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Specification and Construction.

Frame is 3mm steel angle topped by steel plate. The body on the Merchant No1 is built from folded and soldered brass with a combined steel and brass roof section. 

The bogies are built conventionally from 1.5mm steel plate with brass spacers. 

Essel Engineering wheels are used with stainless steel axles running in bronze bearings. The bogies are attached to the frame with very substantial bearings giving a 3 point suspension.

Power generation.

An OS 4 stroke glow plug engine fitted with a pull start mechanism drives a generator through a flexible coupling. The generator produces electricity which is smoothed and filtered before driving the cooling fan and feeding the Mac 5 controller.

A 125 cc fuel tank is carried in the short body section. The engine exhaust system is effective without restricting the engine. It runs along the engine with the expansion box being underneath the frames.

The bulge in the left hand main body section conceals the exhaust pipe.

Two  motor - gearbox units are fitted, geared at 30:1 with one driving each bogie. Maxon motors are fitted as standard. Gearboxes use spur and helical gears as worm transmission wastes lots of power.
These are connected in parallel to the Mac 5 with individual fuses for each motor.

Control system.

This locomotive is supplied with radio control fitted. Channel 2 on the transmitter controls the engine throttle and Channel 1 operates the Mac 5 in the usual way. 
Opening the engine throttle produces more engine revs and thus more volts from the generator. 
This voltage is then available to the Mac 5 to control the locomotive's speed and direction.

Merchant No. 1 was sold on 17th July 2002 and has been exported to Azerbaijan. This is painted with black frames, roof section and bogies, signal red buffer beams and signal yellow body.

Merchant No. 2 was completed in November 2002 and was painted LMS maroon with black frames and red buffer beams.
A new merchant is planned for 2006 and will be based on Caernarfon Castle as running on the Welsh Highland Railway. Merchant bodies are made from brass. Chassis and bogies are made from steel.