5 inch gauge Royal Scot 46112 "Sherwood Forester"

A finely built 5 inch gauge Royal Scot, 46112 "Sherwood Forester"; three cylinder, as per the prototype, it runs beautifully.

It's recently arrived as part of a collection of locomotives from one of our customers - now in his eighth decade - downsizing to concentrate on his other hobbies (specifically those requiring less heavy lifting!)

Standard of work is good throughout, fit and finish of the motionwork and valve gear excellent, showing little sign of wear. Sheet metal work - cab, cladding and tender - is crisply formed and neatly screwed together. The lined BR green livery remains bright and in good condition.

The commercially built copper boiler was supplied new by GB Boilers in 2001 - it has club history, since arriving it has had hydraulic and steam tests, with certification issued for same.

The engine was in steam for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon while, elsewhere in the yard, we were playing with a 4 1/2 inch scale Foden and 7 1/4 inch gauge A4 "Sir Nigel Gresley" (which kept everybody enthralled most of the day, but that's another story...). The Royal Scot steams freely and ran like a sewing machine, very quiet - there's some video of it here.

A thoroughly well-sorted engine - we like this one.