7 1/4 inch gauge GWR 47XX 2-8-0

A professionally-built 7 1/4 inch gauge Great Western 47XX 2-8-0, commissioned by a collector with wide-ranging steam interests, from gauge 1 to full size steam wagons. A large locomotive of imposing proportions, it's nearly nine feet long with tender and weighing in at a little over a quarter of a ton.

A class of nine locomotives, the 47XX 2-8-0s were designed by Churchward for heavy freight services. Popularly known as "Night Owls" - much of the freight was carried overnight at that time - they were introduced in 1919. Whilst capable engines - more than up to the job they'd been designed for - their weight severely limited route availability.

None has survived into preservation, although the "4709" project based at the Didcot Railway Centre is recreating a 47XX using a mixture of new components and parts salvaged from other Great Western class locomotives.

Originally ordered for a proposed garden railway - along with a magnificent SE&CR Wainwright "D" by the same builder - a change of plans meant that the railway was never built. The Wainwright remained unsteamed, the 47XX saw occasional use - it was last run five years ago on a visit to a friend's railway - but appears to have been steamed on only a handful of occasions from new.

The locomotive was built to exhibition standard, finely detailed and professionally painted; the commercially-built CE-marked copper boiler by Kingswood, complete with original manufacturer's documentation, has had recent hydraulic test with new certification issued.

After a prolonged period in storage, the engine was recently sent to a highly-regarded restoration company in the South West, known for their work on full-size steam engines, for attention to seized piston valves. These were removed, the bobbins machined to increase side clearance for the rings, then assembled and reset prior to test running on air, the mechanical lubricator was tested at the same time.

On test under steam at our works we noted some blow-by - given the recent work on the piston valves, we suspect that this is the pistons themselves. We've replaced the original injector with a similar type but of the next size up, better suited to the boiler's requirements and fitted a new pressure gauge - the original was reading out against our master gauge.

The rest of the engine - despite now being over ten years old - remains in pretty much the same condition as delivered and still has the feeling of a new engine requiring a variety of teething issues sorting out, including:

• safety valves - authentic Swindon pattern - open reliably and don't accumulate, but closing is a hit and miss affair, the geometry of the port seat could be improved to direct steam directly upwards rather than fanning out over and under the safety valve bonnet.
• water gauge blowdown is seized
• vacuum brakes inoperative
• The tender currently has no provision for either seat or footpegs, which makes driving something of an acrobatic affair.

The above notwithstanding, a magnificent locomotive - and beautiful piece of engineering to boot. Not something we'd recommend for the novice - fine scale engines of this size and quality (we'd include Ron Martin's 9F and the fabulous Class 2 we sold last year in the same category) have their own special demands for firing, driving and - in particular - maintenance, requiring both experience and good workshop facilities.

We would be more than happy to give half a day's instruction at our works on the steaming, running and disposal of the locomotive to a new owner.