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Hunslet 48150 from Hornby/Dapol Austerity Bodge/Bash [Battery Power/Radio Control]


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Hello all. I had an itch to do another industrial loco. Having been really pleased with how the 50550 conversion went, I wanted to represent that loco's predecessor, the 48150. 

More info on the Austerity family lineage here:

https://www.irsociety.co.uk/Archives/23/18in_Hunslets.htm?fbclid=IwAR1U1cURe4yHRDYYkCuSnbOQq2bLwI54uwKzprqwzYyK8xIkiFWp6vsVGRQ

 

The 48150 has the same size wheels as the 50550, and same bunker design, deep bufferbeams, but with round front windows instead of shaped ones, and of course the distinctive exposed smokebox.

48150 production started before WW2 and predates the 50550 and WD designs, but a few more 48150s were built during and after the war. I believe 'Jessie' at the Pontypool and Blaenavon is a 48150, but either the design details changed or she was rebuilt at some point, as the bunker design is the same as a WD (larger capacity, vertical rear sheet rather than angled) and she doesn't have the deep bufferbeams.

Jessie was built in 1937 and was the second loco of the first batch. 

1761512453_Screenshot2019-11-03at22_48_57.png.a2a04786382acbcb07f6db7d90262ffa.png

 

Compare this with 'Redbourn' built 1944 (after 50550 production had ended and WD begun). The final 6 locos of this type went to Richard Thomas & Baldwins Ltd (Scunthorpe). When they were scrapped, the frames ended up being used for slag wagon bogies.

REDBOURN_25.jpg

 

The starting point was a Hornby model based on the old Dapol version. This Austerity was bought off eBay a while back, it had been 'weathered' (black paint slapped everywhere). I'd cleaned a bit off but it was still quite yuk.

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_cbcb.jpg.2ada79a4a840c382427a406cbe06166f.jpg

 

Dismantled and dumped in Dettol. Mixed results, the paint formed a sludge that was still difficult to shift. I have since read that I should have taken it out, put it in some fresh Dettol and scrubbed it down. What I did was try to wash it off with water, which just softened the plastic and made it mark easily.

 

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_cbdf.jpg.f92bcb2b9a63e7855a217c08b75d6f51.jpg

 

After thoroughly drying out, the model had a quick spray of white primer to see how bad the damage was. It was fixable.

I used masking tape to mark the cut point, the razor saw shortened the tanks, and then the front of the tank was carefully cut off the smokebox door section using a fresh scalpel. Bunker was modified as with the 50550. The gutter strips on the cab were filed off.

 

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_ccc1.jpg.7e32d092e1e838bd3b52f2cadf920eb3.jpg

 

The Hornby/Dapol model has a HIDEOUS mould line down the saddle tank which detracts from an otherwise quite good (for its time) model. Oly and Chris over at OTCM devised a way to get rid of this, shown here. The lower section of the tanks are sawn off the lower body and affixed to the upper saddle tanks. The weight inside is either removed or permanently glued in place. I opted not to fix it in this time.

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To fill in the front windows, first I used a scalpel to smooth them off, then cut little plastic fillets from styrene. I mixed some styrene offcuts with poly cement to make a filler paste and plug any more gaps.

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I was originally thinking of forming the smokebox from brass, but a) I wouldn't really know what I was doing, and b) I didn't have any brass, so a piece of plastic tube of roughly the right size was sawn up to fit. Plenty of green stuff filler later, it's taking shape. The pilot holes for the front windows were drilled, they need enlarging and moving over slightly. Only the rear handrail knob is in the right place now so the others were filled and will be re-drilled. Injector pipework under the cab was removed.

The chassis was re-assembled using the Hornby/Dapol Terrier wheels. I had to take a wheel off 2 axles in order to fit the brass collar from the WD axles, but the geared axle fits fine.

The main missing part right now is the chimney. I think I can use the cap from the WD, but the base is slightly too large.

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_ce30.jpg.6eb13f878a2718478a09c6f8a49b81a7.jpg

 

Edited by Corbs
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Well done. Looks like your bravery will be well rewarded. Oddly enough I created S112 my 7mm 50550 class in a reverse operation.

In the real world it is good to see Jessie back in her original form after several years as a Thomas lookalike.

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Thanks Barclay, I agree. Hornby could have been onto a winner by getting rid of the mould line and adding NEM pockets. 

This morning I splashed a coat of filler primer on to see what needed doing, I always love seeing a model come together when a coat of paint goes on and the colour becomes uniform. 

 

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_ce36.jpg.349c28354360fdc8b48eb1691641dd7f.jpg

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29 minutes ago, Corbs said:

Thanks Barclay, I agree. Hornby could have been onto a winner by getting rid of the mould line and adding NEM pockets. 

This morning I splashed a coat of filler primer on to see what needed doing, I always love seeing a model come together when a coat of paint goes on and the colour becomes uniform. 

 

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_ce36.jpg.349c28354360fdc8b48eb1691641dd7f.jpg

Now for the evening spent with 600, 1200 & 2000 grade wet& dry paper. Don't forget the drop of washing up liquid.

Dettol. How come I have never come across this before. Looks better than old school brake fluid.

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3 minutes ago, doilum said:

Now for the evening spent with 600, 1200 & 2000 grade wet& dry paper. Don't forget the drop of washing up liquid.

Dettol. How come I have never come across this before. Looks better than old school brake fluid.

Absolutely. I would caveat that Dettol can be a bit hit and miss, you need to be careful about it softening the plastic and deforming objects too much. You'll also need more than one toothbrush as the sludge clogs them up very quickly!

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16 minutes ago, Corbs said:

Absolutely. I would caveat that Dettol can be a bit hit and miss, you need to be careful about it softening the plastic and deforming objects too much. You'll also need more than one toothbrush as the sludge clogs them up very quickly!

As a ten year old I put a badly painted triang minic car into a saucerful of polystripper "borrowed" without permission. Next day I returned to find just two metal axles in a pool of sludge. Lesson learned. 

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I bought these two photos from the excellent RCTS website, they show No. 69 (Hunslet Engine Co 2377 of 1941) at Richard Thomas & Baldwins Ltd. in 1959.

 

69/2377 was from the 1941 batch and has the angled bunker but not the deep buffer beams. As 'Jessie' of 1937 also has shallow buffer beams and angled frame ends, but 'Redbourn' of 1944 has the straight frames and deep buffer beams similar to the 50550 class, it may be that the design was changed to increase adhesive weight?

FAI4198-(ZF-5129-06581-1-002).jpg.900730be1d97cea9531c697a938ee95e.jpg

FAI4199-(ZF-5129-06581-1-001).jpg.b0f753159626fdf58c6819fc9a6fb7e1.jpg

 

This picture of 'Jessie' from Wikipedia shows that she does not have the off-centre door in the back of the cab that the WDs have (I presume this was for removing the regulator without having to take the cab apart? EDIT - no it is to access the top lamp bracket).

Then again 'Jessie' has the larger capacity bunker so unsure if the cab's been rebuilt at some point, though she does have circular front windows.

969125854_Screenshot2019-11-04at19_02_54.png.75f373f20ee2381ba5cf94d8d014d8b1.png

Edited by Corbs
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9 minutes ago, doilum said:

Looks like an X2 Peckett.

Wheelbase is too long for an X2. More like an X or a Q.

 

Sorry, Corbs, for hijacking your thread!

 

Edit: It is a Q class. I found my IRS Peckett book. W/n 1015 of 1904, for the Ebbw Vale Steel, Iron & Coal Co. 18x24in. cylinders, Class Q. Originally named EBBW VALE.

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18 hours ago, Corbs said:

I bought these two photos from the excellent RCTS website, they show No. 69 (Hunslet Engine Co 2377 of 1941) at Richard Thomas & Baldwins Ltd. in 1959.

 

69/2377 was from the 1941 batch and has the angled bunker but not the deep buffer beams. As 'Jessie' of 1937 also has shallow buffer beams and angled frame ends, but 'Redbourn' of 1944 has the straight frames and deep buffer beams similar to the 50550 class, it may be that the design was changed to increase adhesive weight?

FAI4198-(ZF-5129-06581-1-002).jpg.900730be1d97cea9531c697a938ee95e.jpg

FAI4199-(ZF-5129-06581-1-001).jpg.b0f753159626fdf58c6819fc9a6fb7e1.jpg

 

This picture of 'Jessie' from Wikipedia shows that she does not have the off-centre door in the back of the cab that the WDs have (I presume this was for removing the regulator without having to take the cab apart?).

Then again 'Jessie' has the larger capacity bunker so unsure if the cab's been rebuilt at some point, though she does have circular front windows.

969125854_Screenshot2019-11-04at19_02_54.png.75f373f20ee2381ba5cf94d8d014d8b1.png

Interesting to see the original cab. On reflection, I have just noticed the date of 1959. Perhaps this is not the original cab after all. The restored cab looks much more like a Hunslet product.

Edited by doilum
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If you're referring to the square door on Austerity saddle tanks that's in the back of the cab between the windows then this is to access the top centre lamp bracket which is attached to it so you can swing the lamp inside the cab. It is too high to remove the regulator rod, this entails the cutting of a hole just where the top of the cab joing the bottom!

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50 minutes ago, avonside1563 said:

If you're referring to the square door on Austerity saddle tanks that's in the back of the cab between the windows then this is to access the top centre lamp bracket which is attached to it so you can swing the lamp inside the cab. It is too high to remove the regulator rod, this entails the cutting of a hole just where the top of the cab joing the bottom!

Ah great thanks Nigel. I am guessing that the 48150s did not have this?

 

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57 minutes ago, Corbs said:

Ah great thanks Nigel. I am guessing that the 48150s did not have this?

 


The HE50550 class certainly doesn't, though it did feature a lamp bracket in the same place. The difference being that this class had large rectangular sliding windows allowing access either side. 

 

Paul A. 

 

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3 hours ago, avonside1563 said:

If you're referring to the square door on Austerity saddle tanks that's in the back of the cab between the windows then this is to access the top centre lamp bracket which is attached to it so you can swing the lamp inside the cab. It is too high to remove the regulator rod, this entails the cutting of a hole just where the top of the cab joing the bottom!

This was possibly a ministry requirement when the Hunslet design was chosen ahead of the Jinty. It was intended from the outset to be capable of main line use.

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More progress. This sanding tool is very useful for curved surfaces.

 

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_ce3a.jpg.8222cdd41f6f5917276c22e25105b706.jpg

 

Adding a flange to the smokebox.

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_ce41.jpg.77a40e737f19410ff7e2eb9f73c0c690.jpg

 

The gutters are different on these locos, so I've added a representation of them.

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_ce40.jpg.3ea1293ff64b1baf508dd803f4871c2e.jpg

 

Didn't have the right chimney and couldn't be bothered to look for one, so sawed the Austerity one in half and fixed a piece of styrene rod, with a brass bit to hold it in place.

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_ce51.jpg.0d1dc04eb29d816c77a74f7d40f0a159.jpg

 

Added miliput to the chimney, need to carve it a lot as it's way too thicc right now.

Bufferbeam extensions formed from styrene as before.

 

It may not be obvious but I have filed down the smokebox door hinge as it was huge.

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_ce55.jpg.a5e61d8483e671de058505098745bd3f.jpg

Posed with another donor that's just arrived. I think this one may end up becoming Stewarts & Lloyds No.24 in its oil-fired guise, just because I like the idea of it.

 

The 48150 will be physically based on Redbourn, so one of the later batches. By the looks of things they worked almost exclusively at steelworks, so this one will likely work at Barrow in my fictionalised universe, Barrow Steel being exported via the docks at Tidmouth.

Edited by Corbs
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Been scouring the internet for pictures as barely anything comes up when you search 'Hunslet 48150', more RCTS purchases have yielded more detail differences.

I copied over info from the Industrial Railway Society website.

575437156_Screenshot2019-11-06at17_54_24.png.d4709c3ba8c98228f8cc6d9345e5cd24.png

 

1849/1937 was the first one built. Confused me at first as it has the straight bunker (with no rear hatch) and WD-style front glass rather than rounded. Angled frames and small bufferbeams.

Pictured in 1959

 

This one is the only class member I've seen to have gib and cotter rods.

 

FAI4169-(ZF-1810-45223-1-002).jpg.d9b289c6b408997f4ef018a6d5b2ea43.jpg

 

1873/1937 worked at the same location (Guest, Keen Iron and Steel) and had the same bunker. This was the second loco built and is the only one preserved (as 'Jessie') - meaning that 1849 may be the only one with the non-circular windows. Same frames as above.

FAI4174-(ZF-1810-45223-1-003).jpg.ef948f96cb98bd654c79717351aff676.jpg

 

 

The Redbourn locos were all built either during or post-WWII.

 

All appear to have the big buffer beams. Some have lower couplers fitted of what looks like a loop and pin style, presumably for internal user wagons.

No idea what the livery was but some appear to be lined and others plain. The application of wasp stripes on the buffer beams looks like there was no set guide.

 

All appear to have a pipe or cable going from the dome down the side of the tank.

 

FAI4017-(ZF-1810-45223-1-004).jpg.11c14890a59a910ebed4bfac55fdc610.jpg

FAI4020-(ZF-1810-45223-1-005).jpg.4c541269b32a56d8ec0a2db61c906e4c.jpg

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FAI4030-(ZF-1810-45223-1-008).jpg.1be059ad9fe0a3ee4b1657e8ac8658b9.jpg

 

 

Edited by Corbs
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10 minutes ago, doilum said:

The 50550 also have the pipe from the dome to the footplate. Anyone know it's function?

Only a guess here but could it be an oil pipe from the mechanical lubricator? Feeding steam oil to the regulator valve?

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Chimney shape is coming along, with filing, sanding and painting. Getting the right looking taper is key. Of course yesterday I found some suitable chimneys in a drawer, oh well!

Had an attack of common sense and realised that the metal weight needs to stay inside the saddle tank as it holds the motor in place. This meant I had to prise the front of the tank off to re-fit it = more sanding!

The battery is the best fit I can get right now without intruding into the loco too much. Perhaps I should get one of the newer Deltang receivers with the red LED and build it into the firebox. Trying to work out best place for a charging socket and on/off switch, possibly in the bunker under a coal load? The 9v step-up needs to be factored in too, to go in between battery and Rx.

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_ce74.jpg.15b705f1cbd65d4766eada924098f9a8.jpg

 

Current state of play. The handrails are the WD ones with the ends trimmed off. Need to bend up the front handrail. Livery will be maroon with wasp stripes as this loco will join the (re-assigned) No.16 at Barrow Hematite Steel Co.

 

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_ce6e.jpg.4ee4a0c54a139c442cd6c1a7fe2a2ca6.jpg

Edited by Corbs
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Yesterday I made up the wiring loom for the 48150.

 

The battery (I think it's a 150mah one) is under the footplate, in a void freed up by removing the pick-up plate. Yes, I know the wheels need painting properly.

 

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_cea9.jpg.31a38ee60fa5ec4e99ea9d6c39eb493a.jpg

 

I drilled a hole into the boiler for the wiring to go.


1056298419_SJvQMXJQOYW8duhJbiw_thumb_cea4.jpg.9cc51900bd047be8c8e2b775a2479515.jpg

 

Originally (as shown above) I fitted a 9v or 12v step-up to the loom, but this was disappointing. I think it may have been a 12v one as slow speed control was rubbish, very jerky, and battery life was terrible.

 

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_ce9b.jpg.d05c301af772ef830f7540d88dc5a50d.jpg

 

On the left is the battery life at half-throttle with the 12v conversion. On the right is the battery life at full throttle running on 3.7v. Top speed is very slow with the latter, but as it's a shunting loco that's no bad thing. Slow speed running much improved.

 

 

Here's the current state of it. Wires in the cab will be painted black and a crew fitted to hide it somewhat. The closest side goes to the charging port, the furthest away is for the on-off switch. I cut down the metal boiler weight in order to fit around the rats nest of wiring in the front.

 

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_cea8.jpg.868f2a987fb673050ebb0766f33f1a7f.jpg

 

.... and test assembly after transfers added and a coat of Tamiya matt lacquer. The wasp stripes are all spray painted, using Tamiya masking tape.

 

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UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_ceaa.jpg.13e931473288637cd3414c36ac761298.jpg

 

 

Edited by Corbs
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Think they are about 2mm too deep - they hang down slightly below the frames on the original, but I still have the WD -style frames so haven't quite got the reference yet.

 

Here it is running on 3.7v BPRC. A few bursts of top speed, then a little experimentation with the inertia control.

 

 

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