3 1/2" Heilan Lassie

Here we have a nicely done 3 1/2″ gauge ‘Heilan Lassie’.   We sold this loco a few years ago, so we certainly know the loco's recent history. This is a full 3 cylinder model, and although the original build is from the 1980s, she underwent a heavy rebuild a few years ago that entailed a brand new Cheddar boiler and the model had only been test steamed once since then before we re-commissioned her in our workshops a couple of years ago.  Since then we are lead to believe it's only been run on a couple more occasions so it's all still mechanically nice and solid.

Repeating the same little paragraph on the Thompson A1/1s here from the last Heilan Lassie we recently sold, the model is still un-named, although a world of semi-authentic options are open to you on this one!  Built to LBSC’s well proven design, this is a pretty reasonable representation of the 1945 rebuild by Thompson of Gresley’s original A1 ‘Great Northern’.  So that’s what most builders tend to go with in terms of names.  But Thompson then used the template for his further rebuilds, The P2s, P1s and others creating a lovely little group of names to pick from for locomotives with mostly cosmetic and superficial detail differences.  Things like ‘Wolf of Badenoch’, ‘Steady Aim’, ‘Honeyway’ and ‘Heighland Chieftan’ all become fair game!

There is an injector hidden under the footplate with it’s overflow routed so that you can see it when driving.  The loco has an axle pump and footplate mounted bypass, and of course there is the emergency hand pump in the tender.  Lubrication is mechanical and as usual hidden under the front running boards but there are also nicely thought out oil pots down the running boards for the axle boxes.   All in all this is a nicely made model with minimal wear and tear and a fresh, professional boiler,.... and yes, we intend to bolt the cab down properly before she leaves the workshop!