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Buffalo rescue 3: back to 1911


buffalo

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At the end of the last entry, I had just managed to avoid assembling a 1911 engine with a 1925 bunker. I hadn't really expected to make much progress over the next couple of days but things have gone rather well, so I thought a brief update was in order. A search through kit leftovers and other bits and pieces failed to locate any suitable replacement bunkers. In fact, I'm managing to collect a fair number of later cabs and bunkers so maybe sometime Ill have to try building something in 1920s or 1930s condition.

 

There was nothing for it but to try to scratchbuild a bunker. I approached this with some trepidation as although I've made many detailing parts to add to kits, I've never actually tried to scratchbuild a major component before. So, out came the brass sheet, gas torch, razor saw and various sizes of round bar. Very soon I had the beginnings of the bunker:

 

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This is an approximation to the early flared-top steel box fitted to many GWR tanks up to the later 1880s (RCTS type 31 or type 2A on Mikkel's gwr.org bunker page). During the 1890s these were often topped with coal rails and eventually the rails were infilled with, and later replaced by, fenders. Of course, examples of most of these types seem to have co-existed, but by the time of the first Buffalo pannier conversions in 1911, the latest type (91 or X1) with a beaded fender had become the norm. A few more pieces of brass were cut bent and soldered to produce the basic shape.

 

blogentry-6746-0-84416400-1364935739.jpg

 

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Now I'm back to the point that I thought I'd reached in the last entry. The tanks and bunker are still loose and there is more work to do before they are fixed.

 

blogentry-6746-0-07140200-1364935743.jpg

 

The next stages will involve some of the smaller details that will be less accessible once the tanks and bunker are fitted. There'll also be a bit more scratch building as the tank and smokebox front will need to be replaced...

 

Nick

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  • RMweb Gold

Looking great Nick, what did you use for the beading it looks a really good profile?

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  • RMweb Gold

Much impressed by that bunker, Nick. Shaping something like that in brass can't be easy. It looks even better than the kit components!

 

This project is fascinating to follow, I think. Was it Ian Rice who once put it like this: You are not building a Buffalo kit, you are using a kit to help you build a Buffalo.

 

Although before you're done there might not be much of the kit left! :-)

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Well, if you've never tried scratchbuilding a major component before, this should prove to you that you have shedloads of ability in that area. Well done. It looks excellent. Just for reference; what was the thickness of the sheet you used?

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Looking great Nick, what did you use for the beading it looks a really good profile?

Thanks, Dave. The beading is 0.45mm wire filed almost to a half-round section. I did something similar, but with 0.7mm wire, for the coal rails on my Buffalo saddle tank. Since then Eileen's have stocked half-round 0.7mm, but no smaller.

Much impressed by that bunker, Nick. Shaping something like that in brass can't be easy. It looks even better than the kit components!...

Thanks, Mikkel. Once annealed, the brass sheet is very easy to form around suitably sized round bar. The tricks seem to be calculating the right length of material to allow for the curved corners and aligning the bar to get the curve in the right place.

...Just for reference; what was the thickness of the sheet you used?

Thanks, Jan. It's 10 thou (0.26mm), slightly thinner than the etches in the kit which are 12 thou.

 

Nick

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Just the ticket for the classic Buffalo look - that bunker style is probably the most common type for that era. Not sure what to suggest for the chimney height, I think the taller one probably came in later (1920??), and although I prefer the taller one aesthetically, I think the shorter one is probably more correct for your era. Pre-WWI pannier Buffalo pics are like hen's teeth.

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Yes, I think you are right. The 1920 photo of 1252 on p186 of the South Devon book and the 1911 view of 1635 in Russell (Fig 248) both show the shorter copper-capped chimney. There are also some later shots of early converts with this type whereas most 1920s conversions appear to have the taller form.

 

Nick

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  • RMweb Gold

Really beautiful modelling Nick.

 

That bunker has come together nicely and is a very well executed.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

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