Sold August 2022 Back to Archive

A particularly well built engine, with a lot of work put into making it easy to steam, drive and maintain, with valve gear and motionwork featuring needle roller bearings in heavily loaded areas.

The locomotive is fitted with vacuum equipment for train braking; boiler feed is by injector and mechanical pump. The Ramsbottom pattern safety valves have the prototypically correct (although tricky to make) brass shroud venting steam through the cab roof.

We like the little details: the long-handled blowdown valve key making operation easy - when not in use it stows away on a pair of brackets in the cab; the guide tube for the whistle chain (similar to that fitted to the Welshpool & Llanfair Railway's ""The Earl" and "Countess"); valve chests fitted with snifting valves; neatly formed and polished brass shroud around the backhead; the remote oil pots on the running boards feeding oil to axleboxes and valve spindles; the generous-size crosshead oilers with neat rotating lids to prevent grit getting in.

The engine has been well maintained and remains in excellent condition, the LB&SCR style "improved engine green" lined livery looks very well.

The silver soldered copper boiler has had cladding off hydraulic and steam tests in recent days with new certification issued - the engine steams very freely and runs particularly well with crisp, well-defined exhaust beats - there's some video of it here.