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3 inch scale Fowler DCC Showmans Road Locomotive - stock code 9665

A 3 inch scale Fowler DCC Showmans Road Locomotive, a large engine in this (or indeed any) scale, weighing in at around a quarter of a ton.

This one has come to us from a man whose main passion is vintage tractors; the Showmans was his first foray into steam - it's recently come in to us as he raises funds for another tractor.

Whilst a design we regularly see in 2 inch scale and occasionally 4 inch, 3 inch scale Showmans engines are rare - we've only had a couple in the last twenty years.

The commercially built CE-marked boiler by Bell Boilers has had a recent hydraulic test with certification issued for same. In steam the engine runs well - notching up in either direction - with some wear apparent in the motionwork.

Listed as a running restoration, it needs a variety of jobs doing, including:

  • Overhaul leaking regulator
  • Attention to various leaking boiler fittings
  • Take up wear in main bearings
  • Remove, adjust and refit smokebox door
  • Fit new eccentric strap to mechanical pump
  • Shim crankshaft to maintain clearance between flywheel and nearside rear wheel
None particularly difficult, all requiring time in the workshop rather than much by way of further expenditure.

A second injector has been fitted - somewhat of a "lash up" - apparently in an attempt to provide a second water feed in the absence of a working pump. The installation is ugly, the injector itself doesn't work in any meaningful way - we'd throw it away and revert to the prototypical single injector and pump.

Paintwork is bright and presentable, with some wear - it wouldn't shame you on the rally field, although the engine's underlying build quality would amply repay repainting and lining at some time in the future.

Complete with a two wheeled driving trolley with water tank; the engine is road-registered, with V5 document.

scale 3 inch
length/inches 64
width/inches 23
height/inches 36
weight/kg est 250
bore x stroke/inches 2 1/16 + 3 x 3
wheel material steel
axlebox type plain bearing
cylinder material cast iron
valve type slide
valve gear Stephensons
reverser type pole
governor type Pickering
lubricator type mechanical
V5/registration number H353 JAF
injector(s) 2
boiler number BB36
year built 2003
boiler maker Bell Boilers
CE mark yes
working pressure/psi 200
boiler type locomotive
boiler material steel
boiler construction welded, expanded tubes
hydraulic test valid to 27-May-2023
fusible plug yes
safety valve(s) 2
safety valve type Ramsbottom
mechanical pump 1
whistle yes
road speed(s) 3
differential yes