Buying Castings for Princess Marina

[Deleted]

Help wanted by new member! After a brief (aborted) encounter with a part-built Clarkson Stirling Single, I'm thinking of building a Princess Marina. Looking at Reeves' inflated prices I'm sure that there must be some competition somewhere! Can anyone suggest an alternative supplier or the location of a box of bits? Thanks. John

[alanstepney]

I thought that GLR also did them, but a brief look at their new website doesnt show them listed. (Although, IMHO, their new website is not the easiest one to use.)
Blackgates is one of the other major suppiers, but they dont list it either.

However, my main questions are, what was wrong with the Stirling? Clarksons designs were generally good, and the main problem is finding copies, or castings for them.

Secondly, why Princess Marina? I have heard it said that it is not the easiest loco to build and has a number of errors on the drawings (as have the majority of them, I might add).

[eightpot]

Kennion Bros used to do castings etc. for Princess Marina. They were eventually incorporated into GLR, so they may well be able to supply.

[Deleted]

Many thanks for the advice, I will do further research. The Stirling was an impulse buy from ebay and upon close examination I didn't like what I'd bought, so it was moved on. Caveat Emptor..... The PM appeals because it is a near scale loco that I like the look of, and I was given the drawings! I'll keep you posted.
John

[baggo]

I think you might be stuck with Reeves if you want to build from scratch

Mike at Station Road Steam has a part built Marina advertised although it may have gone by now. He describes it as a 'rough and ready' chassis with a good boiler (although with a parallel barrel rather than taper). For the price (£395) it might be worth it just for the castings which you can often re-machine if the finish is a bit rough.

John