Hi AnnieAnnie:115086 wrote: I did consider a Price 'Cb', but I didn't want to get into the complication of building a geared locomotive, - or at least not yet anyway.
I hope you are well
Actually, the Ar was a geared locomotive. The cylinders drove a jackshaft which ran across (or maybe only part-way, so as not to foul the bogie pivot?) the middle of each bogie, which then drove the axles via spur gears. There were 22 teeth on the jackshaft and 45 on the countershafts. The comparative lack of complication came from the fact that there was no longitudinal driveshaft as per the C and its derivatives, and the solitary Heisler-based V (and all Shays as well, for that matter - although of course we never had any of those in NZ), although that was offset by the need for high-pressure flexible steam joints, to supply steam to the cylinders.
I'm fairly certain this was the only geared Meyer ever built in the world.
Regards
Steve