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My First Austerity


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48 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:


There is, but at the bottom of the hopper under the bunker, rather than at the bottom of the bunker itself. 

Was that a standard feature or just the ones with a mechanical stoker? Can't have been much room given the size of the stoker.

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The hopper?

 

So far as I know something added to feed the stoker.

 

I spent a good while crawling about under the KESR ones, which were straight military machines*, in the mid-1970s and don’t remember banging my head against a hopper (I did against every other part at some stage; bump-cap in place).
 

*two ex-NCB ones came to the line as well, but from what I recall they were just ‘parked up’, I don’t recall working on them.

Edited by Nearholmer
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3 hours ago, Corbs said:

If I was going DCC sound etc. and wanted to maximise room inside while keeping the original drivetrain, I would bin the large metal weight (after doing the saddle tank mod), put the gubbins in the vacated space,

 

Yep, I found I could leave the original motor keeper plate (shortened slightly) and managed to fit a keep-alive capacitor in there as well.

 

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With all that and a cast-metal crew, it didn't need the damn great weight at all, for what I use it for.

 

Al.

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2 minutes ago, mike morley said:

If Nearholmer means the big square plate fixed to the lower edge of the buffer beam


No, I mean a sliding door in the bottom of the hopper, just above the stoker. Visible in one of the photos in that weblink, but invisible from a normal viewpoint.

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1 hour ago, Nearholmer said:


There is, but at the bottom of the hopper under the bunker, rather than at the bottom of the bunker itself. 

The hunt is still on for the individual loco which inspired the model . Having just re-read Martin Bane's article,. I realise I have models of 11/23 modified locos!

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1 minute ago, doilum said:

Or a mechanical stoker. Looks like this might have been a high capacity bunker at one time.

 

Yes, nearly all the ones transferred for use on the Cromford and High Peak were originally fitted with the high-capacity bunker, which was removed when they joined the C&HPR as coaling was all done manually by the crew, and reaching up to the top of the high-cap bunker was a nuisance.

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Whatever the flap on the bunker is I'll be getting rid of it. I'm doing a plain ordinary loco without gas producer or underfeed stoker.

 

I've pulled all the handrails off. Comparison of an original handrail knob to one from Hobby Holidays. I think that even if I did nothing else to it, replacing the overscale handrail knobs would be a great improvement.

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I've also got rid of the smokebox door and it's massive hinge.

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The RG4 won't fit, so I'll get a High Level gearbox and use this motor. It's supposed to be 6-pole.

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With regard to the handrails, on the great majority of Austerities those across the front of the saddle tank are level with those along the sides.  On the Dapol/Hornby models they are not.  I'd assumed that was simply a mistake by Dapol that Hornby had perpetuated until I found a photograph of a prototype that matched those on the model.  Then I found a few more and realised they were all built by Andrew Barclay.  Bear that in mind when deciding both where to site your handrails and which prototype to select.

Edited by mike morley
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If you need any detailed shots I have access to both Wimblebury and Whiston at Foxfield. Both are fairly standard Hunslet machines, although Whiston is unusual in still carrying original single gusset plates behind the buffer beams where as most were either modified or built with two gussets.

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8 hours ago, mike morley said:

With regard to the handrails, on the great majority of Austerities those across the front of the saddle tank are level with those along the sides.  On the Dapol/Hornby models they are not.  I'd assumed that was simply a mistake by Dapol that Hornby had perpetuated until I found a photograph of a prototype that matched those on the model.  Then I found a few more and realised they were all built by Andrew Barclay.  Bear that in mind when deciding both where to site your handrails and which prototype to select.

 

I hadn't realised that - also worth noting that Barclay machines had 'WD' style handrail stanctions (i.e., drilled round bar). It's not actually a WD thing, but a Barclay thing - most of their locos were like that.


Adam

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For anyone new to the subject. In order to build large numbers in around 18 months batches of locos were also constructed by Andrew Barclay, Robert Stephenson& Hawthorns, Hudswell Clarke and WG Bagnall. Some of these were renumbered as Hunslet engines when they were rebuilt in the 1950/60s.

The devil is in the small details and photographs of individual examples at specific dates essential. Even from the beginning individual military bases modified grab rails and foot steps. This was taken to another level by individual colliery engineers in their pursuit of efficiency or health and safety. Many underwent full rebuilds in Colliery workshops with subtle changes to cab roof and bunkers as these were the fabricated on site.

Back to the Warrington model: I don't recognise the heavy drop step at the front of the tank. Some British Railways J94 had an open steel loop (and a grab rail) so that lump of plastic would have to go to. Never assume that an additional step or grab rail will be duplicated on the other side. This is the fun of Austerity modelling.

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11 hours ago, doilum said:

Do you have an individual prototype in mind?

Colour?

I don't usually make my models as actual prototypes but I'm going to make an exception here. I want to paint it as RSH 7164 was when operated by Wm, Pepper at Bowers Row. Black and orange, the same colours as Pepper's Jinty and the Class 14 that worked at British Oak. It will then suit my Calder Grove-based layout.

 

10 hours ago, mike morley said:

With regard to the handrails, on the great majority of Austerities those across the front of the saddle tank are level with those along the sides.  On the Dapol/Hornby models they are not.  I'd assumed that was simply a mistake by Dapol that Hornby had perpetuated until I found a photograph of a prototype that matched those on the model.  Then I found a few more and realised they were all built by Andrew Barclay.  Bear that in mind when deciding both where to site your handrails and which prototype to select.

I had noticed that the handrail at the front was placed too high on this model. I didn't know it was right for Barclay engines though.

 

1 hour ago, avonside1563 said:

If you need any detailed shots I have access to both Wimblebury and Whiston at Foxfield. Both are fairly standard Hunslet machines, although Whiston is unusual in still carrying original single gusset plates behind the buffer beams where as most were either modified or built with two gussets.

Do you know if the RSH engines would have been built with the single or double? The photos that I have are too dark or too small to see. I've ordered etched buffer beams for single. Wimblebury is my favourite Austerity because you let me drive it. :biggrin_mini2:

 

 

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Somewhere, I have the dates for when the double gusset was introduced. My guess is that all the wartime builds were single. That said, a number of Post war locos were out shopped too and many of the early locos were retrofitted with the double gusset as they were rebuilt.

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2 minutes ago, doilum said:

Somewhere, I have the dates for when the double gusset was introduced. My guess is that all the wartime builds were single. That said, a number of Post war locos were out shopped too and many of the early locos were retrofitted with the double gusset as they were rebuilt.

Found it. Double gusset made standard from He 3700 in 1950.

A couple of locos were built in 1953 by RSH along with a batch of eight from the Yorkshire Engine Co with 12 spoke steel wheels for the steel industry.

For the record, Warrington was originally RSH 7136 but became He3892 when rebuilt by Hunslet with a gas producer / mechanical stoker circa 1965.

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Interested to see how you get on with that motor - I have a number, but since I've had them I've not yet built anything big enough to take one. They are very slow revving - what ratio gears are you planning to use? I hope to use them in some 08's I'm planning so your experiences will be useful.

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49 minutes ago, Erichill16 said:

Slightly at a tangent , I think I read somewhere that the Dapol body is based on the Airfix kit. The fact that Dapol never re-introduced the Austerity as a kit may corroborate this. Does anyone know if this is in fact the case?

Robert

 

I was told that there was a fire in which some masters, the Austerity included, were damaged beyond use.

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I have found a photo of an Austerity at Bowers. Looks very             "standard"!  Rivets on the buffer beam suggest a single gusset. There is then the issue of buffer heads. To my eyes the ones on the model are fractionally undersize and way too heavy. Most of mine have the giant 22" heads favoured by local collieries.

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My Austerity began life as a Dapol 'Warrington'. It was initailly used on my older son's  00 gauge layout. About 15 years ago, when he decided he didn't want it anymore, he passed it on to me. I did some fairly basic changes:

Replaced the chimney - Brass Masters (the last one they had in stock)
Handrails - replaced/modified to 'as originally built' spec.

Filed the backing away from the injectors - huge improvement on its own.

Re-gauged it EM using the EMGS conversion kit
Replaced the coupling rods - Gibson 'mix and match' set - tricky but there were no suitable ready made rods available at the time.
New, home made, smokebox door handles.

3 link couplings
Repaint
Renamed 'Samson' - Fox Transfer brass name plate.

 

Overall it passes the 2 feet test and runs reasonably well. It was intended to be a working engine not a display piece.

What am I not happy with ? The dreadful noise from the geartrain.

 

Observation my model did not have the bunker hatch

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