GEM N Gauge Loco Kit Etched Valve Gear Fret Unable to Identify Narrow Gauge 009?

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To be honest, I am really not sure of the origins of this item and if anyone can positively identify it, I would be very grateful as my prolonged investigations have led to no obvious result!

It is an etched nickel silver fret from a GEM loco kit. I purchased it as an oddment very many years ago for an 009 scratchbuilding project which I thought would save me hours of valve gear fretting, but in the end it was not used and has recently turned up. The etch seems to be designed for a loco with eight wheels as there are eight wheel balance weights, also Walschaerts valve gear and double slide bar cylinders. This eliminates the GEM narrow gauge range that I know of, also looks like a loco-tender drawbar is there. Two very hefty looking motion bar brackets? It may even of course be incomplete?

By way of identification(!) etched onto the sheet are the GEM logo, the numbers 03 and on the top right hand corner the letters ‘WP’ the designer or etcher? The 03 is nothing to do with the Farish 03, the etch pre-dates it considerably. It has been suggested it may have been used to convert an 0-6-0 chassis with an additional pair of wheels to create an eight-coupled unit which would date it before the release of the Farish 8F.

Having said that, it is a useful addition for chassis building in 009 or N gauge, many thanks for looking.

Good luck with your bids.

Category: Collectables:Model Railways and Trains:N Gauge:Locomotives
Location: Nottingham