Merlin Mayflower

I'm not a steam man. I'm really not. Cheap battery electric propulsion suits me fine for the garden. I'm even looking at converting some of the track power locos to battery. 

So how come I own 4 1/2 steam locos?*

The latest addition to the fleet was spotted on the Anoraks Anonymous stand at Stafford. Sitting right at the back, on a shelf was a very attractive black steam loco. The price, £625, was just as nice to look at. I wasn't planning to drop a significant amount of cash at the event on anything, but I felt this was a bargain, I'm also nosey (I have the name), and so asked to take a look. 

Oily. That was my first impression. The whole model was greasy. There was a gentle chuff when I (easily) turned the wheels too, which is a good thing. There were some instructions that said it was a Merlin - and I wondered how much pain a relatively early steam model would be. Years of reading Throwback Modeller had made me wonder if a vintage loco would be interesting to own.

I handed the model back, cleaned my hands and went off to look at other things. But it stayed in my mind all day. 

Around 4pm, the stand was looking a bit emptier, but the loco was still there. I took another look. It was still nice. I took a deep breath and handed over my credit card. 

Fate smiled on me, and the box the loco and it's radio control unit were packed in, perfectly fitted my recently aquired, and free, Staffordshire Railway Building Society bag. Was this a sign? 

To be fair, I know the AA people a little and we agreed that I was probably the safest person to seel this to. If there was a problem, I wasn't likely to be on the 'phone shouting. I know enough people who can tinker and fix things, with a bit of luck.

Back home and I sent out a couple of e-mails, and Tag quickly responded that this was a Mayflower, a loco he felt was the best of the Merlin range. 

Google brough up a bit more information, including someone who had bought a second-hand example and had a bit of a nightmare dealing with niggling problems. Generally though, the limited feedback was good, although I had to hope my model had a copper boiler, not the brass of earlier examples. Since the paperwork suggests this loco dates from 1992 (30 years old!) I was hopeful. As it turned out, talking to Ian Pearse (who designed the model), all Mayflowers were fitted with copper, but some earlier Merlins had brass, and you need to be careful what you leave in there. 

So, I have a very nice loco. I paid a bargain price for it - suggestions are that I could nearly double my money just by selling. The bit question is, would it work? 

*The 1/2 being a part assembled Peckett being built in Garden Rail.