The Class 27 is a brilliant little engine. Very weighty, and all 8 wheels are driven. In spite of the fact that it has no traction tyres, it is easily the most capable of pulling heavy loads that I have in my collection.

It seems to be not particularly popular. I can understand the reasons that I have seen, but I am no purist, and I don't really care things such as true scale. I think I must be an impressionist ! This, for me, is a superb workhorse, and short of dropping it onto its coupling, it can easily cope with rough handling from youngsters.

I bought this model new last year. Well, it 'had never been used' according to the advert, and I snapped it up on ebay for £25. 'Buy it Now' it said, so I did. Indeed it had never been used. The motor and brushes were pristine.

Dismantling it, it is well built, is easily repaired and fitting a DCC chip should be a doddle. The two bogies are powered from either end of the motor by a worm drive. Although the gears to the driving wheels are brass, the one that connects to the worm gear is plastic, and I would guess, could break if someone tried to push the engine around the track while pressing down hard.