GWR ex-Cardiff Railway Kitson 0-6-2T

[RosiesBoss]

Introduction

 

My loco collection has included several typical South Wales 0-6-2Ts:

• 83 (Rhymney Railway P class): Rebuilt from Dublo ex-LNER N2
• 411 (Taff Vale O3 class): Wills body on scratchbuilt chassis
• 1670 (ex-Brecon & Merthyr Railway): Rebuilt Dublo body on scrachbuilt chassis
• 6667: Mainline body on Bachmann 57XX chassis (recently sold)

Here they are:

 

I recently decided to add another example to their number – a Kitson-built one, built for the Cardiff Railway. Two pairs were built, in 1905 (GWR Nos. 160-1) and 1919 (GWR Nos. 151-2).

Here’s a builder’s photo of 160:

 

 

They were all scrapped between 1929 and 1936, the last one being 152. Minimal alterations were done on them by the GWR, but did include the usual safety valve cover. 151-2 were fitted with vacuum brakes, but 160-1 were not. I chose to model the last survivor in early 1930s condition. http://rcts.zenfolio.com/steam-gwr/0-6-2t/hA0EE7738#ha0ee7738

 

Photos of these striking tank engines in GWR service are not common, but do pop up from time to time on ebay. Refs. 4-7 provided more details of their history and a few images. Refs 5 & 6 provided drawings, to be used in the light of such photos as I could find.

 

Some of their Kitson contemporaries have survived to be preserved here is Oz, such as Richmond Vale Railway 2-8-2T No.9 “Pelaw Main”(Kitson 4567 of 1908):

 

Construction – Chassis

I did consider using a commercial RTR or kit chassis under a scratchbuilt body. This 0-6-2T’s axle spacings are: 7’5”+6’0”+6’6.25”. I had in my spares box standard 0-6-0 chassis from Hornby and Dublo, as well as kit chassis for LMS 4F, LNER J72 and LNER J65. Awaiting use in future projects, I also had Bachmann Thomas and Hornby Toby chassis. None of these was even close and I could not find any suitable kits. I therefore chose to scratchbuild the chassis.

 

Sufficient brass channel was cut from stock purchased at a local scrap metal dealer. It was trimmed to shape, approximating the profile of the prototype, as drawn in Ref.6.

Holes for each driving axle were drilled undersize, then opened out carefully to 1/8” diameter, while adjusting their centres to be true, ie axles square to the chassis and all in line with each other.

An opening was made in the top of the channel, above the third axle, to take the assembled motor mount. The nearby top section of the channel was grooved to accept a short length of the motor.

 

 

 

The axle holes for the third axle were opened up to accept copper bearings made from 1/8” i.d. tube, then slots 1/8” wide were cut through below them. This provided a way to insert the axle, already fitted with a gear and in place in the motor mount. This assembly would be held in place by the bearings and the wheels, when fitted. This design facilitates future maintenance.

 

The axle holes for the 2mm dia rear axle were modified to be slots to the bottom of the channel. A hole large enough to clear an 8BA threaded rod was drilled through the top of the channel above the axle. A simple suspension system was made from a small piece of brass tube, soldered to the bottom of the rod. The axle passes through the tube; a small spring is fitted to the rod, which is then pushed through the hole in the channel and secured (loosely) with an 8BA nut. The axles are able to move freely up and down and have some lateral movement also. This is the same design as used in ex-Cam Rlys 1196 (Ref.1) and ex-TVR 411 (Ref.2) and works very well, regardless of the direction of travel.

 

Connecting rods were made from stainless steel strips, drilled with tungsten carbide bits to suit the wheelbase. These were test fitted and adjusted using Swiss files and diamond impregnated burrs until, with no motor fitted, the chassis rolled easily and with no binding. Brass washers were then soldered into place on the crankpins. The motor was refitted and test run to confirm that there was still no binding. It ran like a Singer sewing machine!

 

I decided to mount simple phos bronze wire pickups above the chassis, instead of below. This was to both conserve the underframe silhouette and avoid future misalignment of the pickups when the model was being handled. The pickups were therefore made simply from PC board and wire, screwed to the top of the chassis, with a wire connecting front to rear. This assembly was then connected to the motor, together with a greencap capacitor and tested to confirm the polarity of the motor.

 

Bachmann tension-lock couplings were then temporarily fitted and the chassis was tested on the track with a suitable load. It all worked well!

At this stage, the chassis looked like this:

 

Sandboxes were made from ¼” square section brass bar, cut and ground to shape, then glued to the chassis.

 

Construction – Body

 

Please note! The body was constructed with reference to the Ian Beattie drawing in Ref.6, but also to whatever photos were discovered for 151 and 152. This drawing incorrectly shows buffer beams that have rounded lower corners at each end – a feature found in GWR 153-5. It also does not include the vacuum ejector pipe fitted to the RHS of 151-2 and seen in the photo of 151, taken in 1924 and advertised for sale on ebay in Jan 2018.

 

The foundation for the body was made by making the two buffer beams, joining them with lengths of T-section brass and then soldering them to a footplate cut from thin brass sheet, prepared with openings for motor, gearbox and wheels.

 

 

Brass 8BA bolts were soldered to holes drilled in positions corresponding to the temporary coupling bolts on the chassis. Those chassis holes were then enlarged to be a clearance fit for the 8BA bolts. The footplate assembly was then test fitted to the chassis and small adjustments made to ensure clearance around all wheels. Wheel splashers were fabricated from brass sheet and soldered to the footplate, checking that sufficient clearance was left for the front driving wheels. Fillets of solder were used to provide the curves at front and rear of the footplate valences, where they meet the buffer beams.

 

 

Paper patterns/templates for the cabsides, bunker back, cab front and rear, tank sides, front  and tops were cut from spare copies of the Ian Beattie drawing (Ref.6). These were used to mark out some brass sheet, which was then cut until each piece was a good fit against the drawing.

 

A length of ¾”dia copper pipe was cut to size for the boiler and a shorter piece cut for the smokebox, split and then wrapped around the front of the longer piece. Cutouts were made on the underside of the boiler so it would fit over the motor/gearbox.

 

The various sheet brass and boiler/smokebox/tank front pieces were soldered together, as shown in the following images.

 

 

 

 

 

The dome and safety valve cover were turned on the lathe from brass stock, using the technique described on p.74 et seq. of Ref.8. (Shown here with a commercially made chimney.)

 

A sliver of brass sheet was cut to size and then soldered to the front side of each cab doorway, to both cover the gap between tank side and cab side, as well as to provide a bracket to affix the upper end of each forward handrail. All four cab handrails were then soldered in place.

 

 

0.5mm dia holes were drilled (from below) to take the small handrails on the footplate within the tank cutout and then the handrails were bent to shape and soldered in. Four sets of footplate steps were then made up from brass sheet and soldered into place. The vacuum ejector pipe was made from brass wire and a 10BA washer and soldered into place.

 

 

The smokebox door was made from a suitably sized and modified Hornby spare, with a new dart made from a handrail knob and phos bronze wire. The backhead and bunker details were made from some Hornby parts bought many years ago as job lots from Modelspares. The cab floor was made from thick polystyrene sheet, with cutouts around projecting bits of the chassis.

 

The cab roof was cut from thin brass sheet, curved to shape, with two lengths of square section brass tube soldered to the underside, both to strengthen and also to locate the roof to the cab. It is a push fit, not soldered to the cabsides.

 

Whistles were soldered to the cab roof. Remaining handrails were fitted as shown in the drawing (Ref.6).  A small step, shown in a photo of 161 taken at Cardiff Docks in 1927, was made from brass sheet and glued to the front of the right side tank. Lamp brackets were bent up from domestic staples and glued in position. Chimney, dome and safety valve cover were now glued in place. Scale couplings were soldered to the buffer beams. Tank fillers were glued in place on the tank tops. Buffers and brake pipes were glued on. The loco now looked like this:

 

 

Chassis components were painted satin black. The body was spray painted with grey undercoat and left to dry. Rivet transfers were applied as shown in drawings and photos of the class. These were sealed with Humbrol Decalfix and left to dry overnight. Boiler bands were made from green vinyl insulating tape and affixed.

 

The body was brush painted in post-1928 GWR green/black. Cab glazing and backhead were installed. Transfers and numbers were applied, given time to dry, then overcoated with Humbrol satin clear.

 

The model was then reassembled, coaled and manned.

 

Results

 

 

 

 

 

Reflections

 

This project had quite a few challenges – not least the scarcity of photos of the prototypes and the limitations of the available drawings. Still, it was satisfying to see the model emerge from the scrap metal from which it was made. I think that, despite the errors and inaccuracies that may be seen in the photos, it captures the look of this striking design.

 

Materials

• 12mm brass C channel
• 18mm dia Romford driving wheels/axles
• Brassmasters motor mount
• Nylon gear set
• 12V motor (brand unknown)
• ¾” dia Copper pipe
• 0.005” brass sheet
• 2mm high T-section brass rod
• ¼” square section brass rod
• Stainless steel strips recovered from old windscreen wipers
• Romford driving wheel cranks
• 14mm trailing wheels (possibly Gibson or Romford)
• Brass dome (turned up on lathe)
• Brass safety valve (turned up on lathe)
• Brass chimney (make unknown)
• Brass whistles (Peter’s spares)
• Plastic backhead and bunker details (Hornby spares)
• Plastic smokebox door (Hornby L6996 spare)
• Plastic tank fillers (Lima spares)
• Brass handrail knobs
• Tri-ang buffers
• Brass rod for sand and vacuum ejector pipes
• 0.4mm dia. phosphor bronze wire for pickups and handrails
• Printed circuit board material for pickups
• Bachmann tension-lock couplings
• Misc. brass BA screws, washers and nuts
• Wire-wound guitar E string – for vacuum pipes
• Humbrol enamels: 55 (copper); 16 (brass); 60 (matt red); 85 (satin black); 33 (matt black); 135 (satin clear)
• Humbrol acrylic: RC405 (GWR green)
• Green vinyl insulating tape (for boiler bands)
• HMRS Pressfix transfers
• Transfers for rivets: “Signs of all Kinds” (Adelaide, SA, Australia) Soak 156 and “Archer Fine Transfers” (Youngsville, NC, USA) Set AR88089

 

References and related articles

1. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/70468-gwr-absorbed-locos-on-carmarthen-junction/
2. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/90340-taff-vale-railway-o3-class-0-6-2t/
3. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/123358-gwr-ex-rhymney-railway-unrebuilt-p-class-0-6-2t/
4. RCTS “The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway – Part 10 – Absorbed Engines1922-1947 (RCTS, 1966)
5. J.H.Russell: “A Pictorial Record of Great Western Absorbed Engines” (OPC, 1978)
6. Railway Modeller, June 1994
7. Mike Romans et al.: “Locomotives Illustrated  66: Great Western 0-6-2Ts” (Ian Allen, Jul-Aug 1989)
8. Guy Williams: “Model Locomotive Construction in 4mm Scale” (Ian Allen, 1979)

 

[OnTheBranchline]

Spot on job. I'll always glad to see little Welsh locos.

[Weaselfish]

This is really impressive. It's a very striking model. Are you going to post about how you modified the Dublo N2s too? 

[RosiesBoss]

No worries, Weaselfish!

 

1670 is briefly described here:

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/70468-gwr-absorbed-locos-on-carmarthen-junction/

 

83 is shown in much more detail here:

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/123358-gwr-ex-rhymney-railway-unrebuilt-p-class-0-6-2t/

 

I hope this satisfies your (very welcome) curiosity.

 

Regards,

 

Rob

[Weaselfish]

Thanks for the links Rob - it's really impressive work.