Sold August 2012 Back to Archive

Given the pre-eminence of Keith Wilson's "King John" design in 5 inch gauge, it's rare we get to see a Castle (and rarer still to meet somebody capable of telling them apart at fifteen feet without a quick look at the books).

This engine was started many years ago, the chassis was completed to an air-running state before the complete project changed hands. The second owner built the silver-soldered copper boiler with stainless steel radiant superheaters - on completion, his club tested to twice working pressure and issued a certificate to that effect. For the last few years it has sat under a bench in the garage.

There is a considerable amount of work done to date to a functional rather than show-winning standard. The chassis, although immensely grubby, rolls along freely and runs on air, there is some platework and a tender largely completed. There is plenty of work left to do, but with the prospect of producing a large (it's already a two-man lift) and rarely-modelled prototype.

Complete with a large bundle of well-thumbed drawings.