“WASHBOURNE”

[Northroader]

You might have spotted with a lot of the Irish models I feel are worth a look at, that I give a link into a thread in the Irish Railway Modeller (IRM) site. This is very similar in format to RMweb, although I find the ”rating” emojis are baffling in their meaning. It’s much smaller in application, so I find I can put my finger on the pulse with “all activity” and quickly catch up with 24 hours worth of activity in a way that would be impossible on this site. I’ve joined the IRM site, although I fancy it will be more of a spectator sport than what I do on here.

One thing I’ve learnt in the chat is the existence of “New Irish Lines”. This was created as a newsletter for Irish modellers back in the nineties, called “Irish Lines”. The first few years were very shaky, as to whether it would be able to continue, but in the mid nineties Mr. Alan O’Rourke became the editor, the title was changed as a justifiable statement of intent, and the progress made became highly creditable. Looking back it’s an interesting study in desktop publishing starting as typewritten roneo’ed sheets with blobby b&w photos. Now it could stand on the shelves of a W.H.Smith shop (not that you could find it there) fully comparable with any professionally made magazine. The covers carry a series of colour photos of members models and layouts. Inside there’s a well structured editorial, followed by contributors description of modelling and layouts, prototype photos and drawings, usually a feature on a station (like places worth modelling) perhaps with line drawings of the buildings, trade news with manufacturers feedback, and book reviews. It appears twice a year, May and November, and is costed to cover production and distribution. One of the things I’m most impressed with is if you visit their website, and into “archives”, you’ll find each issue of NIL available as a downloadable pdf. How many special interest groups do that? So now I’m on board with them as well, good luck to them, say I.

[figworthy]

9 hours ago, Northroader said:

Now, this ain’t a send up, just encouragement for people who are a bit diffident about attempting sign writing. Here’s the van our postman is using for his deliveries!

 

 

Tsk tsk, standards.  Our postman appears in a white van, but it is always clean.

 

Adrian

[Northroader]

How do you know it’s a post office van, though?

[figworthy]

1 minute ago, Northroader said:

How do you know it’s a post office van, though?

 

Sign on the dash board

The post man drives it

 

Adrian

[Caley Jim]

10 hours ago, Northroader said:

Ye dinnae ken “Washburn” then, Don? Dinnae fash yersel, thems juist passin throo the noo. There’s still a lot of “Irish stuff” to come yet awhile.

 

Now, this ain’t a send up, just encouragement for people who are a bit diffident about attempting sign writing. Here’s the van our postman is using for his deliveries!

 

Makes a change from 'Clean me'!  

[St Enodoc]

5 hours ago, Northroader said:

the Irish Railway Modeller (IRM) site. This is very similar in format to RMweb, although I find the ”rating” emojis are baffling in their meaning.

Sounds about right.

[Mikkel]

17 hours ago, Northroader said:

 

 

 

I must not be a grumpy old man. Things were not better in the old days. 

I must not be a grumpy old man. Things were not better in the old days. 

I must not....  Sigh!

 

[Simond]

Yes, it’s good to see British institutions like the Royal Mail operating efficiently.  It seems that hiring anonymous vans is better all round than having the expense of a proper livery...

 

[F-UnitMad]

On 28/05/2021 at 12:14, Northroader said:

Ye dinnae ken “Washburn” then, Don? Dinnae fash yersel, thems juist passin throo the noo. There’s still a lot of “Irish stuff” to come yet awhile.

 

Now, this ain’t a send up, just encouragement for people who are a bit diffident about attempting sign writing. Here’s the van our postman is using for his deliveries!

 

 

20 hours ago, Caley Jim said:

Makes a change from 'Clean me'!  

Best "dirt graffiti" I ever saw was on a white Ford van. It read "Danger - Prat in Transit". 

[Edwardian]

On 28/05/2021 at 20:17, Northroader said:

You might have spotted with a lot of the Irish models I feel are worth a look at, that I give a link into a thread in the Irish Railway Modeller (IRM) site.

 

 

So, there's an Irish RM? Of course there is. How wonderful.

[Northroader]

 

It’s Irish RM ye’re after?

(Warning: its not particularly popular the other side of Fishguard)

Edited June 2, 2021 by Northroader

[Northroader]

So, on to loco number three in my builds, and this time I tried doing the frames from scratch. I have previously said how I really wanted a MGWR 2-4-0, and this is what I went for.

Before Martin Atock came to the MGWR in 1872, the passenger workings were a mixture of single drivers and 2-4-0s, and he built up what became the “D” class, although spread over several years and different makers, there would be variations, but all were 5’8” driving wheels, quite sufficient for the operation.

1873      twelve from Neilsons

1875.     five from Dubs

1880      six from Beyer Peacock

1883-7  twelve from Broadstone

              four from  Kitsons

The Broadstone and Kitson engines received new boilers from 1902, and the last was withdrawn in 1923. The Beyer Peacock engines were rebuilt with a leading bogie from 1900, becoming known as “D bogie” or “Achill bogies” and lasting until CIE days. (We may return to these in a later post) That left the earliest batches which were renewed from 1893, with very little of the old engines left, and extra ones added to the class, which was sufficiently different to be called the “K” class, numbers 13-24, 27-34. They became GSR/CIE class G2, numbers 650- 668 (one was lost in the civil war) They kept going, and going, downgraded from express work, but being very economical on fuel, reinstated on such duties as the Sligo mail in the 1950s, until displaced by diesels. The last in service was 654, working the Loughrea branch in 1962, and qualifying as the last 2-4-0 in traffic in the British Isles (see the last 2-4-0 theme back on page 56 of this thread)

(Incidentally the other MGWR class of 2-4-0 were the six “Mail” engines, numbers 7-12, with 6’3” drivers. As the prestige engines they were replaced with larger engines by Atocks successor)

Anyway, here’s one of the Ks leaving Broadstone station in Dublin for the West. You may pick out that the train is in three parts, the front will get to Galway, but the rest will be dropped off at Mullingar and Athlone for the wilds of Sligo and Mayo.

 

Now to the build, I see I found some laminated steel side rods from somewhere, and these were used to jig drill the brass strip frames, and these were set up with machined frame spacers just the same as the Leinster and CCW chassis made  before. The 2-4-0 chassis was made with fixed axlebushes just the same as the two 0-6-0s, which is where I went wrong. Putting it on the track, and energising the motor, the wheels spun away, and the loco crabbed along very slowly. The leading axle was diverting far too much weight away from the drivers, so I did a rework.

 

The leading axle bushes were taken off, and replaced by cheek plates on the outside of the frames with holes elongated vertically to guide the leading axle, which was also allowed some transverse movement. A rectangle of brass shim was bolted to the spacer just behind to form a sort of leaf spring keeping the leading wheels on the rail, but passing very little of the loco weight on to this axle. The motor was mounted so that it was almost upright in the firebox, leaving plenty of space behind for some lead, and a brass block was sawn out to fit between the frames at the back. Pickups on the drivers, and the tender wheels. Try again... phew! no slipping this time, and able to manage a train. Superstructure no problems, and I’ve got my longed for MGWR 2-4-0.

 

 

[Annie]

Always a delight to see such lovely old school craftsmanship Mr Northroader.

[F-UnitMad]

1 hour ago, Northroader said:

I’ve got my longed for MGWR 2-4-0.

Quite a 'curvy' cab, isn't it? Must have taken some patience, not to mention skill, to do the lining.  

[Northroader]

Well, as it’s a “smooth” edge, you can follow it holding a springbow pen with a finger over the edge to steady it, so it’s not so bad as you might think. There’s still a need to keep the paint the right consistency and flowing evenly. Then I usually need to go back and touch up, or edge out in green, and on it goes.

The boiler bands are HMRS LNER transfers.

Edited June 5, 2021 by Northroader

[Donw]

You moght have a edge to follow but I still think that is really good work and even a professional needs to touch up here and there.

 

Don

[Johnson044]

On 05/06/2021 at 20:05, Northroader said:

So, on to loco number three in my builds, and this time I tried doing the frames from scratch. I have previously said how I really wanted a MGWR 2-4-0, and this is what I went for.

Before Martin Atock came to the MGWR in 1872, the passenger workings were a mixture of single drivers and 2-4-0s, and he built up what became the “D” class, although spread over several years and different makers, there would be variations, but all were 5’8” driving wheels, quite sufficient for the operation.

1873      twelve from Neilsons

1875.     five from Dubs

1880      six from Beyer Peacock

1883-7  twelve from Broadstone

              four from  Kitsons

The Broadstone and Kitson engines received new boilers from 1902, and the last was withdrawn in 1923. The Beyer Peacock engines were rebuilt with a leading bogie from 1900, becoming known as “D bogie” or “Achill bogies” and lasting until CIE days. (We may return to these in a later post) That left the earliest batches which were renewed from 1893, with very little of the old engines left, and extra ones added to the class, which was sufficiently different to be called the “K” class, numbers 13-24, 27-34. They became GSR/CIE class G2, numbers 650- 668 (one was lost in the civil war) They kept going, and going, downgraded from express work, but being very economical on fuel, reinstated on such duties as the Sligo mail in the 1950s, until displaced by diesels. The last in service was 654, working the Loughrea branch in 1962, and qualifying as the last 2-4-0 in traffic in the British Isles (see the last 2-4-0 theme back on page 56 of this thread)

(Incidentally the other MGWR class of 2-4-0 were the six “Mail” engines, numbers 7-12, with 6’3” drivers. As the prestige engines they were replaced with larger engines by Atocks successor)

Anyway, here’s one of the Ks leaving Broadstone station in Dublin for the West. You may pick out that the train is in three parts, the front will get to Galway, but the rest will be dropped off at Mullingar and Athlone for the wilds of Sligo and Mayo.

 

Now to the build, I see I found some laminated steel side rods from somewhere, and these were used to jig drill the brass strip frames, and these were set up with machined frame spacers just the same as the Leinster and CCW chassis made  before. The 2-4-0 chassis was made with fixed axlebushes just the same as the two 0-6-0s, which is where I went wrong. Putting it on the track, and energising the motor, the wheels spun away, and the loco crabbed along very slowly. The leading axle was diverting far too much weight away from the drivers, so I did a rework.

 

The leading axle bushes were taken off, and replaced by cheek plates on the outside of the frames with holes elongated vertically to guide the leading axle, which was also allowed some transverse movement. A rectangle of brass shim was bolted to the spacer just behind to form a sort of leaf spring keeping the leading wheels on the rail, but passing very little of the loco weight on to this axle. The motor was mounted so that it was almost upright in the firebox, leaving plenty of space behind for some lead, and a brass block was sawn out to fit between the frames at the back. Pickups on the drivers, and the tender wheels. Try again... phew! no slipping this time, and able to manage a train. Superstructure no problems, and I’ve got my longed for MGWR 2-4-0.

 

 

I'm in love!

[Northroader]

Just wait for the next build for lovable cuties.....

[Northroader]

Right, then, number four in the building sequence, and i think I’d best split this into two posts, first the prototype, then the model build. We’ll start with William Fairbairn, born in 1789 as son of a Scottish farmer. He apprenticed in Newcastle on Tyne as a millwright, meeting George Stephenson, and partnered in a business making mill machinery in Manchester in 1817. The firm built an 0-4-0 for the Liverpool and Manchester, and he became involved working out the optimum design for a bridge on the line. Later he was involved with Robert Stephenson on the design of the Britannia tubular bridge over the Menai Strait. The work involved with tubular structures was applied to ship design, and he set up a shipbuilding yard on the Thames at Millwall in 1834, there being a strong tradition of shipbuilding here. Eighty ships were built up to 1848, when this side of the business ceased, but the workshops were also constructing railway locomotives, and this continued up to 1863, when the business was sold to Sharp Stewart, and trading ceased. Fairbairn was a pioneer in stress calculations, particularly fatigue stress, and he led in the design of water tube boilers.

The yard had no rail connection, and all products were shipped out, which may have helped with the export side of the business. A particular standard class was a small light 2-2-2 well tank, suitable for light duties with economical operation. The MGWR had three of these, being ordered in 1851 for the opening of the main line to Galway. Hardly a main line engine, but later Atock did confirm they worked the mail train for a time. Several Irish Lines had them, three for the BNCR, two for the Belfast and County Down, and two for the Waterford and Tramore. Perhaps the best known of this class was “Baroneza” - primiera Locomotiva o Brasil, which has been preserved in a museum, shewing the original condition of these locos, boiler and well tanks, although I fancy the Russian Iron cladding was a later addition:

t

Another has been preserved in Portugal, being a pioneer engine on the Royal Portugal Railway companies line out of Lisbon, and this shows a later state with saddle tank added.

It really depended on how well the class fitted in with the railways needs, some were allowed to wear out, and were withdrawn, but the MGWR ones were lucky in this respect. They were reboilered in 1874 and saddle tanks added, and it seems they were the first to get the flyaway cab. They were 27 “Fairy”, 28 “Titania”, 29 “Ariel”, later names “Bee”, “Elf” and “Fairy”. Could it be the old boy Atock was fond of them? They broke the usual “renew after twenty years” rule, and when replaced on short branch line duties by the E class 0-6-0T in 1891, they were found station pilot duties at Dublin, and ended up on boiler wash duties on shed, not being withdrawn until around 1906.  I fancy the gubbins on the cabside in the photograph is an attachment for this. I used this photo to build the model, not finding a drawing, but there is a very fuzzy dimensioned diagram in the Baroneza images.

 

[sir douglas]

The North Western example is in my to-build wish list

[Northroader]

Now that is a useful drawing you’ve got there, Sam. Hope you put it to good use.

[Northroader]

I did a write up on the construction of this loco. in the GOG Gazette for November 2011, so here’s a warmed up version, and somewhat shorter. Benefiting from what I had learnt in building the 2-4-0, namely the need to make sure the carrying wheels weren’t taking useful adhesive weight from the drivers, I looked at doing the same here. If I allowed both sets of carrying wheels to deflect, the loco would just seesaw around the driving axle until one side or the other hit the stop. The frame was made with fixed bushes for the leading axle and the driver, and the trailing axle was allowed to deflect. Then the loco was ballasted until the centre of gravity was acting just in front of the driving wheels.

Pickups were used on the two fixed axles, and the trailing axle had a springy brass strip bearing on it. There were quite hefty brass blocks between the frames, and lead strip in the smokebox and saddle tank, all in all it weighed nearly 2 lb., (890 grams)

One point in making it is that I required 5’ single driver wheels, I.e. with a plain circular boss, which Slater don’t make, so I adapted a coupled wheelset by filing the boss extension round the crankpin  off, using some fine needle files and a hacksaw blade. You need a light touch, as the spokes are a reduced cross section around the clearance recess for the crankpin screw head.

i was particularly concerned with the haulage power, would there be sufficient traction? how much weight transfer would happen? (how the drawbar pull affects the weight on the drivers), so I rigged up a test incline of 1 in 30 from a cassette and some wedges. Chimney first, it could just do seven wagons with a slight wheelslip stutter. Bunker first, it was happier with six, so you could say you were getting around a 15% difference in weight transfer from a floating trailing axle to a floating leading axle. Behind the wagons, used as a banker, it could manage eight wagons, as it was pushing rather than pulling. This was ample for a layout on the flat like Washbourne, I could probably get away with a bit less weight.

In the one photo of the finished job, I’ve placed the loco symmetrically on a piece of smooth ply to show how I work out the centre of gravity by moving across a roller until it just balances. Two detail points, the rear number was painted on the bufferbeam, not brass figures, and I’m fairly sure the safety valves were mounted in the top of what at first looks like a plain dome. Anyway, there you are, I feel every layout needs more “Fairies” and “Elves” running on them.

[Donw]

Interesting that you let the rear axle float. I had an 0-4-2T I bought the drivers ere fixed and the rear ax;e allowed to float. When pulling a load it tended to sit down of the rear axle with the front drivers slightly raised. This caused it to derail on curves.  I never reolved it because it came off and plunged to the floor which broke the resin cast body and boke the solder joints on the chassis spacers. The bits are in a box somewhere. The was a lead weight in the smokebox but obviously not enough. Glad you managed to avoid that problem. Nice looking loco.

 

Don

[Northroader]

Sounds as if it needed to be a bit more noseheavy to get the weight just in front of the centre drivers, Don, and the trailing axle just comes along for the ride. With weight transfer happening, the drawbar pull will put more weight on the drivers, so this would be the best arrangement if you were building a 2-2-2 tender engine, say.

Edited June 15, 2021 by Northroader

[Regularity]

Since you have a nice model of "Elf", are you going to search out a prototype called "Safety" to go with it?