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7 1/4 inch gauge "Tinkerbell" 0-4-2T - stock code 6943

One of those engines where looks belie its performance - paintwork is tired and it could use some tidying up around the details, but it's in good mechanical order and runs particularly well.

A Tinkerbell built to Roger Marsh's original specification with marine boiler, 0-4-2T wheel arrangement and his modified Heywood valve gear. The driving position is good, with plenty of room for arms and legs, cab is functional. Welded steel boiler with expanded tubes, 100psi working pressure, feed by twin injectors with a slightly incongruous looking hand pump on the footplate - I imagine your arm would be a blur feeding a boiler this size with a hand pump, fortunately the injectors are fully up to the job. Safety valves are some of our own which we supplied last year when the originals failed the accumulation test - originally designed for Stafford, we've supplied them for all sorts of engines over the last couple of years.

Cast iron cylinders with slide valves actuated by Heywood gear, twin ram mechanical lubricator fitted on front running board. A nicely made thing, it has a strainer in the top and sight glass in the tank.

Backhead is well laid out, everything falls easily to hand. The engine is fitted with vacuum brake ejector, gauge and driver's brake valve, there are pressure gauges for boiler and valve chest, the latter quite interesting to watch as the engine is running.

The engine runs well and steams freely - the valve gear notches up nicely, making for economical use of steam, there's a clip of it running outside the workshop here. Entirely usable as-is this season, it would be well worth repainting over next winter, it could be turned into a smart example of this popular minimum gauge locomotives.

Length 86 inches
Width 26 inches
Height 52 inches

gauge 7 1/4 inch
injector(s) 2
boiler number 1997/6
CE mark n/a - pre-2002
working pressure/psi 100
boiler type marine
boiler material steel
boiler construction welded, expanded tubes
safety valve(s) 2
safety valve type pop
hand pump 1