Model of the Month December 2009
Archangel SGT Murphy 1977 onward by Keith Skillicorn
Stewart Browne produced Sgt
Murphy as an entry level meths fired pot boiler locomotive which
could give good performance in all weathers.
Though not in any way a scale
model & only bearing a slight resemblance to the prototype, the loco
was none the less a very good performer. The water capacity was such
that he could be kept in steam for up to an hour on one fill of the
boiler. The meths however has to be topped up two or three times
during that period to keep the fire going. This can be done easily
through the convenient filler pipe on the left hand side.
The engine is a much cleverer
design than meets the eye.
For instance, the exhaust
actually draws the fire. When the engine is standing still the
flames from the three wick burner go straight up & the heat passes
out through the gap in between the boiler & the side tanks.
However when the loco is in
action the exhaust passing up the chimney causes enough of a vacuum
to pull the flames forward under the front part of the boiler
increasing the heated surface area.
The single inside cylinder (The
outer ones are dummies) is also a good bit of kit, in fact more to
the point it is the way the steam is controlled as it passes in &
out that makes it good. Very early on Stewart discovered that you
don’t need big steam ports in a model locomotive of this size
because if you do the engine wants to rev hard & to go fast. So
small ports & steam pipes are employed & this coupled with a little
lap on the slide valve gives a slow running, efficient & powerful
machine.
I bought my engine in 1979 & it
was the first 16mm scale locomotive I could afford.
Because I only had one engine,
the Sgt ran & ran, until about 4 years later he was worn out. John
Wenlock came to the rescue by rebuilding the chassis over a period
of time. Linda had arrived by then so at least I had another engine
to run.
Today my locomotive is as good
as it’s ever been. Harvey Watkins had a look over the engine
recently & with a couple of tweaks has made it run as well as it did
when new. Harvey is seen below test running the loco on the Coleford
Minimal railway.
Below, the Sgt has returned
home & is in his element with Archangel Passenger coaches in tow.
There are at least a couple of
examples with dummy outside valve gear which does improve the looks.
Mike Morris owns this engine which was modified by Steve Bell. The
cab has also been lowered & in addition has a flat topped dome as
per prototype.
Later on Stewart offered a two
cylindered version of this locomotive & called it Hercules. You can
see an example of this on Marc Horivitz’s
website.
http://www.sidestreetbannerworks.com/locos/loco97.html
To conclude, Sgt Murphy has
been a long lived friend & is unlikely ever to be sold. He continues
to give good service on my latest garden railway.
Should you want to see the Sgt in action along with some other ”Old Engines” I have put several clips on youtube. Watch the video below and then follow the links once it has finished for more
Keith Skillicorn
