Sold April 2008 Back to Archive

Recently emerged from many years in a shed, a beautifully built LMS Pacific, believed to be to the Clarkson design and using their castings. The work of the late Mr J A Powell of Crewe, some years ago I had the Westbury Atom V he built which featured on the front cover of "Model Engineer" in 1947.

Work to date comprises a finely built chassis, four cylinders with Walshaert's gear actuating slide valves for the outside cylinders, inside cylinders actuated by rocking shafts. Unlike Gresley's Pacifics of the same period, Stanier divided the drive, with the outside cylinders driving the middle axle, the inside cylinders driving the front. Twin axle pumps are fitted, driven from the rear axle.

The boiler is copper, built with a substantial combustion chamber. It comes complete with the original flanging formers and much of a second boiler fabricated.

The tender is largely complete, work to finish off includes buffers and plumbing.

There is a complete set of platework, including running boards, cab sides, front and roof.

The engine arrived here with several decades of muck and sawdust on it. After a good clean and oil round, the chassis ran like a sewing machine on compressed air.