7 1/4 inch narrow gauge 0-4-2T "Tom Rolt"

A 7 1/4 inch gauge "Tom Rolt", based on the Talyllyn Railway's No.7 which was built in 1991 using parts from an Andrew Barclay well tank.

Work to date is to a high standard throughout, and includces:

• Rolling chassis with driving and trailing wheels, coupling rods and buffers
• Pair of machined piston valve cylinder assemblies, complete with gaskets
• Machined connecting rod assemblies
• Smokebox assembly with front ring, smokebox door with locking handles and dart, chimney and all fittings
• Machined brake shoes and hangers, brake stand and cross shaft
• Guide bars and valve gear, comprising drop links, union links, combination levers, radius rods, return cranks, expansion links and die nuts
• Reverser stand and reach rod
• Binder of drawings

The design produces a large, powerful engine, coming up to a third of a ton ready to run. The parts shown represent a substantial investment in castings and include many hundreds of hours of high quality work - it appears to need only a pair of eccentric rods making for it to run on air.

A steel boiler would be the sensible choice for a narrow gauge engine of this size, with overwhelming advantages over copper in terms of adhesive weight, strength and cost; the platework for cab and tanks could be laser cut reducing build time, after which it's largely a job of assembly, fittings, pipework and paintwork. Not a five minute job - but much of the heavy work is now done, that remaining could be done with modest facilities (although requiring a strong bench!)

We sold a good example back in April last year, there are pictures and video in the archive if you want to get an idea of what the engine will look like when finished.