1930s-1940s era Army locomotive.

[GEARJAMMER]

Hi..

 

A colleague at work likes to model 1930s-1940s Army scenes/dioramas, painting the figures etc etc.

He wants to to do a diorama of the above era and include a train, he was quite specific that he wants a small engine, not a big express engine or anything like that, so im thinking a small 0-4-0 or similar. He doesn't want to pay a fortune for a working model (as I might have suggested Hornbys little 48DS shunter) as it will only be for display and wont be used.

Im aware Dapol do plastic kits and do an 0-6-0 Drewery shunter and an 0-4-0 Pug steam shunter, my question quite simply is, did the Army ever use any of these types of locos, and if not, what else is out there that might suit his needs?

 

Regards.

[Nearholmer]

Hunt around on eBay for a non-working or otherwise cheap Austerity tank.

[Gordon A]

Airfix did a kit for an Austerity tank loco.

 

Gordon A

[The Johnster]

The Austerity, or Hunslet 18½", is not really suitable for a diorama base pre 1940, and I suspect your friend is looking for other options.  I'd be surprised if you couldn't find a Peckett or Andrew Barclay that didn't fit the bill, especially if he's happy to repaint it.  L & Y pugs stayed mostly in railway service until withdrawal, and I'm not aware of any sold out of service; Smokey Joe (Nielson) might be an option though.  The Drewry is a late 50s product, not suitable for era. 

 

I'm no expert on this, but I'm pretty sure the Royal Engineers had some lightweight Manning Wardles if your friend is ok with kits.  And of course there were ex-WW1 simplexes, standard and narrow gauge with or without armoured cabs.

[Nearholmer]

Or, use the Pug kit as the basis for a conversion to a class of 0-4-0T that was used by the military.

 

The Drewry 0-6-0DS is too late for the 40s, but could be hacked to make an earlier 0-4-ODS. There’s  a well known photo of a Drewry 0-4-0DS coming ashore from on LCT after DDay.

[Invicta]

38 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

L & Y pugs stayed mostly in railway service until withdrawal, and I'm not aware of any sold out of service; 

 

Several were sold out of service to industrial users, IIRC as early as the 1930's, but pretty sure none for army/WD use- Apparently one of those sold off to industry was requisitioned by the Ministry of Supply in 1940 for use at an Ordnance depot, but that is about as close as you'll get to a military Pug

 

.If it's of interest, there was an article on L&Y Pugs in Steam Days mag in 2004 which listed those sold off to industry- I posted the list in a thread about Pugs a few years back: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/21740-ly-pugs/

[Nearholmer]

Low-res copy of the photo I mentioned ..... there’s another one on the ship in the background.

 

 

More info and better photos of this type here https://www.nymr-pway.co.uk/plant/drewry-diesel-no-16/ including a nice comparison with the later BR 0-6-0 version, to help with sawing-up a Dapol kit.

 

More info and construction of a model here http://www.floodland.nl/aim/info_ns162_en_1.htm

 

The other type to consider is the EE350hp 0-6-0DS, now known as Class 08, the earlier versions of which were built for LMS and WD, and used extensively on military service towards the end of WW2 and thereafter. Again, there used to be a decent plastic kit (Kitmadter/Airfix), but a better bet these days might be to look for a non-working Bachmann or Hornby one and repaint that. It won’t be 100% correct for the LMS/WD version, but only trainspotters with a particular interest will know the difference. They’ve even been sold in Longmoor Military Railway livery, although that is not a livery for a theatre of war.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 19, 2020 by Nearholmer

[Steamport Southport]

I don't think the Austerity 0-6-0STs left the country apart from a few that went to Holland and I think that was post war (or very near the end of it, certainly post 1944).

 

 

Dean Goods? They kept a few after WWI and requisitioned more in WWII. I'm sure you could pick up a non working Mainline one for a reasonable price.

 

You could also have a LMS Jinty 0-6-0T.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD_ex-LMS_Fowler_Class_3F

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/141537-lms-coach-in-russia/&do=findComment&comment=3446177

 

 

 

Jason

[Nearholmer]

If the OP’s pal wanted to go back before the various requisitions and new-builds of WW2, the army had mainly what amounted to a bunch of old crocks, either built new for them quite a long time earlier, or requisitioned during WW1 and hung onto thereafter. There were a few new ones built directly for military use between the wars, notably the Sentinel 4WVBGT for Tidworth Camp.

 

I like Steamport’s idea of a Jinty, because there are so many half-dead Triang ones available cheap from eBay, and it would fit very well in a late WW2 scene in Europe.

 

More details of the OP’s date-Line?

 

And scale - we’ve all assumed 1:76, and I guess the military equivalent 1:72, but British locos get very difficult if it’s 1:35.

 

There is a very, very good plastic kit of a German V36, their equivalent of our EE350, specifically aimed at military modellers, though, and a typical German wagon to go with it.

[Steamport Southport]

All kinds of oddballs on the Shropshire & Montgomeryshire. But we are probably getting away from the OP as it's more munitions rather than military.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shropshire_and_Montgomeryshire_Railway

 

 

 

Jason

Edited January 19, 2020 by Steamport Southport

[Nearholmer]

We haven’t mentioned USATC S160, aka Yankee Tanks.

 

Very common in late WW2 military service, and available rtr in 00, but hard to find a cheap one suitable for use in a static diorama, I guess.