GWR & LNWR Pre-grouping 4mm locos workbench

[Brassey]

I reused the original M&L (now Gibson) frames

Edited September 27, 2020 by Brassey

[Brassey]

18 hours ago, Penrhos1920 said:

 

Would you use the Highlevel chassis for a short wheelbase, inside bearings 517?  I've got 1426 which needs a new chassis and I can't decide whether to rebuild the existing Gibson chassis or use a Highlevel 14xx and shorten the frames between the rear driver and carrying axle.

 

 

I reused the original M&L (now Gibson) frames when I made my short wheelbase 517 no 835 and that works fine. 
 

IIRC when building the High Level chassis compensated,  the beams rest on the rear axle too so all of that will need shortening too. In doing that you will be shortening the beams and putting more weight on the carrying axle which could affect the balance. I would not see much point in getting the High Level chassis and not building it compensated as that is a major benefit of the chassis. 
 

if you look at my 835 build, I put beams in that so every wheel can move too and possibly due to the weight, it is one of my best runners. So on balance, i think the Gibson frames should suffice. 

[Brassey]

LNWR Webb Coal Engine and Coal Tank boilers and firebox awaiting fitting.  Cylinder lubricators fitted on covers and holes for hand rail drilled:

 

 

3 LNWR Webb Coal Tanks at various stages of completion alongside the signal box at Berrington & Eye:

 

[Mikkel]

A lovely trio. Your prototype location is very well chosen, everything about it seems packed with interest.

 

I imagine the signal man on duty will be a bit overwhelmed at this sight, though.

[Brassey]

3 hours ago, Mikkel said:

A lovely trio. Your prototype location is very well chosen, everything about it seems packed with interest.

 

I imagine the signal man on duty will be a bit overwhelmed at this sight, though.

 

He's stopped looking out due to the lack of windows.  Luckily it's Summer in 1912 though August 1912 is still the coldest, wettest and darkest on record.

[Brassey]

On 30/12/2020 at 07:31, Mikkel said:

Your prototype location is very well chosen, everything about it seems packed with interest.

 

Well some might agree with that.  A very compact layout.  There was no goods shed let alone an engine shed and only one siding (currently occupied by crippled wagons awaiting painting and/or axleboxes).  But the North to West Expresses did roar through here from Liverpool and Manchester down to Devon and Cornwall via the Severn Tunnel and Bristol.  And coal made its way North from the South Wales coalfields via both the GWR and LNWR lines.  So plenty of operational scope.

 

 

Unfortunately this pair are facing in the wrong direction heading into Wales and not North but a pair of Coal Tanks can come in handy:

 

[Mikkel]

What a photo! 

 

I wonder what caused the colour shade on the two locos to be captured so differently. The angles of the lighting, or weathering?

[Jol Wilkinson]

I suggest the second loco is newly outshopped from a major overhaul, whereas the first has been in service for some time but is clean.

[Compound2632]

... or one was specially buffed up to work this excursion. Then when it was realised that the train needed to be rather more than just a lavatory inter-district set, another had to be rustled up quickly.

[Brassey]

Coming together slowly, GWR Beyer Goods No. 334.  Shedded at Shrewsbury in 1912, she had a variety of S4 boilers in her lifetime.

 

 

Seen on the Tenbury branch:

 

 

This tender came with the rescued parts on eBay.  But I'm working on an OSF tender to replace it.  This tender is destined for a GWR Duke "Severn".

[Brassey]

I originally resurrected my old Wills GWR Metro tank to see if I could get its original Ultrascale EM wheels to work on my P4 layout.  The short answer is no.

 

Having got a free running chassis it refused to stay on the 18.83mm rolling road and would shoot off as soon as power was applied.  With hindsight I think this is due to the wheel profile making the wheels overgauge despite the back-to-back being correct.  Thus the wheels did not bed down and fully engage.  The last straw was, when I tried the chassis on the body, the crankpins fouled the valance.  Again this was due to the wheels being wider than P4.  I could not face the prospect of yet again filing down another whitemetal valance to get P4 wheels to clear so applied plan B.  This was to replace the wheels with P4 Alan Gibson wheels that I had spare.

 

As can be seen the crankpins clear the valance, just:

 

 

And it successfully stays on the rolling road under power:

 

 

Lesson learned!

 

PS: to the right on the bench can be seen the cab for the Armstrong Standard Goods.  More on this later...

Edited January 31, 2021 by Brassey
added PS

[Siberian Snooper]

That's always the problem with whitemetal kits, is getting the wheels to fit when regauging from 00.

 

Nice work and good to know you have got the loco running.

 

 

[Brassey]

On 31/01/2021 at 14:27, Siberian Snooper said:

 

Nice work and good to know you have got the loco running.

A bit premature. I put some skimpy pickup wire on and, on the rolling road, one got wedged in the spokes which caused a jam. Unfortunately the motor under power forced the quartering out.  The whole thing has seized.
 

 These old wheels have been on and off various things so the lesson remains, don’t move wheels once on. (Also use thicker pickup wire). 

[Siberian Snooper]

Sorry to hear you have had a bit of a set back. I understand that Loctite works well, not sure which one, I have some to use when I get that far with a kit I'm building, but the bottle is in the clubroom.

 

 

 

[Brassey]

On 01/08/2017 at 08:53, Brassey said:

The Broad Gauge Rover class has an older type of sandwich frame tender which I am planning convert and use on the Armstrong and should look like this:

 

 

And here's one behind a Dean Goods and I am tempted:

 

http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrls817.htm

 

3 and a half years ago I threatened to produce a sandwich frame tender.  And here is one (behind my Beyer Goods):

 

 

Just got to paint the brake gear, which was added today, and waiting on the number plates 334 from Narrow Planet.

[Blandford1969]

On 10/01/2021 at 19:49, Brassey said:

Coming together slowly, GWR Beyer Goods No. 334.  Shedded at Shrewsbury in 1912, she had a variety of S4 boilers in her lifetime.

 

 

 

Seen on the Tenbury branch:

 

 

This tender came with the rescued parts on eBay.  But I'm working on an OSF tender to replace it.  This tender is destined for a GWR Duke "Severn".

What a great build and a super photo. The Tenbury line is that nearer to the photographer, the loco is on the Severn Valley line. The photo being taken just north of Bewdley,  Its a shame that footbridge is no longer there too. 

[Mikkel]

7 hours ago, Brassey said:

 

3 and a half years ago I threatened to produce a sandwich frame tender.  And here is one (behind my Beyer Goods):

 

 

Just got to paint the brake gear, which was added today, and waiting on the number plates 334 from Narrow Planet.

 

Nectarean! (new word I've learnt ). That tender suits the loco so well. Very Victorian. 

 

The photo also hints at what I'm looking particularly forward to - the GWR/LNWR combo of liveries, which I think match each other well in a classy sort of way.

 

 

[Brassey]

Herewith some more projects nearing completion which go back to the start of this thread.  All 3 owe a lot to the Martin Finney Dean Goods kit that contains many spare alternative parts:

 

 

2306, furthest from camera, is mainly a Mallard kit with a Comet chassis.  Some Finney parts including the earlier cab side profile.

 

2524 in the middle has a sprung Comet chassis and is mainly Finney alternative parts on a Mallard footplate.  Tender is also Finney.

 

 

2478 has a High Level chassis and Jidenco tender.  The loco is a combination of Mallard, Finney and scratch-built parts.  Awaiting to be DCC'd.  This might get sound too.

 

 

[Mikkel]

Dean Goods have always looked good in groups. A good illustration also of roundtop vs Belpaire firebox, and red vs black frames. I know which one is my favourite.

[Coal Tank]

Locos are Looking very nice Peter

[Brassey]

Bank Holiday weekend has seen the Beyer Goods 334 pretty much finished now with added springs above the footplate.  The safety valve is just plonked on whilst I await something better...

 

[Mikkel]

Lined goods locos are all very well and pictoresuqe pictoresque pretty, but examples like this demonstrate just how good the combo of unlined early GWR green and polished fittings can look. So much character too. My favourite of your builds so far.

 

Edited August 31, 2021 by Mikkel
To clarify

[Brassey]

There has been some activity in the loco works since the last post.  So by way of an update, here is one of the tender engines I've been working on.  It is the only 4-6-0 I am minded to build:

 

[Penrhos1920]

6 minutes ago, Brassey said:

 It is the only 4-6-0 I am minded to build:

 

 

 

You wait.  They become very addictive.  Soon you’ll have one of each class of GWR and LNWR 4-6-0.  By the way, my addiction is GWR wagons, I’m getting close to one of each design!  Well that until you find out that there were 9 varieties of V12 van.

[Battledown]

 

16 minutes ago, Penrhos1920 said:

You wait.  They become very addictive.  Soon you’ll have one of each class of GWR and LNWR 4-6-0.  By the way, my addiction is GWR wagons, I’m getting close to one of each design!  Well that until you find out that there were 9 varieties of V12 van.

My addiction is four-coupled locos, but I sometimes wonder if a six-coupled predilection would make life a bit easier.  4-4-0s and, in particular, 0-4-4Ts can be very tricky.