{"product_id":"5-inch-gauge-stirling-single-with-briggs-boiler-stock-code-2523","title":"5 inch gauge Stirling Single with Briggs boiler","description":"\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003eAn ancient model of Patrick Stirling's glorious 8 foot single,  the original designed and built for the Great Northern Railway in the late nineteenth century  and a leading protagonist in the \"Race to the North\" pitted against  the London, North Western's Precursors. No.1 is still preserved at the NRM - well  worth a visit if only to go and see the most beautiful engine ever built (I may  be biased here).\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp align=\"left\"\u003eI know little of the history of this engine, other than it  appears to have been a long one. The chassis appears ancient, with brass frames  and cylinders, the valve gear is quite elegantly wrought. The driving wheels  have the correct square section profile spokes, the front bogie has working leaf  springs. The tender appears to have gone missing a long time ago and the current  one is a modern creation, new and unused, containing a handpump.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp align=\"left\"\u003eUnusually, the engine is fitted with a Briggs boiler - first one  I've had through my hands although have read plenty about them. Copper  construction, silver soldered with copper water legs in the firebox. It's fed by  an axle pump and injector, along with the auxiliary hand pump in the tender  mentioned above. The motion will tick over with less than ten pounds on the clock, at 80  the old girl still has a healthy bark (rather characteristic of Stirling Singles  in all sizes given the tall gearing) and pulls rather better than I expected, to  be honest.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp align=\"left\"\u003eVarious bits and pieces missing, most obviously the cab  (although a late-nineteenth century GNR cab is not the most complicated thing in  the world), along with the boiler handrails. The whole plot has been badly  painted in the wrong green - it really needs stripping and repainting properly.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp align=\"left\"\u003eLength\u003cbr\u003e  Locomotive 31 inches\u003cbr\u003e  Tender 25 inches\u003cbr\u003e  Driving wheel 8 inch diameter\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp align=\"center\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Station Road Steam","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54019767140693,"sku":"2523","price":1650.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1023\/0094\/2677\/files\/2523-1.webp?v=1779906936","url":"https:\/\/stationroadsteam.com\/products\/5-inch-gauge-stirling-single-with-briggs-boiler-stock-code-2523","provider":"Station Road Steam","version":"1.0","type":"link"}