4 1/2 inch scale Burrell traction engine

A 4 1/2 inch scale Burrell built to the Plastow design - her late partner's engine, this one has come to us from the same lady as the Steam Traction World Burrell we sold in 2024.

First registered in 1992, it has been built to a fairly utilitarian standard, with a variety of jobs requiring attention, including painting. However, on test we found it steamed freely and ran well - we would rate this one as a running restoration.

Whilst most jobs could be done without taking the engine out of use for long periods, it does need attention to the safety valves: they accumulate - fairly typical of this design - but also have a couple of ill-fitting or broken studs holding them down, which require replacement.

In recent years the engine was fitted with a replacement CE-marked boiler, supplied new in 2019 by AJB Engineering. We have club certification going back to that time, although two boiler inspectors both got themselves into a rare old tangle regarding test and working pressures - misreading bar as psi, then compounding the error by recording the working pressure as 125psi.

The Plastow design is actually rated at 110psi working pressure. In the absence of original manufacturer's paperwork, the boiler will need a twice working pressure test. We've already done our own test prior to steaming the engine and would be happy to warranty the boiler as sound, capable of passing a further test once the safety valve studs have been repaired.

The engine is road-registered with V5 document. There is a tender-mounted driver's seat, with front axle weight to improve weight distribution and steering.

A worthwhile project - it needs time spending on it, rather than money; repainted there's the potential to produce a good-looking example of this popular design.