Garden Railway Forum

Hi All

Now that I'm into my retirement I'm trying to pick up the threads of where I left off over two decades ago with plans for a garden railway. My Roundhouse Lady Anne and my Merlin radio-controlled gas-fired steam locomotives have lived in a glass display cabinet along with an electric shunter throughout various house moves over the years, but now the time feels right to get the boxes of track out of storage and finally make a start on it.
I bought the Merlin - No 603 - secondhand at a railway show in the summer of 1996 and, I'm ashamed to say, I have yet to steam it. When I bought it it had - and still has - several faults which I thought would be simple to remedy. The Merlin's wheels were set to 32mm with Allen-head grub screws into dimples in the axles, but it looked very straightforward to re-gauge it to match my 45mm Tenmille track. However, when I got it home from the show and had a good look at it I noticed that one of the driving wheels was loose on its central hub bush which slides on the axle. Then I noticed that the timing was clearly way off due to the valve crank being loose on the pivot and that the tiny locating grub screw had been sheared, presumably in an attempt to adjust the crank position. Oh well, I thought, not too bad, but my garden, lathe and workshop facilities disappeared in a house move shortly afterwards and now here I am 24 years on wondering where the time went! I've also got four unbuilt Brandbright 4-wheel coach kits bought around the same time and my current master plan is to get the rolling stock built over this winter and lay some track in the Spring...

I haven't seen any other Merlin locos which look like mine, and I'm wondering if anyone on this forum can shed any light on which model it is, and maybe when it was made? I'm going to try to link a Facebook photograph which I sent to the Facebook user Merlin Locomotive Works, but I'm not totally confident that it will work first time.

Thanks in advance for any help and guidance.

Keith Morgan

Welcome to the forum.

Thanks! I've been browsing around extensively over the past few days, and have been very impressed at all the superb models out there.

It looks like I managed to get the photo posted Ok, but I now see that the smokebox door is a bit squiffy too, to add to the list of repairs...

Hi Keith and welcome.

If you need help using the forum check out the forum help section.

Hi Keith, welcome.
Sorry I can't help with your Merlin, but if you do a search on the forum I'm sure there have been several threads on Merlins and there may be some help there.

Looks like a Merlin / Beck hybrid maybe?

It looks like like a Maestro.

I was thinking it was a bit like a Mayflower but the domes look continental and 'Beck-ish'

I'm afraid I can't give you advice about the loco- although I'm sure she'll be easily fettled- but I decided to respond anyway to cheer you on! I've built a steam locomotive and rolling stock with no realistic hope of having anywhere to run them in the foreseeable future, and they live on a shelf now. However, I hope to have a garden and a railway someday. The Brandbright four-wheel coach kits are beautiful. I have built one and have two more unbuilt in their boxes waiting for that day I get to "make a start".

Good luck!

P.S. You call yourself "Keith", but I don't remember seeing you at any of the meetings!

Thanks to everyone who replied, and for the words of encouragement. There are quite a few of Keiths about, it seems

After a bit of searching, I've just been playing 'spot the difference' with the Merlin Maestro 'Katie' on the Milford Hill Light Railway website. http://www.alspcs.com/Maestro.html The Milford Hill railway has fired my enthusiasm again and is a great example of how much can be done even in a small space.

My loco is superficially very similar to 'Katie' with the European / Continental profile except for some points of detail. E.g. mine has 1) solid wheels 2) squarer windows 3) no dome 4) filler/safety valve nearest to the chimney 5) eccentric crank valve gear & reverser valve etc. Given how small the market was and how readily these models can be modified over the years I can see that there may never be an identical one. On that note, I've just been rummaging through old brass plumbing fittings for a bit of old brass to try to turn a chimney cap to match my Lady Anne, but the taper chimney on the Merlin may prevent that without more extensive modification.

On a separate note, Oh the joy of rediscovering things long forgotten. At a railway show in the '90s I'd bought four 3-plank scratch-built grey-painted wagon bodies which were being sold very cheaply, I think, by a club as a fundraiser. I thought at the time that they'd be a 'quick win' to get some rolling stock on my garden test track but nothing is ever that simple as the solebars were set for 32mm so I'd put them away awaiting proper attention. What I'd totally forgotten was that shortly afterwards I'd bought 4 sets of Brandbright couplings, 45mm wheels and axleboxes for them and put them away in the same box where they've sat for over 20 years. I've now resurrected them as a project and have them balanced on a length of track on a shelf awaiting painting and screwing together.

Keith M