Garden Railway Forum

Hello,

Since I received no response to my inquiry in the thread,viewtopic.php?p=187742#p187742 I decided to buy the Merlin. It was being sold by an American seller who had several other locomotives on offer (including a Roundhouse 7/8 scale "Jack" version, partially built).

As seen in the auction photos, the engine was offered in a rather grimy condition. That is always the issue with eBay auctions: what is the overall condition of the item being sold? An inquiry to the seller yielded no response other than a price reduction; I suspect he didn't really know what he was selling.
After delivery from across the pond, I confirmed that the photos hadn't lied: there was a lot of dried, stubborn grime—a mixture of steam oil, dust, and other residue—on the bodywork. An initial test using compressed air resulted in no movement. The linkages, valve gear, and steam rods on the left side had apparently been secured with a contact adhesive that prevented any movement. So, I softened everything with solvent. The result, using compressed air, was lively movement in both forward and reverse directions.
Some components—such as the chimney top, the smokebox (not the typical Mayflower U-shape), and the dummy turbo-generator—appear to have been taken from the Merlin "Matterhorn" model. A solid cast-tin cowcatcher is also fitted. The windows are rectangular in shape, unlike the round ones found on the Mayflower models.


I utilized the existing blanking screw on the boiler backhead—just as I did with the Merlin Mayflower "Hutzel" viewtopic.php?p=163647#p163647—to install a steam whistle; this time, however, I extended the banjo bolt and installed an inline Regner refill valve.
I also fitted a headlight using a Regner 6V bulb and Teflon-insulated wiring. The cable is routed through a 2mm stainless steel tube (which now serves as a handle) to the cab and power supply.
Testing on a roller test stand using steam yielded good results. However, a run on 45mm track revealed that a significant amount of steam pressure is escaping from the rear of the piston rods (at the seals).
I will be taking the Merlin to a model engineering exhibition in Tulln, Lower Austria, next week, so videos will follow.

Some more Photos

A battery pack and a receiver for a 2.4 GHz control system still fit inside the frame.

You have done an excellent job of cleaning her up. Well done. I hope that when you've finished, she runs as well as she looks

That looks like a good buy. Hopefully, you didn't have to pay an enormous price for shipping and import duty....

Rik

Thank you for your kind comments.

ge_rik wrote: Mon Oct 12, 2026 12:37 pm That looks like a good buy. Hopefully, you didn't have to pay an enormous price for shipping and import duty....

Well, it wasn't excessively expensive; of course, the shipping and customs fees from overseas contributed to the final price.
But somehow I really wanted this model. I haven't been able to find another one like it yet.
Was this an attempt/model by Merlin to make their products more appealing to American customers?
In my humble opinion, the design, casing, and boiler are all made by Merlin. But verifying that after so much time has passed is certainly difficult.

Gerald