Sold August 2011 Back to Archive

This has got to be one of the oldest B1s I've ever had in, certainly the oldest one that has still yet to be steamed. Originally built in 1967, the story goes that it was never run, eventually being left to the builder's brother. After many more years, the engine was again sold, this time to somebody keen to run it. At his boiler inspector's behest the boiler was dismounted from the frames, which involved a good deal of dismantling. Everything was carefully labelled and bagged up ready for reassembly, at which point it was discovered the original builder had, er, re-interpreted Mr Evans' boiler design in several ways, doing away with various unnecessary refinements like stays...

Not sure at which point in its history it collected the psychedelic paint job between the frames, but it's wholly out of keeping with the sombrely well-executed remainder of the locomotive. General standard of engineering is good, with well-made motion work and nicely detailing throughout. All it really needs is a boiler (we've got a new CE-marked on in stock suitable, listed on the boilers page) and a tender (again, a couple in stock, both listed under projects).

We've currently got a new CE-marked boiler in stock suitable for this engine.