Sold January 2017 Back to Archive

5 inch gauge "Britannia" 4-6-2, running chassis with boiler & tender - stock code 7170

A well-advanced 5 inch gauge "Britannia", comprising a chassis completed up to weighshaft level, copper superheated combustion chamber boiler and a part-finished tender.

The chassis is well made, fit and finish is good throughout, it runs on air well, notching up in both directions (there's a clip of it running here). It's complete up to the weighshaft, will require reach rod and reverser stand. Cast iron cylinders have piston valves, drain cocks are fitted complete with linkage to the footplate.

Boiler is a bit of a curate's egg - on hydraulic test at 200psi it shows no signs off leaking from combustion chamber, firebox or smokebox and appears structurally sound with no evidence of deflection or distortion in any of the component parts. Barrel is rolled with a butt strap underneath. Outer wrapper is untidy, with slight weeping from some stays - some of these have been mechanically calked, Comsol would be a more permanent solution. Interestingly the engine has been test steamed - to our surprise there was a fire on the grate when it arrived - I suspect somebody couldn't wait to see how it went. There's a pair of new, commercial safety valves which, removed for running on air, managed to miss being photographed - they've now been refitted.

Tender is a chassis, with some surface rust, along with a part-completed brass tank.

In storage for some time since the demise of the builder, although grubby with some surface rust, overall condition of the motion, which had been liberally greased up, is good. Complete with a purpose built rolling road, mounted on a baseboard.

gauge 5 inch