 hours of work, the model was constructed to works drawings. Workmanship is to an excellent standard throughout: fit and finish of machined parts is impeccable, the finely executed paintwork remains in excellent condition, with only a minor blemish on the offside rear wheel.

The engine had been stripped for painting prior to final assembly when the builder finally lost his fight with cancer. The project was taken over by friends, including an acclaimed model engineer and builder of several fine Burrell road locomotives, who completed the engine in time for the Model Engineering Exhibition in 2004, where it was awarded a Silver Medal.

Highly detailed, it is one of those engines where the longer you sit and look, the more you see. The builder spared no effort in his pursuit of authenticity, including the manufacture of many parts unseen in the finished engine. Work included:

• 14½-degree pressure angle gears, as per prototype
• fully working Fowler patent spring suspension, with Tuer’s patent transmission coupling allowing a wide range of movement
• three-speed transmission with differential lock, lever-operated from the footplate
• steam-jacketed cylinder with double-angle valve faces
• Acme thread brake screw
• flywheel turned from a 3 1/2 inch thick steel billet, exhibiting no discernible run-out when turning
• wood-lined second-shaft gears to reduce ringing
• prototypically correct four-piece main bearings, with screw adjustment to take up wear

All parts for the boiler were made by the builder before being sent to Stuart Models, who brazed them together, carried out the initial twice-working-pressure hydraulic test, and issued certification.

Apart from the pressure gauge, injector, and canopy sign-writing, all other components were the work of the builder — a man with equal facility in metal and woodwork.

After completion, the engine was purchased by a consultant surgeon with a lifelong interest in steam and classic cars, himself a highly accomplished model engineer and the owner of a full-size Fowler road engine. Kept for display in the house, King Carnival II was never steamed during his ownership, although it inspired him to build a larger 4½-inch scale version of the same engine.

A magnificent engine of imposing proportions, it measures approximately five feet in length and weighs over a third of a ton. In deference to the engine’s exhibition finish and unsteamed condition, we have done no more than run it on air when, as expected, it performed beautifully, near-silent in operation.

Complete with a folder containing the builder's notes and sketches, photographs of the engine in build and history of the full-size engine, as well as the handsomely framed certificate and Silver Medal it was awarded.