7 1/4 inch gauge GWR Dean Goods 0-6-0

A 7 1/4 inch gauge GWR Dean Goods, this one has come to us as part of a small collection including a 14XX 0-4-2T, a bogie coach and some beautifully made fine scale signals.

An older engine, professionally built we think around forty years ago - some years after its completion, the builder wrote a series of construction articles for "Model Engineer" magazine.

It was last rebuilt thirty years ago - we suspect that's when it was painted - and doesn't appear to have been run since, evidenced by the brand new stainless steel grate and clean smokebox.

On hydraulic test the boiler showed a variety of leaks - mainly firebox stays but one from the barrel seam - which will require further investigation with the boiler off the frames.

Turns over freely although we haven't been able to run it - air gets as far as the main steam pipe, downstream of the regulator, but disappears before getting to the pistons. Again, on an inside cylinder engine like this, easier to sort out once the boiler has been lifted.

Quite a lot to do but nonetheless a worthwhile project. It's a handsome design but rarely modelled for some reason - in the last twenty years we've bought one complete 5 inch gauge engine and a well-built 7 1/4 inch gauge chassis.