SE&CR L-Class, 1914, from a Tri-ang L1

[Lacathedrale]

Did you get any further on this? In some perverse way I'm back full circle being interested in the L's again - this time in 5" Gauge as I'm looking to build a Maid of Kent, which seeks to emulate an L1. Thankfully the unimaginative way in which the L1 sprouted from the L's design makes it very easy to backdate.

 

For my sins and despite the wonderous research in this thread, I think I'm going to try and give it the full Wainwright, as per the E-class.  The SECR Society have suggested that this is likely to muddy the waters, but it's tough enough to argue simplified over full wainwright, but when it comes to 'plain green with yellow bands' it's not even a real contest IMO.

 

That said, I imagine that painting is a fair few years into the future and nothing at all to worry about at this point!

[Dana Ashdown]

On 31/07/2021 at 19:05, Lacathedrale said:

Did you get any further on this?

Hello Laecathedrale.

 

Yes, I've actually got it painted. Just a few touch ups and the buffer beams and handrails to do when I get back into the mood. The cab interior is black, because it helps hide the motor, but I might paint some of it cream.

 

I had some problems with the new tin of Humbrol Brunswick Green. It was very thin and transparent — probably too much thinner or to enough pigment. So I went back to my ancient tin (forty plus years old!) and managed to salvage it.

 

Also, I experimented with a yellow paint pen (not a Posca) to do some lining with, but not only was it not fine enough, it was very hard to paint over, even though its supposed to be oil-based.

 

The red oxide I'm using for the frames is probably a little too light, but it will tone down bit when I put the satin varnish over it.

 

I'll post a picture of it when I get the painting done.

 

After that, it'll be time for lining and transfers. I have some waterslide lining decals that should work, but for the boiler bands I'm going to try some paper ones I've made. I have some gold rub-on transfers for lettering.

 

Dana

 

 

 

[Dana Ashdown]

Two pictures of the L-Class in its current state. I can see I'll need to reinforce the front steps — the one on the right side is about to break off!

 

 

[Dana Ashdown]

L Class No.779 is finished. I may revisit the odd detail later, but otherwise its done!

 

 

I saved the lining for a rainy day, or two, or three…, which was just as well. The slightly used discount waterslide lining I bought last year before the shutdowns didn’t want to come off the paper, no matter how long it was soaked. Careful prodding with a knife usually worked, but sometimes the transfer would break before the whole line had been freed. Fortunately, reconnecting the broken bits, or patching with another piece wasn’t too difficult. And once in place, the lining usually stayed put with an application or two of Micro Sol.

 

 

Fitting the lining around the curves was a challenge, which is why clever people use a bow pen! Still, I did discover that with a bit of patience it was possible to to make it conform to most of the curves, though it still isn’t perfect. The most noticeable consequence was where the transfer folded upon itself, leaving visible little corners here and there. This couldn’t be avoided, and a few of the more obvious spots were eased with a bit of paint. Several applications of Micro Sol helped settle the lining into place.

 

 

The boiler bands are black with yellow lines on either side. I was planning to make these from paper strips, only the yellow paint pen that I had proved to be too bright. Luckily, I had some old yellow waterslide lining close to the right width, so I used it instead. I drew the black line down the middle of each line with a black ball point pen. The black probably should have been a bit wider, but it worked, and the ink wasn’t affected by the water, Micro Sol, or the varnish. On the plus side, this lining soak off easily. Negatively, it didn’t want to stay in place, and would break if I wasn’t careful. Micro Sol helped, and it eventually settled enough to be varnished.

 

 

The lettering came from two sources. The SE&CR on the tender came from a sheet of gold rub-on letters (again, bought on a clearance). I was thinking about applying them directly to the sides of the tender, but I thought I could get a better result putting them onto waterslide paper first (using the empty margins of the paper from my old set of transfers). With the exception of an ampersand (which released, so I put it on the tender as is), the rub-on transfers refused to budge; but if I put some Micro Sol on the paper, they would actually release and stick. (I think I lost a few letters in the process, though, because only pert of the letters released.)  Once on the paper, I cut them out and applied them as usual. These letters are not shaded, but they look fine.

 

 

The numbers on the cab sides and buffer beam are not correct, but close enough (for me anyway). These are from the HMRS Great Western sheet. I did try to do the cab side numbers with an extra-fine Posca paint pen, but the pen wasn’t fine enough, hence the resort to the GWR sheet.

 

Obviously, Fox Transfers would have been easier, but they are not available in Canada, so I made do with what I could get. In fact, it is becoming harder to find transfers of any kind, generally. The yellow lining I got last year was actually for model aircraft.

 

 

One thing the lining does show up is the lack of symmetry in the splasher curves — Hercules Poirot would be shocked! I should’ve been more careful in cutting the sides, but I think anyone trying this themselves should get better results using a Silhouette Cutter.

 

Also, the right side of the tender is actually higher than the left side. I put it down to not getting an even cut of the plastic tube used to make the flare at the top of the tank. (That’s my excuse, anyway.) As its only really noticeable if you look at the rear of the tender, I’ve decided to live with the wonkiness.

 

You will also notice that I’ve fitted a Tri-ang coupler on the tender. As I found the engine, the original Tri-ang couplers had been removed, and a previous owner had screwed a Hornby-Doublo coupler to the tender. The attachment for the Tri-ang coupler was still in place, and as lengthening the frame meant that the coupler didn’t protrude as much, I thought I’d make do for now. Bachmann Mk2 Mini Couplings would probably fit without any modifications to the tender.

 

Likewise, I’ve reused the Tri-ang safety valves, but these are easily replaced with something more appropriate.

 

The coal in the tender is vintage Canadian National Railways locomotive coal, by the way. Its probably from Pennsylvania, but whose to know.

 

By the way, I made the number plate on the rear of the tender using a picture of the one on my Bachmann C Class. I “cut out” the plate from the photo on the computer, and then “painted” over the number. Using an appropriate font, I added “779.” To get the size right, I just used the part in the printer information box that says how many pages per sheet, and set it to 16 (the maximum setting) and created a PDF from that. Then I made a second PDF the same way but only doing 2 pages per sheet. This gave me 32 on a letter size sheet. I printed this out on the colour laser printer/copier at the Staples store. As it happened, the resulting plates were about a third larger than the scale size, so I reduced the image size by 25 per cent and reprinted. This worked, so I carefully cut out a plate with a sharp knife and used a glue stick to fix it to the tender. The small “South Eastern & Chatham Railway” lettering is almost readable, so not a bad result.

 

 

Overall, I’m very pleased with the result. Its not perfect by any means, but from “normal viewing distances” it looks the part, and I think that’s what counts with this type of conversion.

 

Its also fairly heavy, so pulling power shouldn’t be an issue — it pulled 19 wagons (not the most free-rolling) on a test track with no slippage. What it needs is some proper running in, but that will have to wait until I have an actual layout again.

 

Although I have the Bachmann Birdcage Set, my plan is to eventually assemble a boat train for the L Class, and leave the Birdcage Set to the D Class.

 

Given the L Class’ origins, I can imagine altering some Tri-ang clerestories into SE&CR bogie stock, with a Pullman added. About six carriages in all should do. However, before I can do that I have to fill out my Great Western stock. Either that, or hope that one of the manufacturers develops some suitable pre-Great War SE&CR and Pullman carriages.

 

Alternately, I could do a through train. Or, moving the 1914 cut-off date for my SE&CR plans a year or two into the Great War, perhaps a troop train, or a train for the general staff. That would be ironic, given I’ve modelled one of the Borsig engines, but that was because the Borsigs entered service before the war started, unlike the Beyer, Peacocks.

 

 

It has occurred to me that the E1 Class was similar to the L1, so if you can live with a few discrepancies in dimensions, the Tri-ang engine could also be made into an SE&CR E1. E Class No.179 was the first to be rebuilt in 1919, with ten more following in 1920, so all were in plain grey from the start.

Dana