Industrial 3F in EM from the Bachmann model
My interest in creating this model was first sparked by an entry in the "From Mainline to Industry" book (Published by Lightmoor Press) which mentioned that one BR 3F (Jinty) had been sold into industrial service in the coal industry. I thought nothing futher of it, until the release of the Bachmann model made modelling a 3F a significantly easier option! Although my industrial models usually centre around the steel industry, I really wanted to model this loco, so I set about finding prototype photos etc. Initially, all I could find was one tiny photo in a book, until I stumbled over Geoff Plumb's fotopic site, which had an album of industrial loco pics including some of this engine. See here for Geoff's site. The loco was operated by William Pepper at the Crigglestone (British Oak) disposal point near Wakefield.
So, I now went ahead and got hold of a suitable Bachmann model, and an Ultrascale drop in conversion kit to convert it to EM gauge for my industrial layout. This is such a straightforward way of getting up and running in EM (or P4 for that matter), and the whole thing took about 30 minutes to convert, including a slight cock-up where I accidentally adjusted the quartering of one of the wheelsets....... The completed chassis can be seen below:
Anyhow, the thing now ran on my track, and was found to be a good slow speed performer. I now set about making it look more like the real thing, which included removing things like the Dreadnought injector gear and various other bits which, according to Geoff's photos, appear to have been removed (or fell off) in industrial service. Also, I had bought (very cheaply) a 3F with plain tank sides, so I had to cut the keyholes in the tankside where the sandbox fillers lurk. I found the profile of the 3F's written by Graham Warburton in the late, lamented Modelling Railways Illustrated to be very useful for getting the size and position of these cutouts exactly right.
I also changed the handrails and knobs for finer versions using Gibson's knobs and 0.45mm brass wire. It was also off with the coal rails, and a few scraps of plastic card were pressed into service to represent an additional box (toolbox?) on the right hand side of the running boards next to the smokebox. The most interesting thing about this loco is its rather striking bright orange tanks and bunker! The photo below shows the loco body with basic painting completed - sorry for the pic quality but my SLR's batteries are flat so I had to use my phone camera.
I'm now waiting for some Fox Transfers to arrive so I can add the smokebox number plates and the electrification flashes which appear to be left over from the BR livery! Then, some fairly heavy duty weathering......
I'll post some progress updates as and when some more progress is made!
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