[Keeping 26043 alive.....No1 end.....you get the picture]

Many thanks once again for taking the time to post this progress report - the insight into what diesel locomotive preservation involves is much appreciated. 

 

I seem to recall that Hymek D7029 had a bodged BR repair at one end which caused some issues for the DTG. I wonder what percentage of BR locos which reached preservation didn't have similar issues lurking under the skin after their years of service....?

[Wenford debut - Uckfield MRC show]

That was D2127 in June 1966 Hal, unusually still wasp-stripeless by then (Heljan ref 2052 just the job, only needs numbers adding). 

 

Lovely job Pete, as Mikkel says the understated appearance works so well, as does the end mirror making the long straight building look even longer - as it was in reality. I visited the site in April 1968 (with a schoolfriend and his dad who drove us there) hoping to see the "Drewry" but the Class 03s had departed the previous year and we found Class 08 D3255 there instead. I walked part of the branch around 1970/71 and often wished I'd visited the line again since as it had a charm all of its own, but life and circumstances got in the way. I found myself in Bodmin in early September 1983 and did think about it again, but with a family in tow by then I rejected the idea - the line closed 3 weeks later, having existed for 149 years, and that was that!

 

Of course it's well known that Class 37s could never have traversed the branch, I believe the only bogie vehicle allowed up it was the SR's 'Queen Mary' brake van (and S56294 has been recorded) but prototypical operation would be a little dull so......Rule 1 enacted! Coincidentally I have a Bachmann model of 37412 sitting in my modelling room right now, I discovered it on a market stall earlier this year for £40 in need of a little TLC and aware that it worked the china clays in full Scottish regalia from August 1989 it had to join my other three Cornish 37s 😁!

 

If you do bring the layout along to Camborne (whether the trains stop there or not!) at some point I'll have to come along and see it 👍

[Copenhagen to Penzance by rail]

A great read Mikkel, thank you so much for putting this wonderful presentation together - it must have taken you a while! Your comment about Euston vs Kings Cross made me chuckle!

 

Regarding the manual signalling in Cornwall, as I understand it the semaphores at Lostwithiel (where I was yesterday, photographing the CDA clay wagons in their final week as well as the signals), Par and Truro are due to be replaced by this November, although I heard yesterday that this has now been extended to February 2024 (?) Those at Liskeard, St Blazey and St Erth will remain for now, but how much longer is unknown (to me anyway). Perhaps @st simon can provide an update. There were signalling engineers at Lostwithiel yesterday doing their thing with equipment cabinets in what was the down sidings area.

 

I wonder if Sullivan's is where I purchased sustenance 20 years ago tomorrow, during D1015 Western Champion's triumphant return to its old stomping ground after a 26-year absence? I'll have to check next time I'm there.......

[Dapol pannier - from zero to hero?]

Regarding the wiper pickups acting directly on the railhead - I too resorted to this on an OO Wrenn Class 08 diesel shunter, which I originally bought in 1975 but never did anything meaningful with until 1991. I discovered that its running wasn't brilliant and that this was probably due to the wheels on the outer axles not quite sitting squarely on the track (the centre wheelset, although flanged unlike the Hornby Dublo original, was unsuitable for power collection). So I replaced the plastic keeper plate with a piece of copper-clad circuit board electrically 'split' down the middle and soldered up 4 pickup 'shoes' to contact the railhead between the wheels, so two on each side. To get enough springing into the phosphor bronze strip (giving a lighter touch than the nickel-silver strip I also had to hand) I soldered these pickup arms to the cooper-clad on the side opposite the rail they were to act upon (and at an angle to clear each other), with the pickup 'shoes' being small curved squares of brass offcuts from Kings Cross etched nameplates (which had to be cut and filed to shape - I don't miss that task! - never throw anything away, you never know what's going to come in handy years down the line 😉!)

I still have the loco and I believe it still works but, although a picture would help, I'm not able to provide one right now (I'm between phones!) However I hope this confirms that in some situations this method of power collection is a viable solution.

[The Four Ages of Warships – Bachmann Types]

On 19/06/2023 at 09:19, Eveannessant said:

Halvarras you must be the worlds most fanatical Warship fan ever........!

 

 

Well, I did see all of them in service between 1966 and the end in 1972, in Cornwall they were hard to avoid, but TBH I preferred the more modern appearance of the Westerns and Hymeks (and Brush Type 4s........sorry!) But I did miss them when they went and appreciate them all the more now, as the technical aspects - especially 2,200hp in less than 80 tons - was impressive. There are bigger Warship fanatics than me out there......😉!

 

4 hours ago, Silver Sidelines said:

 I wonder what the next challenge is going to be?

 

 

I wonder that too but I really must avoid any more time-consuming projects like this one (lesson learned) - I was working on a pair of Dapol Class 22s when this Warship intervened, they've had their side valances glued on but now I have to find a new way of attaching the bodies, to avoid a 'Lima Warship' situation (anyone who has tried to remove the body of one of these without damage will know what I mean!)

 

By the time I retired four years ago I had purchased a lot of models, most of which require some work, even if just renumbering to specific locos, but after a good start I got distracted onto so many other things, such as my blinged-up Tri-ang 'Nellie' and Dock Authority shunter plus two mates, that this 'grand plan' is now way behind where it should be (and RMweb prompted some of this side-tracking, but ultimately I didn't have to do these things - they just appealed, so I can only blame myself!)

 

But, hey, who knows......watch this space 😎!?

[The Four Ages of Warships – Bachmann Types]

On 29/05/2023 at 13:55, Halvarras said:

I currently have a Mainline maroon D823 'Hermes' on the workbench into which I am attempting to fit the remnants of a D800 Mazak Rot victim which I foolishly added to a Hattons order on a whim cos it was cheap........and now wonder exactly what I've got myself into, as the chassis block is, er, somewhat shorter than it used to be and the motor is defunct, requiring replacement by a slightly rattly Class 25 unit I happen to have spare (phew!) The project has just reached the Point Of No Return as far as D823's body/underframe is concerned, if this works perhaps I'll post more - if it doesn't I won't mention it again 🤐!

 

 

Guess what - I've managed to nail it together so I'll mention it again! This purchased-on-a-whim Mazak Rot victim Bachmann Warship (D800) had a casting with broken ends, one broken bogie frame, wheels and frame missing at one end and a motor which seemed to have its own built-in variable speed control. I should have admitted defeat there and then but a challenge is a challenge, I had that spare Class 25 motor/flywheels and some Mainline Warship wheels and knew where I could get some cheap Bachmann Class 42 bogie frames, and once the imagination got to work on how to (possibly) rescue the situation imposed by my too-hasty purchase all of my other projects got sidetracked.......again.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen........or is it now "Hello Everyone!".........I present.......um.......this contraption:

This required some serious opening up of the Mainline underframe - I used the green D800 frame upside-down as a template. Spot the Triang-Hornby parts - the brass bosses are epoxied (is that a real word?) to the tops of the cast Bachmann gear towers, possible future weak spots but so far so good. The central casting seems to be sound enough, even if the remaining end extensions broke off with finger pressure, and so hard I gave up trying to drill holes in it (with a Bosch drill!) to take self-tapping screws through the underside, to secure the underframe. Instead I used a pair of T-H long brass bolts down through the diagonally opposite holes previously used by the Bachmann body securing screws in the opposite direction. The plasticard/Plastruct top assembly is self-evident. Although I strengthened this as much as internal clearances would allow it still bows slightly as the weight of the casting, motor, remaining flywheel and plastic underframe is supported on the T-H bogie pivots - the best I could do but next time I find a KS Metals stand I'll see if I can get some brass right-angle strip to bolster it. Because I didn't trust the casting not to fracture if I tried to force self-tappers into it I reused the two crosshead screws from the small circuit board at one end but had to find a close match from my screws box for the other two - and only had a pair of 'normals', so I marked which end takes which screw type - just being cautious. In retrospect the two plasticard rectangles at either end, drilled to take four body securing screws, were not necessary, but never mind.

 

The Class 25 motor was a straight fit into the Class 42 bracket but the flywheels were closer to the motor, so the remaining driveshaft had to be stretched by 4.5mm - after pondering where I could find a suitable tube to effect the extension (cotton buds having paper stems these days) I found the answer located about 9 inches from my right ear, which is where the pen shown was lurking on a shelf! A tight push-fit, no glue or pins required - perfick! The second flywheel was not essential and added to the weight, so was quickly removed with a slitting disc in the Dremel. At this point the motor ran quietly one way but even more rattly in the other - I reckoned if I could stop the shaft moving longitudinally I might improve it.........so I tried cutting a pair of Peco 1/16th" fibre washers (R-8) into 'clip-on' C-shapes and pushed them into place between motor bearing and flywheel with tweezers and small screwdriver - result!! Quiet in both directions. Well that worked out better than I'd dared hope for. The right-hand bogie has no gearing in it so, being two-axle drive now, I fitted Mainline traction-tyred wheels to opposite corners of the driven end.

 

This side of the chassis shows how I had to glue a piece of brass tube into the broken corner of the casting to take the T-H brass screw into the underframe. The two Bachmann bogie frames obtained as spares (from ekmexhibitions.co.uk) should have simply clicked onto the Bachmann bogie castings, but no way - and no sign of the dreaded Rot expansion either (perhaps that's why they were only a quid each). Much filing of both parts (and cussing) later I was nearly there.......and broke the inner end vertical piece off one of the frames trying to get it off. Darn it! A-ha - no gears in the trailing end meant that I could drill and tap this to take a screw through the underside - problem solved. But I then had to be careful not to break the other one as well. More filing, and once it was on the driven bogie I decided this one would have to stay on, which is why a central body securing screw at each end wouldn't work, hence the four screws in the corners.

The inside of the body shows the drilled body securing 'ledge' supported by Miliput epoxy filler forced into the nose space, the more inset 'shelf' supporting the cab interior (control panel and seats) and upper part of the cab rear bulkhead glued to and ahead of the pins this would normally be located onto. This was the third attempt at getting the cab interiors in and the only way I could get the chassis to fit with sufficient clearance for bogie swing.

 

And the finished article, looking just like any other Mainline D823 but running considerably more quietly - just like a Bachmann one in fact. Externally I've fitted etched plates (name and works plates from Modelmaster - yes, yes, I know, but they did come through.......eventually - and cabside crests origin uncertain as they're not included in the Modelmaster pack, but I've had these for years, they just required some spots of blue paint), scribed the cab side glazing internally to emphasize the vertical central frame, painted the windscreen centre pillars maroon and the wipers black.

 

So, having described the work and being satisfied with the end result myself, would I recommend this to anyone with a Mazak Rot Warship sitting around in bits? Er...............no, I'm not convinced this amount of work and frequent exasperation was worth it, I certainly wouldn't bother again but I hope it at least made for an entertaining read!

[The Four Ages of Warships – Bachmann Types]

Wow! Mint boxed it may be, but - no Class 43-matching lights/DCC socket/see-through etched fan grilles or other separately-fitted details (except nose-end handrails), slightly tired tooling and the most inaccurate version of them all (wrong boiler details and no Zulu-specific roof horns), in an unpopular livery:

 

https://www.hattons.co.uk/1337732/bachmann_branchline_32_057_po15_class_42_warship_d870_zulu_in_br_blue_pre_owned_fair_box/stockdetail

 

These old Class 42s are really holding their value compared to the Class 43s. Good job I bought my two 870s 'back in the day' when they could still be had for forty quid each brand new over the counter.......£226 would be a no-go 🙂

[The Four Ages of Warships – Bachmann Types]

2 hours ago, andyman7 said:

I don't know about the gearing but hopefully if they do a weathered one, they will model a specific loco with screen printed rust spots and marks particular to a time service rather than just mist with mud. Their more recent efforts have been a step change and a Warship would be an ideal candidate for the treatment.

Another thing that has struck me when looking at the Mainline and Bachmann class 42 production is that in the entire 32 year or so use of the tooling, blue livery was only ever correctly used for 827 Kelly, firstly (using the final variant of the blue livery application) on the original Mainline release and then much later on a 2010 Bachmann 21-pin release, using the slightly earlier pattern of blue livery with cab logos and serif numbers. Rather frustrating for us blue-era adherents with so many great subjects that could actually have been covered. 

 

I'm not hopeful about the gearing either, especially since the effect can be overcome by DCC users, which I am not. This is causing me to rethink which of my Warships I will end up keeping for my BLT and planned diesel depot layout, which both require good slow running ability, but I need to choose a new controller and see how the '43s' perform with it first. I use etched EE Class 37/40/50 horn grilles as NBL exhaust ports on '42' to '43' conversions.

 

827 in its final guise was perhaps not the best choice by Mainline as it only ran in that condition from 23/4/71 until withdrawal 1/1/72 - just over 7 months. I agree, all of the other blue possibilities and 'Kelly' has been done twice! D813, D814, D819, D821, D822, D826 & D828 have never been produced in any livery so far, all bar D822 and D828 carried two versions of blue and all are correct for the tooling. In fact, after Mainline selected four correct subjects Bachmann seemed so intent on selecting wrong ones (D800/1/4/6/8/9/10*/12/67/70) that I had to wonder whether they were saving the right ones for an eventual full retool......

 

*810 not produced, as we know, but it was selected

[The Four Ages of Warships – Bachmann Types]

2 hours ago, andyman7 said:

Doing some more ferreting around with this list it would appear that 32-062 Cockade (weathered blue) was not actually made. Here's a thread from the time:

 

 

Quite right, weathered blue 810 never appeared - I believe it was canned when the Class 43 was announced instead.

I wonder if weathered Class 43s will ever appear? (And if so will the awful gearing be amended?)

[The Four Ages of Warships – Bachmann Types]

On 29/05/2023 at 16:56, Silver Sidelines said:

I parted with my Mainline models some years ago so I cannot check but I have it in my mind that 'Highflyer' and 'Intrepid' had different roofs to each other.  It sticks in my mind because I marvelled at the time that Mainline would go to the trouble of making two different bodyshells.

 

Cheers Ray

 

Although I don't have (and have never had) D825 'Intrepid' to be absolutely certain, I don't believe any tooling changes were made to the Mainline tooling as the roof detail on the Bachmann Class 42 is the same as the earlier version. The Mainline Warship dates back to a time when tooling slides were not widely, if ever, employed - the different nose-end designs applied to the Class 45 Peak were one-way tooling changes, once the split-box version appeared the original split-centre headcode could not be re-run.

 

I was quite impressed to see D831 'Monarch' in Bsyp livery released as I had resprayed a Mainline model to represent this one back in 1991 - I saw the real D831 often as it was a regular on the late 1960s 'Cornish Riviera' double-headers. However my version differs from Bachmann's as I didn't agree that it had a grey roof (the Corporate Image did not specify this for blue diesels). It also runs on a Lima chassis, one of five Mainline/Lima combos I put together in the 1990s and all in different liveries. They've been in storage since their last public appearance in 2005 and have now shed nameplates and traction tyres, but restoration is on my To Do List as, even if the hobby has moved on in the meantime, I am still rather proud of them!

[The Four Ages of Warships – Bachmann Types]

7 hours ago, D 844 said:

I also liked doing the two hole wheel set on D824 as it always had at least one, just a little filler and paint job.

 

Now that's a detail I wasn't aware of! (Almost as obscure as green D811's right-facing BR emblem 😊!)

[The Four Ages of Warships – Bachmann Types]

14 hours ago, D 844 said:

Just finished cab mods on my third Class 42 and to me look a lot better, it takes about one hour per loco and the cost is nothing, also done seats from scrap coach interior.

 

I see you've managed to fit bufferbeam corner steps to D804 - without breaking off those notoriously fragile sprung buffers they're hung from? Well done Sir 😀!

[The Four Ages of Warships – Bachmann Types]

2 hours ago, Silver Sidelines said:

Yes Mazac rot!  D800 Sir Brian is one of the models that suffers.  Some time ago I bought a model of Sir Brian which was advertised as having been repaired by Bachmann.  Sadly the seller didn't pack the parcel very well and on arrival one of the bogie towers was damaged.  I had another Sir Brian on hand with an apparently complete bogie tower which I would fit.  Move on to the begining of this year when I thought it was time to bring Sir Brian out of storage.  Sadly it kept turning left at various points and crossovers.  On inspection it was apparent that the bogie casting had warped and on dismantling it was even more obvious that the pins holding the two parts of the tower together had disintegrated.  Interestingly Bachmann are still selling replacement bogies and a search of the Internet will show other suppliers.  I have a soft spot for Sir Brian but he still needs some proper etched plates.  Not long ago I did buy a set off eBay but it was immediately obvious that they were the wrong dimensions.  They didn't cover the Bachmann printed plates and the spacing of the lettering didn't match pictures of the prototype.

 

D800 Sir Brian Robertson - Bachmann 32-055

 

Warped - turn left!!

 

Spot the broken ins and the crazed casting.

 

D800 Sir Brian Robertson back in service

 

I see what you mean about the crazing - not what you what to see. The gear tower castings on mine seem to be OK. However the model came without wheelsets or bogie frame at one end so the intention is to arrange drive to one end with Mainline wheelsets at the other (actually I've swapped the insulated wheels over so the driven end has traction tyres). The supplied bogie frame was damaged but Ekmexhibitions have these for a quid each (plus I need some equally cheap Class 37 frames too, order going in this week). Main problem is that only the middle bit of the main casting remains, thankfully it seems sound but the fun part will be building new bogie pivots cantilevered off this out of plasticard - designed in my head, manufacturing commenced and I have a cunning plan involving some Tri-ang Hornby parts........

 

General note to all with Mainline and Bachmann Class 42s - if the boiler compartment vent above the nameplate is not on the same side as the central fuel filler opening on the underframe you have the body on the wrong way round 😉!

[The Four Ages of Warships – Bachmann Types]

34 minutes ago, andyman7 said:

This is a useful list, and highlights one of Bachmann's weaknesses until fairly recently of being fairly cavalier about picking subjects that matched the tooling. There are 19 examples listed here of which only 7 match the body tools, even though there were 17 real life examples in the fleet that matched the tools!. I remember being quite excited when 870 Zulu was announced as this had unique rood mounted horns within a little but very distinctive fairing - but I was then disappointed that the model was just the standard one reliveried. For blue FYE examples, they only managed one Class 42 of the right type to suit their tools in the entire lifetime of the model, and that was a repeat of the one Mainline modelled! Mainline only ever did four locos and they were all correct for the tools.
Bachmann are much better now, in the past few years new tooling sets reflect a much wider set of variations and locos are modelled on actual subjects.

 

I entirely agree. Isn't it strange that, despite its fame as the first BR diesel to be preserved by a private individual, both Mainline and Bachmann managed to dodge D821 'Greyhound' even though it matches the tooling. On the other hand, as soon as the centre-drive chassis was ready Bachmann wasted no time producing a model of the other preserved example, D832 'Onslaught'. 'Greyhound' has been produced in model form, but by Fleischmann in HO scale.

Strictly speaking the Mainline/Bachmann Class 42 tooling represents just one locomotive, D818 'Glory', whose unique Spanner Mark III train heating boiler gave it a bespoke centre roof panel, as described in my topic 'D818 Glory - Misfit with a Legacy' a couple of years ago. The Fleischmann model was the same, and my assumption is that both manufacturers used D818 on static display at Swindon Works for research purposes. On D813-7/9-32 the train heating boiler roof detail was the same as Class 43.

I currently have a Mainline maroon D823 'Hermes' on the workbench into which I am attempting to fit the remnants of a D800 Mazak Rot victim which I foolishly added to a Hattons order on a whim cos it was cheap........and now wonder exactly what I've got myself into, as the chassis block is, er, somewhat shorter than it used to be and the motor is defunct, requiring replacement by a slightly rattly Class 25 unit I happen to have spare (phew!) The project has just reached the Point Of No Return as far as D823's body/underframe is concerned, if this works perhaps I'll post more - if it doesn't I won't mention it again 🤐!

 

[GWR 1392/1393 Class 0-6-0T (ex Cornwall Mineral Railway)]

I have read that St Blazey depot was built to house the entire fleet of eighteen CMR locomotives, two to a road hence nine roads. Nice planning.

 

One point that confuses me is that, if the locos were coupled back to back with two opposing fireboxes for the energetic fireman to feed, where was the coal carried......?

[Keeping 26043 alive.....No more welding....well on the outside anyway..]

Many thanks for such a comprehensive posting, a great insight into what it takes to keep a 60-year-old machine in tip-top condition. I'm awestruck at the amount of work you're getting through and your thoroughness, which makes perfect sense as the extra effort now will hopefully avoid having to do the same work again in the future. Some of your previous photos of rust damage were eye-popping! 

I attended the G-WR's event back on 26 July 2014 when the railway had borrowed Hymek D7017 and had this in one direction and D5343 the other. It was my first Class 26 haulage since 7 May 1977!

[Thomas Hill "Vanguard" 4WDH]

Hah! Just checked again - my mistake, the rather 'open' page layout led me to drag in info from Class 08 13002 above it! Should have twigged it but failed to. You are quite right of course!

[Thomas Hill "Vanguard" 4WDH]

A very nice model, which looked familiar..................just checked, yep, there's a full-size one also blue preserved on the Plym Valley Railway. According to their website, built 1952 in Derby and worked at Plymstock cement works until 1988, preserved 1990 and proved very useful during restoration of the railway. Fourteen years or so between builds must mean a few detail differences?

[New OO wheelsets for Heljan diesels]

The Hymek's crew is probably muttering about how unusually difficult it was to climb into the cab that day!  

Easily sorted!!

Nice to see D7039 with painted bufferbeam and cowls, surprising how many of those first releases never get properly finished (but then I see lots of weathered Dapol Class 22s without side valances fitted and disc-headcode locos without discs too)...........

[Starfighter!]

I built an Airfix kit of this "missile with a man in it", a very long time ago. At the time I couldn't figure out how those thin tiny wings got the thing off the ground, but I agree it's still looks astonishing.

 

Slightly more recently than my kit build (1974 to be precise) the front man of rock band Hawkwind, the slightly deranged Robert Calvert, launched a satirical 'concept album' entitled "Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters" which (sort of) told the story of the German Air Force's accident-prone experience with the Starfighter. "We'll call it the F104...........G. G for Germany!" says the Lockheed salesman, trying to talk the Germans into signing the contract. I still have the original vinyl LP and in more recent years managed to find the CD.

Old habits die hard, 46 years later I've just bought Deep Purple's brand new album (it's superb!)

 

Back to aircraft, I became an English Electric Lightning fan in the 1960s when my Dad took me to an airshow where one of these came hurtling down the runway, wheels up asap and as it got level with us the pilot yanked the stick back and it went up like a missile. My God, the noise - I was WELL impressed!