7 1/4 inch gauge "Britannia"

An early stage 7 1/4 inch gauge "Britannia", a build started nearly forty years ago with a large quantity of parts and castings acquired and machined.

Work to date comprises:

• Profiled frames, stretchers and assembled buffer/drag beams
• Driving and coupled wheels, trailing wheels machined and fitted to axles
• Driving & coupled wheel horns, split axleboxes and springs
• Front bogie assembly complete
• Cylinders part machined, complete with covers, liners, pistons with rods, piston valve bobbins and Clupet rings
• Motion brackets
• Motion work including connecting and coupling rods
• Valve gear components including expansion links & die nuts, radius rods and combination levers
• Brake shoes and hangers
• All welded steel combustion chamber boiler with test certification by Cherry's dated 1986

In addition there is a quantity of unmachined castings, including lost wax components from Doug Hewson, as well as fittings, reverser gears, whistle etc as shown.

Still a long way to go with this one, although the chassis could be completed to air running stage with little more expenditure than some stock steel material. For those short of time, these days there is much help at hand to fast track the build:

Model Engineers Laser stock a comprehensive range of profiled parts for both locomotive and tender, including tender frames, tank and locomotive platework including cab and smoke deflectors - there's a comprehensive list here.

Our friends at 17D, well on with their own batch of finely detailed Britannias in this gauge, can provide virtually every part imaginable, including many beautifully detailed lost wax castings - they have a complete page dedicated to Britannias here.