7 1/4 inch gauge BR Standard Class 8 "Morning Star"

A 7 1/4 inch gauge BR Standard Class 8 Mikado, the work of a highly capable engineer whose thoughts - having recently completed the nine year build of his 7 1/4 inch gauge Royal Scot 9115 "Scots Guardsman" and a rebuild, after forty years running, of his pre-war "Flying Scotsman" - turned to a new project.

Initial idea was a 9F 2-10-0 "Evening Star", however it was dismissed on the grounds that, several already having been built, there was little original research required to build another. However, a copy of E.S.Cox's book "British Railways Standard Steam Locomotives" showed a general arrangement for a 2-8-2, proposed by British Railways in the 1950s at a time when CME Robert Riddles was considering designs for a new heavy freight locomotive which would, in time, become the 9F.

Working from that single drawing, 2000 hours of design time were followed by a further 6000 hours in the workshop - around 25 hours a week for the six years taken to complete the locomotive. The project is described in an article written by the builder - interesting reading for anybody embarking on a project of this ambition and scope.

Suffice it to say that the time spent in his workshop was not in vain - it's one of the most impressive engines we've driven. Free steaming, it runs with dead square exhaust beats, notches up close to mid gear running in either direction (and will even accelerate when doing so).

First steamed in April 2018, the engine had been run four times in total before it arrived here - it remains in excellent, ex-works condition.

There are detailed pictures opposite, there's some video of the engine running outside the works last week here.

Complete with a pair of purpose built stands.