Garden Railway Forum

I shall indeed! I imagine I will be seeing a fair number of you guys there! Plus as a graduate of Exeter University, it will feel like I am returning home

I have had three in my time, I had a festiniog 'Princess' a Campbeltown and Machrihanish Kerr Stuart 'Skylark' 'Princess and finally a Coal fired 'Jack' they were great fun. The 'Jack' was a bit of a rocket ship it was quite tricky to keep the pressure at a reasonable level while maintaining a small fire which was burning ever more fiercely all the time it was running around at great speed even with the regulator opened slightly!
I've still got the original catalogues and it stirs up memories of my first interest in live steam in the garden when I look through it.
For my money I think the best loco was ' Snowdon Ranger' it combined a large boiler with a simple meths burner and I wish I had ordered that instead of the Kerr Stuart.

What vintage was your Jack? I recently acquired one and am still learning its intricacies...

Paul H:88638 wrote:What vintage was your Jack? I recently acquired one and am still learning its intricacies...

I got this loco second hand about 1995 and it was not that old maybe a couple of years? It was I think one of the last ones as it had the generic smoke box non opening door and you had to take the whole smoke box front off. I think the best way is to run it on a long continuous loop with a heavy train and it takes a while to set the crosshead feed pump to keep the boiler at the right level.

My Jack as well as another here in North America also have the pop off smokebox door. Mine dates to 1986 and the other to 1984. I also have a 1979 Marmaduke which is really a treat to run.

Digging around I managed to find these photos of my Archangel C and M Princess dating from July 1986. The images show it in original condition and while in use later with added detail such as cab beading, riveted and glazed cab windows, scale sand pots [ which is the only thing I have left!] and green livery with lining.
I returned it back to original condition before I sold it and notice the odd shaped original sand domes unlike any other Princess I have seen, I wonder where it is now?

John

Archangel C&M Princess by uniquenarrowgauge, on Flickr
Archangel C&M Princess by uniquenarrowgauge, on Flickr
Archangel C&M Princess by uniquenarrowgauge, on Flickr
Archangel C&M Princess 1985 by uniquenarrowgauge, on Flickr
Archangel C&M Princess 1985 by uniquenarrowgauge, on Flickr

Looks like that was a gas fired version. There is no way I could paint my meths version green, it is one of the hottest little engines I've ever encountered when in steam!




Here is Harvey Watkins meths fired version, this little engine is dead scale & stays cool enough to stay green!

Lovely pics of your Princess and Mudlark! I really enjoyed looking at it in Peter Dobson's book, and seeing a colour photo adds a new dimension to my appreciation.

INJIN:87864 wrote:Just give Stewart a ring.

He's just built a new Cyprus government 2-6-0 tender loco & it's for sale. He has also built Moel Tryfan in cut down form recently.

His number is 01743 860660, he'll be happy to take your order.
He rarely answers emails, so be warned.

Cheers

I better own up then. I can confirm that he is still accepting commissions, and he does answer mails. And more to the point, his eye for character is still there - and the locomotive I have is just fantastic.

Ooooooo, nice!
Wonder what a SAR Lawley would look like from his workshop!

cncmodeller:96596 wrote:Digging around I managed to find these photos of my Archangel C and M Princess dating from July 1986. The images show it in original condition and while in use later with added detail such as cab beading, riveted and glazed cab windows, scale sand pots [ which is the only thing I have left!] and green livery with lining.
I returned it back to original condition before I sold it and notice the odd shaped original sand domes unlike any other Princess I have seen, I wonder where it is now?

John

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thats fantastic, I never knew anyone ever did a commercial live steam model of a Skylark!

paullad1984:97815 wrote:Ooooooo, nice!
Wonder what a SAR Lawley would look like from his workshop!

My guess is that it would look pretty good, and there´s a family resemblance there, even if Lawley is a 4-4-0.

Here´s the Cyprus engine in spring cleaning mode

That would be the loco from the latest Lightlines advert in 16mm Today then! Very nice indeed.

Think if i was to comission one it would have to be meths fired.....

I also have to come clean. Stewart is doing meths fired commissions as exemplified by my new build C&M Princess delivered last month after lining.

Dos he still supply those lovely turned Nylon buffers or did you have to source originals yourself?

I ordered the loco with buffers and center hooks which he supplied. On this model, as other owners have noted, buffers are a necessity if one wants to lift the loco when in steam or within half an hour of the end of a run.

yes i always found that with my Murphy when i had it, cracking loco BUT it got very hot and if it found a nice downhill gradient you could bet your life it would derail at the first corner!

kandnwlr:97827 wrote:

paullad1984:97815 wrote:Ooooooo, nice!
Wonder what a SAR Lawley would look like from his workshop!

My guess is that it would look pretty good, and there´s a family resemblance there, even if Lawley is a 4-4-0.

Here´s the Cyprus engine in spring cleaning mode  :lol:

interesting smokebox door

pauly:98140 wrote:

interesting smokebox door[/quote]
Obviously assembled in the wine cellar!