Many years ago I bought a selection of odd castings from ebay, with no clues as to what they were off.
Quite by accident I found an ME, 1982, and thumbing through it I recognised the axlebox style as used on the 3.1/2″ 8F 2-8-0 Euston then being serialised. The castings I have are larger, but scaling them from the 3.1//2″ drawing to 5″ they match exactly.
The question is, then, who did a castings set for a 5″ 8F loco, probably back in the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s. Looking in the only suppliers now existing, Reeves and Blackgates, they don’t do a 5″ 8F.
I have other castings from the same source, some are 3.1/2″, some 5″, no idea if from the 8F or other locos.
The axleboxes could be from similar era LMS locos, Royal Scott, Black 5 etc that used the same 6 wheel tender. Other castings are driving axles horn angles, but ony 6 of them meaning possibly a 6 coupled engine?
It is incredably hard to work back from a casting to a loco, should imagine tipping over the shelving holding dozens of engines would mean a real disaster!