When I retired in 1998, one of the gifts I received was a full set of castings for a 2" Fowler Traction Engine, as supplied by M.J. Engineering. I chose this because it seemed to be a fairly simple and attractive engine to build. Eight years on, my only regret is not choosing the larger 3" version.

My first action was to buy a boiler from Western Steam Services, recommended to me by John Steer at MJ. It cost £660, and I'm glad I bought it when I did, not only because costs have risen alarmingly since then, but it makes building much easier as so many bits are attached to it. More importantly it is very well made, much better than I could have done.

I am not an engineer by training and am largely self-taught since I retired. I started my education as a volunteer at Amberly Museum in West Sussex. The Engineer there was Derek Kilburn who has a lifetime of steam experience, and I learnt much from him. He prepared the drawings for the 4" Tasker road locomotive sold by Camden Miniature steam services which is a really nice model. The Museum's blacksmith, Andrew Breeze is a superb medal winning model maker, and he was also very helpful.

When I moved to Devon I began volunteering at the South Devon Railway workshop, and it is amazing how much of full size practice can be translated into model engineering. So, with help from Club members and becoming involved in practical professional engineering activity, it's not too difficult for a beginner to build confidence and knowledge.

The real problem for the beginner though, seems to be that it takes a long time to get things done as you have to learn techniques and gain competence, and much of this involves correcting mistakes.

The MJ drawings are very clear, and so far have been error free. I bought the construction manual and although it only covers the 3" version, it is very helpful. I have completed most of the boiler fittings, having had to buy another blowdown cock following a blowdown cock-up. I have also completed the front axle and smokebox assembly.

The only problems I had seem to be self imposed; I got over excited with the propane torch when heating up the smokebox door nameplate unnecessarily, so that was another re-order. Then I was so pleased with myself for completing the chimney bottom that I forgot to machine the top of the dummy base ring !

I decided to leave it and see how everything else turned out, but I am so pleased with the result that I have bought a replacement to do properly, and keep the rivet counters at bay.

One of the reasons modellers don't build traction engines is said to be the tedium of wheel building. I made a jig as recommended in the construction manual and I really enjoyed building the front wheels, so don't be put off. It was easier than expected, although I am apprehensive about tackling the rear wheels, which is my next task after re-machining the chimney.

Since I received the castings, M.J. have made laser-cut horn plates available, so I bought a set and will tackle these after the wheels.

There do seem to be rather a lot of spokes, strakes and tie plates to deal with, but I'm hopeful it will not be too tedious a task.

Updated 29th April 2007

The rear wheels are now finished, although not exactly to the drawing! When I marked out the rim for the tie plates I knew they should be in alternate spaces between the strakes but that didn’t stop me from marking all the spaces. When I came to drill the holes I checked the drawing, and then proceeded to drill every space! After 5 pairs of unwanted holes the penny dropped.

Question, do I plug the unwanted holes or carry on ? I wasn’t confident I could plug the soft aluminium casting to cosmetic satisfaction especially on the inside of the rim, so I decided to put tie plates in every space (in both wheels). 36 additional tie plates and 72 rivets later the wheels look OK. It was probably the wrong decision in terms of time and outcome, but it’s too late now and it would never have won a Duke of Edinburgh award anyway. Apart from this the wheels went together easily, although it is a time consuming and repetitive task.

Next comes the horn plates and various bearing housings as shown in the photo. Machining the bearing houses looks to be something of a challenge. Thankfully I have laser cut horn plates, they are worth every penny. I have already drilled most of the holes, in the right place hopefully so now on to marking out the castings. I think it will be something of a miracle if I don’t have to order a replacement or two. Anyone who has never made a mistake has never made anything.