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Hunslet 50550 from J94 Build/Bash


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  • RMweb Gold

I've always liked the look of the 50550 class, the predecessors to the Austerity. I've read that they are heavier and have a higher tractive effort.

 

Managed to snag a couple of used Hunslets on eBay. I had pondered getting the DJM one for a long time, but as I was going to butcher it, I thought it better to start with a cheaper base model.

 

They run really well! The Austerity had been abused with some black paint at some point in its past. A bit of thinners on a cotton bud dealt with most of that, a bit more to remove but I wonder if it could be blended in with some weathering powders.

 

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I've decided to leave the Austerity as-is for the time being, so the J94 is the next victim.

 

50550s have smaller wheels than their younger siblings. I had read on RMWeb that Terrier wheels fit the bill, so off to eBay for some suitable ones. They are a straight drop-in, even the cogs match. The loco is now noticeably slower than the Austerity.

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Next up I'm going to take some tips from Oly and Chris on how to improve the Hornby model and get rid of the unsightly join along the tankside.

https://otcm.wordpress.com/2017/06/24/modifying-your-Hornby-austerity/

 

also the 50550 from that parish...

https://otcm.wordpress.com/2014/01/04/on-the-workbench-december-2013/

https://otcm.wordpress.com/2013/09/03/on-the-workbench-august-2013/

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  • RMweb Gold

Thanks for the info guys.

I have some etched bufferbeams for an Austerity from RT Models, but I don't think they do the tall 50550 ones.

 

Didn't take long to get stuck in.

 

Kaboom

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Choppy choppy

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Glue

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Slice

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Cut

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Extract

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Space

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Glue

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Purr

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Spray

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  • RMweb Gold

50550 bufferbeams are currently part drawn, guess I better crack on if I get some time this week.

 

Oh cool! I was going to make some plasticard ones up but if you are planning to do some 50550 ones I'll hold off for now as I'd much rather use them.

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  • RMweb Gold

What drawing are you working too, please?

 

Regards

Sorry to disappoint David but I'm just eyeballing it from photos and other people's models, I've never seen a GA for a 50550 although there are Austerity ones online I believe.

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There was an article covering the 18" Hunslets in an early edition of Model Railways Illustrated from memory it included drawings for both the 50550 and the Austerity types.

 

S&L No 3 in the pic above was a sister loco to S&L No24 which resided with Corby Model Railway Club for a few years. It had been modified quite extensively to accommodate oil burning by the time it was withdrawn and actually looked very different thanks to a new bunker having been fabricated to accommodate the oil tank.

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  • RMweb Gold

There was an article covering the 18" Hunslets in an early edition of Model Railways Illustrated from memory it included drawings for both the 50550 and the Austerity types.

 

For me partly this drawing and my own measurements taken.

 

I did not bother with the 50550 parts as the chimney was missing from the real loco as these are different to austerity's.

 

A surprise came in a railway bylines magazine a few months ago where a Corby 50550 was carrying a austerity chimney!

 

Strangely, on the Dapol/Hornby rtr austerity, the chimney is more shaped for a 50550 than a austerity, hmmmmm.

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Very inspirational, I really must set to on a couple of my own that need some loving care and attention. Anybody got ideas or links to ideas on sorting that ferocious growl from the motor,

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  • RMweb Gold

You should! From what I heard the 50550 was a better loco ;)

Growl notwithstanding, I'm very impressed with the out of the box running from both of these locos on my filthy track. With the smaller wheels on it crawls quite nicely.

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For me partly this drawing and my own measurements taken.

I did not bother with the 50550 parts as the chimney was missing from the real loco as these are different to austerity's.

A surprise came in a railway bylines magazine a few months ago where a Corby 50550 was carrying a austerity chimney!

Strangely, on the Dapol/Hornby rtr austerity, the chimney is more shaped for a 50550 than a austerity, hmmmmm.

Never noticed the difference in the chimneys!

 

The Corby 50550 pic would be of 24, they only had the one there, and all the pics I've seen of it show the same chimney, even after conversion to oil.

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  • RMweb Gold

I've seen a few variants within the class.

 

(None of these pictures are mine, here for reference only)

 

2413 'Gunby' - Lipped chimney, deep bufferbeams front and back

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2414 - Gas producer stovepipe chimney, normal rear bufferbeam, frame-depth front bufferbeam

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2416

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2417 - round smokebox handle

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Edited by Corbs
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Funny how the smokebox hinges swap from side to side, and like the 'Austerity' design single or double gusset behind the buffer beam. Notice that No80 in the last picture has had a bit of a rough shunt at the front - had not noticed that before.

 

Edit - few more observations

Edited by Down_Under
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  • RMweb Gold

Nice one! I see the 48150 is included too. I think one could make a convincing 48150 using a similar method to this but starting with an Austerity rather than a J94 to get the circular rear cab windows. The Terrier wheels make a big difference, I think.

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  • RMweb Gold

Gaaaarghhh

A very frustrating few evenings. The paint I bought is the runniest, thinnest rubbish I've ever used on a model. So many runs, the damn stuff doesn't dry properly so you mark it every time you pick it up. Tried to apply some more primer to fill in the marks, which split and shrank, had to sand lots off and re-apply. Now the damn thing has so much paint on it.

Unsure whether to try and fix it or strip it all off and start again.

 

EDIT: Actually, I am going to strip it all off. It's really gunky and rubbish and needs to be done again.

 

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  • RMweb Gold

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A soaking in Dettol and scrubbing with a toothbrush stripped most of the paint, some thinners applied with a cotton bud took car of the residue (pictured top left before I used the thinners).

Re-primed it all last night.

I've applied a few light coats of yellow (from Halfords this time) this morning, and am working away this week so that should give the coats time to harden before I wet sand them to get any dribbles out, hopefully it'll just be a couple of coats after that!

After some advice from Oly, and some reading on RMWeb, I now realise how tricky yellow can be.

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