I wasn't really looking for anymore locomotives (unless a cheap City of Liverpool, Ludlow Castle or GWR N2 Tank should appear) but this boxed Wrenn 8F attracted my attention, and at a fairly reasonable price.
Still in its original box and with its packing rings, this one's in excellent condition, albeit rather slow (it wouldn't pass the finger test) so a neo magnet was installed during the usual strip-down, clean up & lube.
Although clearly a Wrenn, it's of course a Dublo design and without doubt, the 8Fs and Castles are by far the easiest locos to convert to three rail operation as the third rail power collection is done via plungers in the tender, the holes for which are present even on the Wrenn versions. The two rail pickup system is left in-situ and is simply grounded to the chassis to give current return to all of the wheels and the magnet is rotated 180 degrees so that the loco runs in the correct direction. All of this also means that it could be returned to two rail running at a later date with ease, of course that won't happen during my ownership.
This one will make its debut this weekend during our next outing at Southampton, I may then withdraw one of the other 8Fs for restoration as one of them is in need of cosmetic improvement.
A nice, tidy & relatively cheap addition to the fleet!
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