2996 Victor

Trouble is, I do like Lightmoor's books.....

Oh dear, my wallet is groaning already 🤣

Corrected! Thank you!

Dear All, Apologies to those who have already seen my thread on this subject in Prototype Questions, and thank you to everyone who has answered, especially @Compound2632 whose posts have been incredibly informative. It was suggested to me that I might garner additional comments if I posted here as well. Firstly, may I apologise for my very limited knowledge of all things Midland. I am in the process of designing a small/micro layout that I want to set in the Derbyshire Peaks area. My usual time period is 1905 give-or-take a year or two, but I'm tempted to wind back the clock into the late 19thC. I'm looking at two or three small tank locos, one of which will be a 1377 Class 0-6-0T. Along with many others, no doubt, I find Matthew Kirtley's double-framed designs charming, and while paddling the internet (I can't surf!) I came across this: Quite delightful! I want one!!! Its a Kirtley 0-6-0WT Small Well Tank Class. Wikipedia, that infallible 🤣 source of information, is of no help! Midland Locomotives Vol.3 by Essery & Jenkinson doesn't help, but Summerson's Midland Locomotives Vol.2 does (thank you @Compound2632!) and a copy is on its way to Victor Towers. The Midland Railway Study Centre lists some photos in its archive in the Summerson collection, which presumably are the ones in his book. The HMRS doesn't seem to have anything. Now to the kit ☹️ Its a Peter K effort and by all accounts barely even the basis of a scratch-build.....and although their website is still running, it appears that Kemilway have gone the way of the dodo. Where did they get their info? So, dear friends, my question is this: Where might I find information on this little gem of a loco? Ideally a drawing (ha-ha!), but some details of the class would be most welcome. Thanks in anticipation, Mark

🤣

Sound advice, and I agree totally about reading both the good and the not-so-good. I really do hope that Kemilway are still able to supply their kits as the range looks very enticing! Cheers, Mark

Thanks again! Totally agree about the knowing where to look - I do it all the time with work and it always makes me think of Sean Connery in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, "I wrote it down in my diary so I wouldn't have to remember it!" Incredible! What an anachronism - I'll bet they weren't popular with the crews for that reason. Some work to do there, then! I remembered the The Midland Railway Study Centre, and I've been having a quick peruse but so far I've only found a reference to photographs in the Stephen Summerson Collection - presumably these are the ones reproduced in his books, in which case a look at AbeBooks is on the cards! Perfect - my Get Out of Jail Card! Many, many thanks once again, Mark

Thank you so much for taking the time to find all that info - the numbering is, shall we say, mildly confusing. But its interesting to note that, generally-speaking, they don't appear to have changed much in appearance, although presumably some form of cab replaced the weatherboard at some point. It would be interesting to know what the Peter K kit was based on, whether it was just the 1903 diagram or whether it was a drawing. As for my Peaks scheme, I can always invoke Rule 1 and claim that my fictional branch is connected to a quarry or mine via a lightly-laid and tortuous line! Many thanks once again! Cheers, Mark

I emailed them at the weekend, also waiting for a reply, but not holding my breath after reading trustpilot reviews.....

Good thinking! Thanks! :) Cheers, Mark

Dear All, firstly, may I apologise for my very limited knowledge of all things Midland. I am in the process of designing a small/micro layout that I want to set in the Derbyshire Peaks area. My usual time period is 1905 give-or-take a year or two, but I'm tempted to wind back the clock into the late 19thC. I'm looking at two or three small tank locos, one of which will be a 1377 Class 0-6-0T. However, along with many others no doubt, I find Matthew Kirtley's double-framed designs charming, and while paddling the internet (I can't surf!) I came across this: Quite delightful! I want one!!! But, and here's the rub for a Midland Novice, what is it? A Kirtley 0-6-0 Well Tank, yes, but of what Class? Wikipedia, that infallible 🤣 source of information, is of no help! I've just received a copy of Midland Locomotives Vol.3 by Essery & Jenkinson which I'd hoped may have something but doesn't. Now to the kit :( Its a Peter K effort and by all accounts barely even the basis of a scratch-build..... And although their website is still running, it appears that Kemilway have gone the way of the dodo, which seems to be born out by Trustpilot reviews. So, dear friends, my question is this: Where might I find information on this little gem of a loco? Ideally a drawing (ha-ha!), but some details of the class would be most welcome. Thanks in anticipation, Mark

Hi Dave, Just wondered if you had any photos of the completed loco? Cheers, Mark

Those buildings look wonderfully decrepit! You can almost see the tomato vines in the signal box and hear Jeremiah Harbottle screeching, "Next train's gone!" 🤣🤣🤣 Cheers, Mark

Fair enough! :)

Excellent, thank you - now to find a copy! 🤣 Cheers, Mark

Fantastic, thank you! That's exactly what I was looking for, especially 2161 with the low bunker. How early on were the bunkers enlarged, would you say, given that 2171 is captioned as circa 1910? And what are the chances of them having been turned out in Wolverhampton Green? Thank you again, and best regards, Mark

Dear All, I'm looking for information on the Wolverhampton-built Small Prairies originally numbered 2161-2190: photographs and drawings are seemingly quite elusive of these locos in their earliest years. Among my own modest library I can find only Cyril Freezer's drawing, but this shows a "drop-frame" front end, which 2161-2190 weren't when built. I always thought that the GWR were fastidious in photographing their new locos in Shop Grey, but I can't seem to find any works photos of what became the 45xx! Is there any mileage in David Maidment's volume in the Pen & Sword Portfolio series? Thanks for any pointers. Cheers, Mark

Thanks - I was merely hoping that someone who had the model on their bench might be able to confirm or dispel what had already been inferred by others, hence the question mark.

Thanks, Stephen, for managing to embed the actual comments - unfortunately I'm using my mobile at present and it's causing a few problems at the moment. Thanks also for adding the additional info. Regards, Mark

Hi Stephen, The posts that I was referring to are http://There has never been an RTR GWR Iron Mink prior to this one. There has been two kits of the V6 diagram; a white metal one by ABS kits (no longer available), and a plastic one by Ratio (now via Peco) and still available. I've never seen an ABS kit but I seem to understand that it was quite well regarded in terms of dimensions and detail, but happy to be proven wrong. The Ratio kit is too narrow in the body, and as the sides are too high the roof doesn't sit flush against the sides and ends, leaving a minor air gap, but is otherwise quite serviceable and can be tinkered with to suit the modeler's prerogative. This new Rails version has attracted much comment as to its quality and finesse. Straight away I would say the roof sheet looks too thick and therefore crude, the brake gear looks overscale, the coupling hook looks a bit flimsy and done in plastic which would make fitting 3-links a challenge (and it doesn't seem like 3-links are included, despite Oxford Rail now including them with their wagons at 1/2 the price of this), and the wheels are Dapol's standard crude type that are overscale in most dimensions (spokes, wheel rims etc). Others have mentioned that the holes on the solebar are too large, but I cannot comment on that. The livery on some versions is suspect too. It would have been very unlikely for the late GWR and BR versions to have a brilliant white roof such as that shown - certainly by the start of WW2 all van roofs went into a dark grey colour. Furthermore, the late-GWR livery is dodgy as the font style does not look right - the lettering is too narrow. Hope this helps. CoY https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/166005-new-gwr-iron-mink/?do=findComment&comment=4520762 and most particularly http://The absence of an RTR V6 has always been something of an inexplicable omission from the mainstream manufacturers (also the absence of an authentic GWR open!), so this Rails announcement is not a surprise. As to the current Rails pictures, I have comments similar to others made here, but the aspect that jumps out at me is the badly incorrect proportions of the door framing. No excuse, really, given the real thing is accessible to a simple tape measure at Didcot. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/166005-new-gwr-iron-mink/?do=findComment&comment=4521558 Cheers, Mark

Been reading the thread on the Rails Iron Mink and it seems it has some fundamental problems with the door framing and other dimensions? Disappointing. If Rapido can do a better job, great, but the red livery would still be nice to see. Mark

I missed that - you live under a rock for a couple of years and look what happens? Actually, I've been building aeroplanes, but the result is much the same! I bet Rails haven't got any red Minks left..... Cheers, Mark

Any chance of the red livery on the pre-1904 version? Cheers, Mark

@rapidoandy +1 here for red livery on the pre-1904 version, please! And on the Iron Mink, too, please. You don't even need to change the running numbers..... Cheers, Mark

Hi Julian, Following this thread with interest! I meant to say CustomOO9 have released (or are about to) a 3D-print of Parracombe water tank here. Post is dated January 29th. I tried to include a direct link, but it returns to RMWeb home page! Probably a bit late for you, but may be of interest. Cheers, Mark