Hello Julian,
I bought one of these brand new not that long after they first came out, how many years ago now?
It’s subsequently sold, sorry.
I liked it, mine ran well and pulled reasonably well, not that I had a lot of stock at that time. I think they were all factory digitally fitted and the decoder automatically detected whether you were analog or not.
Mine was early BR black, I think you could also get GWR green and late BR black too.
I believe that more knowledgeable people than myself criticised the model for having a larger tender than usual, this was to fit the motor in, therefore - yes, it was tender drive.
I was disappointed that Peco didn’t expand the range, maybe that’s explained by the rather hefty price tag for the time, £100 or so, rings a bell.
If I were to go N gauge ever again, I would try and get another.
Hope that helps,
John