Plugging Away With The Peckett

Although he's ever-so pleased with his new luxury 'Grandad Cave' Himself does come up for air every now and then and puts in a shift in the rolling stock construction centre upstairs.

Close examination of the clocking in machine reveals that he has spent an hour or two of the last week working on our RT Models Harrogate Peckett kit adding the handrails to the saddle tank.

This is a bit of the locomotive where form clearly had precedent over function.

To look at the saddle tank you would think it is rather capacious, but in fact the front portion, above the smokebox, is just a dummy and carries no water at all.

I think it certainly would have looked rather odd without it.

From this angle you can also see clearly what an outrageous overhang there is at the front and the back of this beast.

Had the FR ever got around to restoring it then it surely would have been given a very radical rebuild as a 2-6-2 or perhaps even a 2-6-2T with a Blanche-style tender cab.