7 1/4 inch gauge LMS Duchess "Queen Mary"

A magnificent thing in 7 1/4 inch gauge, an LMS Duchess "Queen Mary", built in Germany to the Jim Vass design and using parts, castings, boiler and CNC-machined motionwork supplied by him.

Unused since the builder's demise, the engine came to us earlier this year. In good overall condition, we undertook work including removal and resealing of the main steam pipe, provision of springs to get a reliable drain cock action and the manufacture and fitting of a PTFE faced regulator to give a lighter action than afforded by the bronze original.

The tender had the usual odd dribble around the sole plate, it's been completely stripped, cleaned and sealed.

A particularly well made engine, it runs beautifully. The scale backhead is laid out neatly, there's a cutaway "driving" roof as well as its "Sunday best" one for when it's not in action at the track.

Pictures opposite were taken this afternoon following its steam test - we couldn't face getting it back onto the stands and wheeled into the studio for posh indoor pictures (it is nearly ten feet long and about a third of a ton), so I hope these give a flavour of the day.