Castings & Resources
Several of the parts of the Super Simplex are made from castings. As far as I know, there are no suppliers in the Unites States for any of the castings for the Super Simplex. I purchased all of my castings from England. The two suppliers I used are Kennions and Blackgates. If you check around on the internet, you will discover there are several other companies as well. There are several photos of the castings under the "Pictorial Build -1" button, under the Casting Kit title.
I got the majority of my castings from Kennions. Here's the internet address for Kennions, and the page specific to the Simplex:
http://www.glrkennions.co.uk/model-engineering-steam-locomotive-simplex.html
Many of the Simplex castings are the same ones as used in the Super Simplex. In fact, everything except the smoke box saddle, smoke box door, and the smoke box front ring are exactly the same. So, even though Kennions does not offer any of the Super Simplex castings, you can use all of the regular Simplex castings for everything except the ones I previously mentioned. Of all the casting suppliers, Kennions probably has the best prices.
The other supplier I got Super Simplex specific castings for, was Blackgates. They offer castings for both the Simplex, and the Super, so, you will have to specify exactly what you need when it comes to the castings like the smoke box saddle. Also, my boiler kit, lubricator, drain cocks and pressure gauge, all came from Blackgates.
http://www.blackgates.co.uk/5__gauge_locos.html
Another company in England that I have dealt with is Reeves. They sell only the castings for the regular Simplex. Here is the link to their page specific to the Simplex:
http://www.ajreeves.com/simplex.html
All three of the previously mentioned companies are also good resources for tools and materials. Another good supplier in England is Polly Model Engineering. I bought the drawings for the safety valves I used on my Super Simplex. They also supplied the correct springs and balls for the safety valves. Here's their website address:
http://www.pollymodelengineering.co.uk/index.asp
Also, do not overlook Ebay for a source for material, fasteners and tooling of all sorts. Many are available at bargain prices as new, or, new old stock items. I have gotten many things from Ebay.
Here's another place I have gotten a few of my hand valves and steam oil from, PM Research. Website address:
https://www.pmmodelengines.com
For metal supplies, there is Online Metals and McMaster-Carr. McMaster also sells tooling of all sorts, but, it is not cheap. If you buy from Online Metals shipping is quite cheap if you order small quantities as they ship small items in postal envelopes. Larger item are shipped UPS.
Lastly, there are the good folks from "Ride on Railways" These folks built my riding/tender car. Typically they build 1" scale cars for 5" gauge track. I asked them if they could build one of their riding/tender cars at 4-3/4". They said no problem and made a beautiful little riding car for me. I was so pleased with the car, that later the next year, I purchased another passenger car from them at 4-3/4" gauge also.
http://www.rideonrailways.co.uk/index.html
