LNWR Precedent 2-4-0

[Bigmet]

... the first 2-4-0 tender engine in RTR I believe...

Certainly is. (Might it be the spur that directs thoughts toward the GER T26/LNER/BR E4 2-4-0, 'last man standing' of what was once a widely used wheel arrangement?)

Not many untouched steam loco wheel arrangements left now. Surely the celebrated Stroudley 'Gladstone' 0-4-2 is in with a shout; and I wish best of luck to any manufacturer that thinks that an elegant 4-4-4T would sell itself. Pretty, yes, but 'tractively challenged', even in prototype form.

[D605Eagle]

I was thinking that myself. An E4 would be a perfect class managing a 68 year span from '91 to '59 filling in a whole plethora of liveries and eras. A very handsome little loco too. The Raven H1 was perhaps the most handsome tank ever made IMO (with the exception of a Robinson A5 of cause!) and with some careful planning could be an A8 with a different chassis as well. As in a model the pony wheels are really only there for looks, I don't think the loco would present the same problems that say an 0-4-4T does as the driving wheels are under the centre of gravity. The Hornby Fowler 4P tank made from that late 80s until the move to China was effectively a 2-4-2-4T with the dreadful SSPP chassis and it kind of worked if you were lucky to get one with wheel sets that weren't buckled (the loco weight was carried rigidly only by the second and third axles, the forth could move vertically and horizontally under a light spring)

[Bigmet]

Quite so, with a 4-4-4T, well positioned weight on the coupled wheels isn't the problem, so potentially should be a good performer.

What I see as the 'BUT' in this is the arrangement of the carrying wheels, to cope with any layouts with dodgy track. Very softly sprung bogies with plenty of space to rise are required, to avoid taking much weight off the coupled wheels if there is a dip in the track, or at the start of an abrupt rising gradient transition; or there will be complaints of slipping to a standstill.

The Raven H1 was perhaps the most handsome tank ever made IMO (with the exception of a Robinson A5 of cause!) and with some careful planning could be an A8 with a different chassis as well...

A most cunning plan, and for the NER too, which hasn't got a large tank engine in prospect as yet. Like it. Where do we promote this idea?

[D605Eagle]

A most cunning plan, and for the NER too, which hasn't got a large tank engine in prospect as yet. Like it. Where do we promote this idea?

I wonder if an email to Sonic? They don't seem fazed by doing a model of a loco that no longer exists, plus they effectively get 2 models for 1 in their range. Seems like a no brainer to me.