Victorian/Lambton-style 0-6-0 Coal Engine Scratchbuild

[Regularity]

On 17/05/2020 at 22:59, Corbs said:

Lining, I am currently undecided on white/black/white or plain black. Any thoughts?

I think the white is necessary to lift it a bit, but it will look a bit NER.

You could always add an extra border on the boiler bands, and edging on the panels, with that Victorian perennial “purple brown”, like Drummond (I think) on the LSWR...

[Corbs]

White/black/white is what I went for - here she be! I added a black band just behind the smokebox and painted up to it to try and get a clean line.

 

Needs cab steps fabricating, clack valves and pipes, cab handrails and interior, then of course the tender.

 

The one I have is similar to the one used by LHJC No.2 late in her career, so for an easy life the tender will be largely unmodified.

 

 

Comparing it to the photo you can see the differences and compromises, but I hope it carries the spirit of the Lambton pair, so to speak.

 

Also the locos seem to be in a different state of rebuild in every single photo!

 

 

 

[Regularity]

Nicely done.

How did you do it?

 

There was probably lining where the cab meets the firebox, too.

 

Looking at the photo of the prototype, they appear to have used a single sheet of glazing material for the pair of side windows, and dtuck it on the outside!

[Corbs]

Yes you might be right there, I should probably try and line that before fitting whistle as the space will be restricted.

 

It certainly looks reflective! That's also the third cab I have seen that loco wearing. Number 1 certainly seemed to have both windows inset and glazed, so I'll try and follow that.

 

The lining was Fox Transfers BR Express Blue lining from their generic sheets of straights and corners  I think my boiler has more bands than the original due to the dome being in a different place, but I tried it with fewer and it looked strangely unbalanced.

[Ruston]

I like it. The cab looks a little wrong though. It's too tall and the curve appears to start whilst it's part way down the side windows.

[Corbs]

Precisely, the cab is over-large and is the main 'thing I would do differently' next time.

I think I would have done better to have hacksawed off the back of the chassis and shortened the cab, and reduced all the dimensions.

Am wondering if there is a way of altering the way it looks without disassembly/damage to the model as it is, as I am pleased with the paint finish etc.

[Justang]

Perhaps if you reduced the height of the cab windows, less of the windows would be in the curve of the cab sides. This photo shows one of the inside-framed Lambton locos, and the cab windows seem less tall than the cab windows on the outside-framed locos. Although the one in the photo isn't the outside-framed type of 0-6-0 you are making, perhaps the less-tall windows might not look out-of-place. Hope this helps.

[Corbs]

You could be right though I would be concerned about making the roof look even taller. I think I'll crack on with the tender and sleep on it a few times! It may be that some surgery will be employed to bring the cab height down, or I may find a way around it and learn to live with it  depends how brave I am feeling!

[Caledonian]

With the caveat that I've never tried anything so ambitious as this myself. I'd agree that the cab is too high. The problem as I see it is that there's too much space  above the windows and the spectacle plates, especially when you compare it with the original photie. What I'd be inclined to suggest is chopping the side-sheets level with the bottom of the existing windows, or perhaps a little lower, and reducing the height of the front bulkhead to just above the spectacle plates to lower the roof. Then build the side-sheets up to meet the roof - with wider windows so's the proportions look more like the photie. Given the way that these locos were constantly being rebuilt that kind of alteration would be consistent as well as more convincing.

[Corbs]

3 hours ago, Caledonian said:

With the caveat that I've never tried anything so ambitious as this myself. I'd agree that the cab is too high. The problem as I see it is that there's too much space  above the windows and the spectacle plates, especially when you compare it with the original photie. What I'd be inclined to suggest is chopping the side-sheets level with the bottom of the existing windows, or perhaps a little lower, and reducing the height of the front bulkhead to just above the spectacle plates to lower the roof. Then build the side-sheets up to meet the roof - with wider windows so's the proportions look more like the photie. Given the way that these locos were constantly being rebuilt that kind of alteration would be consistent as well as more convincing.

 

I did a bit of soul-searching as I had thought that would be the best thing to do, just bring it all down, but I thought I'd try an easy thing first and see if I can live with it, I can always butcher it later if I don't like it

 

1 hour ago, David jennings said:

Another option might be to bring your rainstrips down a few millimetres and extend the cab roof grey further down so it finishes in a line just above the top line of the side windows - may fool the eye ? 

 

That's what I ended up doing, taking the rainstrip off with a sharp blade, cutting away the paint and putting a new one on lower down.

 

Also added a nice little toolbox from Train Crash Models.

 

and a GBL C Class donated a backhead. The false floor should hopefully be obscured by crew members and gubbins.

 

 

[Corbs]

Well, it's coming along.

 

I had my first experience with Markits clack valves and struggled a bit with glue, but the trick in the end was Loctite.

 

 

 

Fabricated some cab steps, I think it needs a handrail to assist clambering in.

 

 

The number and lettering is from Railtec. I am pleased-ish with the lining (from Fox) but somewhat disappointed by the shade change in the white. Hopefully it will blend with a touch of weathering.

 

 

This is it out on the balcony table. Note that I removed the rear tender steps and changed the bufferbeam completely.

 

I went for differing pipe runs for the clack valves as the idea is that one goes to a pump and the other to a live steam injector.

 

 

[Corbs]

haha, well I did once have a rather scary experience with a car I bought second hand, but that's another story...

 

A 3-link sprung coupling has been fitted to the tender and a strip of styrene with two screws in serves as the loco to tender coupling.

 

I received some Vallejo washes in the post, having not used them before. I went for some smoke on the upper works, giving it a streaked effect on the panelled areas. Some brown was applied to the underframes.

 

I didn't want to go overboard but it did need something more, so I dry-brushed on some 'smoke' powder around the tender lip, the boiler top and dome.

 

This is the photo I was using as a weathering reference, the sides are fairly clean albeit a light dusting, but the bunker and boiler top are understandably sooty.

 

 

I've decided to live with the cab being taller, I had photoshopped some options of the windows being shorter but none looked right and I think the only way to 'fix' it would be to redo the cab and down that path, pain and sadness lies!

I suppose I can always deploy the excuse that it's a make believe Sudrian loco after all  

[Ruston]

Amazing what a bit of weathering can do! It looks very good now.

[Mike 84C]

Looks excellent never seen one of those modelled before.  Whose chimney casting did you use? Looks just right for  Oirish  loco's.

[Regularity]

On 29/05/2020 at 21:11, Corbs said:

I've decided to live with the cab being taller

Taller is ok, but it’s the curvature which concerns me - and the thickness of the sides, but if the surface was flat, then the glazing would disguise it. But these are small issues, for bearing in mind next time, as otherwise that’s a remarkable piece of work.

[Corbs]

1 hour ago, Mike 84C said:

Looks excellent never seen one of those modelled before.  Whose chimney casting did you use? Looks just right for  Oirish  loco's.

 

Hmm I was trying to find the purchase link. It's a rather lovely one from Caley Coaches but I can't see them on the website - I've bought lots of lovely 'bashing' accessories, like piano covers for cylinders, westinghouse pumps, safety valves, a great resource. They did two sizes of chimney and I believe this was the larger one.

Keep an eye on the site in case they return. In fact the safety valves on this loco are from there too.

http://www.caley.com/fitting.php

 

42 minutes ago, Regularity said:

Taller is ok, but it’s the curvature which concerns me - and the thickness of the sides, but if the surface was flat, then the glazing would disguise it. But these are small issues, for bearing in mind next time, as otherwise that’s a remarkable piece of work.

Thanks Simon! But yes exactly, it's not one 'thing' that's off, but a combination, and if I fix one then I feel it would make the others worse.

For example if I made the side windows shorter it would make the area above them taller. The curvature of the cab should follow the shape of the spectacle glass, but if I fix that then the excessive length of the cab makes it disproportionate. I can shorten the cab in length but then it looks tall and thin  so short of rebuilding the back end of the loco, I'm leaving it somewhere in the middle!

[Corbs]

It's such a trope that after building something on scant information and small pictures that you'll find a high quality image of it!

 

Maybe I'll build another one some day  

 

The real No.1 at Philadelphia coaling stage some time after 1947.

 

[Corbs]

23 hours ago, Sandhole said:

The pannier? tank is a joy of a shot. It has given me ideas.
Your model, Corbs, is, as usual a lovely piece of modelling.

 

 

Thank you

 

I would really like to model the pannier too, it's a 1950s NCB rebuild of this old 0-6-0 (not my photo, from the Lambton Loco Trust Page)

 

 

I love its ugliness! 

 

 

https://rcts.zenfolio.com/industrial-and-light/industrial-steam/other/ea87fc092

 

https://rcts.zenfolio.com/industrial-and-light/industrial-steam/other/ea87e9c74

 

and another one of No.1 this time in 1937. So many differences between this and the other picture! The cab, cylinder cover, tender and I think the boiler are all different.

 

https://rcts.zenfolio.com/industrial-and-light/industrial-steam/other/ea8765d7f

 

 

 

 

Edited July 12, 2020 by Corbs

[rope runner]

Nice images but we probably shouldn't be posting them as they are copyrighted and then downloadable by others on this public forum. Links to the images (but not showing a thumbnail on the forum) are acceptable, I understand. 

Paul A. 

[Corbs]

Fair point, I have swapped them for the RCTS site links and the watermarked versions. They don't cost much (£2 each) so if anyone does want a 'proper' version it's worth the small fee.

Edited July 15, 2020 by Corbs

[LNWR18901910]

On 27/05/2020 at 21:56, Corbs said:

Well, it's coming along.

 

I had my first experience with Markits clack valves and struggled a bit with glue, but the trick in the end was Loctite.

 

 

 

Fabricated some cab steps, I think it needs a handrail to assist clambering in.

 

 

The number and lettering is from Railtec. I am pleased-ish with the lining (from Fox) but somewhat disappointed by the shade change in the white. Hopefully it will blend with a touch of weathering.

 

 

This is it out on the balcony table. Note that I removed the rear tender steps and changed the bufferbeam completely.

 

I went for differing pipe runs for the clack valves as the idea is that one goes to a pump and the other to a live steam injector.

 

 

What a fantastic locomotive! If I did something similar, it would have to be a re-imagining of it as a proper mainline tender locomotive! It looks very nice as a model, but how did you make the chassis outer-framed like that? I know you already made the body, but the chassis is, on the other hand, a different matter I often considered.

 

Apart from that, neat model!!

[Corbs]

Thank you  the outside frames are just 'dummies' that slot over the cranks on the 08 wheels, it's a bit of a cheat but it works for this. On the first page there are a couple of pics sort of showing how it works.