I've just bought a mamod Brunel loco from eBay, it's in great condition and looks to only have been used a couple of times. It was also half the price of the last one I saw sell so I had to snap it up!
It does however have a strange configuration with the water gauge glass adjacent to the cylinder. I can't find photos of any others with Çthis layout, though it does look like there was lots of variation during the production.
I wondered if the original owner had modified it in some way, but it doesn't really look like it. Its not like the boiler assembly can just be rotated 180deg because the orientation of the regulator and the steam inlet wouldn't work. Other Brunel's that have this regulator position on the boiler have the steam inlet on the rear of the oiler. Also the serial number seems to be in the correct place and not 180deg out.
So is this right? Did they do a limited run of this configuration maybe? Or could it be kit built or modified maybe? I'd appreciate your expertise please.
It's also missing two of the plates that locate the axle bearings. That suggests it's been taken apart in the past perhaps. But more importantly I'd like to find replacements, which is probably a very long shot, I'd appreciate any ideas!
Cheers
