{"product_id":"7-14-inch-gauge-maxi-7-castingsframes-stock-code-4308","title":"7 1\/4 inch gauge Maxi 7 castings\/frames","description":"\u003cp\u003eEvery now and again (about once a month in truth) something comes in that  makes me think \"I ought to put that away in the toy box to play with when I  get a minute...\". It's only ruthless self-discipline that prevents me  needing a garden shed the size of an aircraft hangar.    \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis project falls into that category. It's the mighty Maxi 7 version of Don  Young's \"Lucky 7\" design, originally for 3 1\/2 inch gauge. For those  who aren't familiar with the original design, it was based on the SR\u0026amp;RL  Edaville #7 which survives in preservation, a large narrow gauge engine with  outside frames.    \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 3 1\/2 inch gauge it's big - weighs over 300 pounds and is five feet long,  I sold one last year, \u003ca href=\"file:\/\/\/C:\/SRS%20website\/stock%20pages\/3727\/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ethere  are pictures and a video of it running in the archive\u003c\/a\u003e. With typical  ingenuity, Mr Young then produced a 7 1\/4 inch gauge version by the simple  expedient of moving the wheels outside the frames (or the frames inside the  wheels if you prefer), losing the flycranks in the process. You then get the 7  1\/4 inch gauge Lucky 7, which looks like the one that's in the workshop at the  moment, \u003ca href=\"file:\/\/\/C:\/SRS%20website\/stock%20pages\/4242\/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\"\u003epictured  here\u003c\/a\u003e. Now notice this is exactly the same as the 3 1\/2 inch gauge engine in  weight, dimensions - everything except the gauge.    \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt this point everybody got on happily making their chosen variant of Lucky 7  - 3 1\/2 inch gauge for authenticity, 7 1\/4 inch gauge for stability and utility  on a ground level track and many of each were built. Of course, it was only a  matter of time before some hero asked himself what would happen if you moved the  frames back outside the 7 1\/4 inch gauge version's wheels to make a full 7 1\/4  inch gauge, 3 inch scale model- which then became the \"Maxi 7\".    \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd a \"Maxi 7\" is a beast.    \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt weighs a ton finished. It's over ten feet long. The permanent way people  at your club will clutch their heads and tell you it can't possibly be run  without ruining the track (which is nonsense, I used to run my \u003ca href=\"file:\/\/\/C:\/SRS%20website\/archive\/2056\/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eK36\u003c\/a\u003e  of similar weight on portable track in the garden at the last house). Small  children will be frightened by it. Your wife most certainly won't understand why  anybody would want to build something of such an impractical size...    \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo all in all, just my sort of engine - I like these a lot. I've only ever  had one Maxi 7 come in, a well-advanced example which had been  commercially-built to a high standard - I've wished ever since that I'd kept it  to finish, \u003ca href=\"file:\/\/\/C:\/SRS%20website\/archive\/1775.htm\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ethere  are some pictures of that one and the original engine in the archive here\u003c\/a\u003e.  As big as my K36 (whose arrival was the reason it was sold), it's a  considerably higher engine, which makes for more of a Tinkerbell type driving  position.    \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat we've got here (apart from a thousand hours of hard work, a large boiler  to source and possible divorce proceedings) is something at a rather earlier  stage. A couple of very heavy pallet fulls of bits, including machined  wheels fitted to their axles, steel flycranks, a pair of well-machined  cylinders, bored and with ports cut, profiled bar frames and a couple of  hundredweight of other miscellanea including buffer beams, saddle, petticoat  pipe, machined axleboxes etc etc. Enough to keep anybody busy for a while. Only  thing I can see that's gone wrong to date is the coupling rods have been bored  off centre with the outside profile, which is cosmetic rather than functional,  although in this day and age, I would have a couple more water-jetted and fit  ballraces.    \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEven as I sit here writing this (it's early morning, the sun is just coming  up over the engine shed roof outside the office window showing a slightly  unflattering view of one of the Tinkerbell's backsides) I can feel this one  headed for the shed, something to do when I get some time to myself...    \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ccenter\u003e\u003c\/center\u003e","brand":"Station Road Steam","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54020162683221,"sku":"4308","price":1250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1023\/0094\/2677\/files\/4308-1.webp?v=1779911589","url":"https:\/\/stationroadsteam.com\/products\/7-14-inch-gauge-maxi-7-castingsframes-stock-code-4308","provider":"Station Road Steam","version":"1.0","type":"link"}