Making Do

[relaxinghobby]

A coat of paint hides much, the undercoat to show up where any filling is needed and covers all those unrealistic multi-coloured bits of plastic.

 

 

I also need to reverse engineer a prototype for Thomas, a small 6 wheel industrial tank with forward tank extensions.

 

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

It's good to see other conversions of RTR models of little known provenance, would the prototype have been run on British Railways before being shipped over seas? I'm assuming it was a wartime 8F built before the cheaper austerity 8Fs ...

I'm not entirely sure on the history of the Turkish 8Fs prior to being exported, I gather information's quite hard to come by as it was done in relative secrecy in war time...

There is an excellent book from Oakwood Press which will reveal much, based on records compiled by Ron Jarvis who was the LMS engineer assigned to the job of 'making it happen' at the Turkish end. Basically the Stanier 8Fs for Turkey were shipped from NBL Glasgow as crated kits of the major components and all necessary fittings; for reassembly at the receiving nation's loco works. Ron Jarvis was accompanied by Fred Soden, an assembly shop foreman, the pair of them went out with the kits and did very well indeed. Ron in particular undertook considerably more than the basic job he was charged with, just one more unsung contribution to the war effort.The book is worth the money for the account of this alone; it also contains much on LMS happenings including the DMU, design process on the BR standards and Bulleid rebuilds and much more; very strongly recommended.

 

'Ron Jarvis - from Midland Compound to the HST' by J.E. Chacksfield pub The Oakwood Press ISBN 085361 618 3

 

...Other possible protoypes which could perhaps be justified to 'might have' run on UK lines were the USA 2-8-2s for the French post war railway? Perhaps some could have turned up in the UK?

...

I don't think so; these were ordered by the French government directly from US loco works, and began to be delivered some months after VE day, so there was no need for them to come to the UK. They simply would not have been able to run in the UK either, as they were built to the continental loading gauge. It is quite interesting to see that this design which was a medium power tender loco by US standards (pretty much equivalent to a standard five 4-6-0 in UK practise for ubiquity as a general purpose machine) was a good 15% larger than the maximum power tender locos which ran in the UK...

[Sailor Charon]

They have the remains of one of the USA 2-8-0 at the Nottingham Heritage Railway at Ruddington, the only one in the UK? Other possible protoypes which could perhaps be justified to 'might have' run on UK lines where the USA 2-8-2s for the French post war railway? Perhaps some could have turned up in the UK?

I believe that the S160 (2-8-0) , which I think is the one you're talking about, and the S200 (2-8-2) were both suited for the UK loading gauge, although the sources I have for the second may be wrong.

[DVLR Dave]

Some examples of the S160 2-8-0 did run in the UK during the war-there is photograph of one (2107) on a northbound freight in Ernest Sandersons book (Railway Memories No1: York (Bell Code)). I believe they were "run-in" in the UK prior to being shipped abroad following D Day.

[relaxinghobby]

Is there any USA consolidation type or 2-8-0 model in HO that could be easily adapted for use on a 4mm layout. That is allowing for the difference in size between HO and 00 scale?

[Sailor Charon]

Is there any USA consolidation type or 2-8-0 model in HO that could be easily adapted for use on a 4mm layout. That is allowing for the difference in size between HO and 00 scale?

 

Having had a quick rummage in t'interweb, there doesn't seem to be an RTR S160, but there is (was?) as DJH kit that made one. (in HO). There is somebody who's trying to get one made, link

[dana]

The Bachmann"thomas" paint wagon with a little bit of work could be used as a works wagon hualing paint to stations and other buildings along the line of the railway to be painted .

[relaxinghobby]

Progress on that cheeky little blue engine and some troublesome trucks.

 

[Churchill8F]

That's looking rather smart so far, looks great with the rake.

[Sailor Charon]

Looking good. Although there seems to be part of the boiler missing between the tanks at the front, unless it's the angle. I can't help feeling that the bottom of the boiler should be lower than the extensions.

[i've got a 'lack of bottom of boiler' problem on the pacific Jubilee, because the Britannia boiler... cuts off quite high up.]

[relaxinghobby]

The gap is where the motor unit sits. It is a sort of black plastic rectangle which fills the gap and makes it invisible. I'm also working on adapting some white metal figures to

drive this loco and hide all that electrickery in the cab.

[Sailor Charon]

The gap is where the motor unit sits. It is a sort of black plastic rectangle which fills the gap and makes it invisible. I'm also working on adapting some white metal figures to

drive this loco and hide all that electrickery in the cab.

 

Fair enough. I'm quite happy to sit corrected. So, yes, it is indeed looking good.

[relaxinghobby]

 

Some shorty wagons built from scraps and broken 2nd hand stuff after some mad hacksawing.

 

Tri-ang toy tanker reduced to 9ft wheel base, and two early 19th century dumb buffer mineral wagons made from Lima

HO wagons which are the right width, the grey chassis is a ratio with the middle removed.

 

By the late Victorian period they would have been banned from the mainline and be used as only 'internal user' on colliery and quarry networks.

[relaxinghobby]

Here is a bit of an Ertl theme.

 

 

The Ertl Stepney is slowly developing into a sort of dock shunter on it's Bachmann chassis, a step by step process, do a bit and see what it looks like.

The boiler has become longer and the tanks wider.

 

 

This is an Ertl oil tank on a Ratio chassis, 4mm has been cut out of the lenght of the tank to fit it to the Ratio 9ft wheel base wagon chassis, the

supports or cradle is made from strips of Evergreen strip number 179, 2.5 x 6.3 mm. I've used some grainy old photos from the internet for inspiration.

 

 

Some Ertl Annie and Clarabel coaches to make a train for the not Thomas, I intend to mount them on some spare brake van chassis, this one is an old

Lima one.

[relaxinghobby]

The tank now has rigging added using bits of nickle-silver wire. I hope this makes it look fussy enough which is always the impression I get from these old

style tank wagons.

 

 

 

I am also trying to get that skeletal look they had because they had no floor and you could see down through the chassis.

[relaxinghobby]

 

 

 

Some more work has been done to model some older style tank wagons. There is very little information and drawings on this

type of wagon, but they did not vary much compared with ones built up to the 1960s, just the tanks were smaller so the overall wagon weight would be lower.

[relaxinghobby]

Hornby on old Tri-ang metal chassis, the bottom of the tank cradle has been shaved to allow that to sit lower,

it is moulded from a soft and slippery plastic that does not cut easily with a knife but does allow sawing and filing.

 

MJT private owner wagon buffers added and some brakes from the left overs of plastic wagon kits, the best glue for

all this was a gel-super-glue, as solvent does not touch the slippery Hornby plastic and in effect I was gluing different

types of plastic to metal and the super-glue gel is very forgiving for my sloppily cut joints.

You can just see the “United Dairies†on the side of the tank, but I think I will repaint it as a scruffy and oily petroleum

spirit tanker?

 

Couplings and axle boxes to come, I used PECO plastic cup bearings for the new pin point axle wheel sets.

 

 

[relaxinghobby]

 

The not-Terrier, dock shunter type is slowly developing from the Ertl body, I've cut out the cab side cut-out and it

 

looks more 3-D although the very thick sides of the plastic moulding are revealed. I've not cut out the doorway as that

 

would weaken the body too much.

 

 

The footplate has been thickened by a 20 thou' thickness of white plasticard stuck to the bottom.

[37255]

I like the look of that one! Incidentally, your avatar... Loughborough GC, behind the shed? ... That's enough anorakism from me for today!

[relaxinghobby]

Yes, it is spooky at the engine shed at Loughborough, there are lots of bits of dismembered tank engines lying around, I'm worried

for Thomas and friends.

[37255]

There used to be one at Foxfield with no eyes, now THAT was scary! Think it's since been painted properly though... Reminds me, I must get round to buying that Hornby percy body, just to see whether the mad Hudswell Clarke project I drunkenly planned a few weeks ago could actually work!

[relaxinghobby]

 

Loughborough engine shed is not a good place for little tank engines like Thomas.

 

 

The nearest boiler has the name 'Bagnal' chalked on it.

[relaxinghobby]

 

The super-Terrier progresses.

 

 

Starting to add weight, bits of chopped up lead and white metal glued in with super glue.

 

Buffer beams and mock frame ends added from black plasticard. Got to give it a running test to see if the

 

coupling rods clear the new footplate.

 

 

 

Still have not got the hang of using the camera flash light.

[relaxinghobby]

Some more tankers.

 

 

Not sure if this one is particularly prototypical, more an impressionist tanker, now with an old kit chassis from an Ian Kirk kit I think.

 

 

I've got one protoype photo of an early tanker with two small tanks, There is no floor so the timbers of the chassis can be seen, on my model I've fitted them with plastic strip. The tanks are from a pen body with bolts for the round ends.

[relaxinghobby]

 

An old RTR cattle wagon, I've given it flatter roof and new wheels. With a coat of paint to hide all that shiny metal it should

 

look more realistic.