Sold February 2026 Back to Archive

A man whose work we esteem highly, the sheer quantity of models he produced over a sixty year period was remarkable, made the more so by their quality, exceptional performance and technical interest. There is a writeup of the man here.

Various modifications have been made to the design to suit the owner's preferences. These include:

• stainless steel superheaters
• Stroudley pattern regulator, which can be removed using the special tools included
• axle pump fitted, with O-ring seal (replaced in 2025)
• 40oz Chiverton injector
• steam pump
• double-acting hand pump in the tender, its handle also operating the blowdown valve under the footplate
• balanced slide valves, giving a direct exhaust path
• steam and vacuum brakes, operated by a combined valve in the cab

Originally built with a copper boiler, the locomotive was fitted with a new CE-marked steel boiler in 2014. We have continuous club boiler test history back to that time, the boiler has had recent hydraulic and steam tests with club certification issued.

Whilst it has run regularly at the last owner's club, on arrival it quickly became apparent that the wheels - simple discs on this outside frame, narrow gauge design, have been loose on their axles for some time. They are fitted with small grub screws, we suspect fitted long ago in the vain hope of curing the problem - it's not the way to fix wheels onto axles.

We would suggest removing and dismantling the wheelsets, bore wheels and eccentric sheaves to ensure roundness, then reassemble onto new oversize axles, the wheels machined to be a press fit. Not expensive in material, nor particularly difficult to do, although requiring a good deal of workshop time.

The backhead is nicely laid out, the prototypical cleading around the firebox neatly formed and fitted.

Supplied with a 24 volt steam-raising blower; set of boiler blanking plugs; special tools for removal of regulator, safety valve adjustment and chimney cleaning; set of firing irons and flue brush; spare firebars and gauge glass.

A worthwhile project - it's a particularly nicely made example of this most attractive design which, now fitted with a replacement boiler, and with the wheelsets sorted out, will provide many years of good service.