I picked up the two engines this morning. Mike had complained to the auctioneers that the Sir Nigel Gresley had a dodgy armiture and as it was listed as refurbished this was an inaccurate description. He knows the auctioneers well and a rebate was agreed so the two engines came out at under £60. One A4 is Sir Nigel Gresley with the dodgy armiture in a shade of blue which is too light to be authentic but very nicely finished. We need a new armiture, hard to get hold of, or a new chassis so that this one can become a runner. At the moment it is a crawler and can’t pull any carriages.

The other A4 is Peregine in wartime black with NE on the tender. Very nicely finished and a good runner. I need to sort out where it will go on the current layout as these engines were bought with an eye to the extension where there will be room for them.