Sold July 2004 Back to Archive

3 1/2 inch gauge "Bantam Cock" which was LBSC's take on Gresley's V4 2-6-2s for the LNER, in turn a scaled down version of the highly successful V2 "Green Arrow" class.

This is an older moder built, it must be said, to a workmanlike rather than show-winning standard. Having said that, it's got a decent silver-soldered copper boiler with superheaters, has been recently stripped and repainted and goes very well. I often get engines which have been driven solely on the axle pump (with the non-working injector usually dumped in the tender). Unusually, this engine has a decent injector but the axle pump was never refitted after the repaint. All the bits are with it and it could be reassembled easily, but the previous owner was happy to drive it on injector and handpump. Cylinders are in gunmetal, slide valves actuated by Walschaert's valve gear and mechanical lubricator under the smokebox door.

An easy-to-handle engine which is nice to drive and has a fair turn of speed - pretty much ideal for a beginner (particularly as it doesn't take a huge amount of effort to get it in and out of the car). It comes with a complete set of the "English Mechanics" articles from 1954 serialising the construction.

Length
Locomotive 28 inches
Tender 16 inches