GWR 1346 - ex-Alexandra Docks 0-6-4T

[RosiesBoss]

Introduction

 

Having modelled locos and rolling stock of the GWR for a long time, my collection of locos can be subdivided into the following groups:

·         Pure GWR designs

·         Central Wales area types (See Ref. 10)

·         South Wales area types

 

My South Wales area models include:

·         0-4-0ST: 968, ex-Swansea Harbour Trust Peckett – 3D printed body on Hornby Pug chassis

·         0-4-4T: 3, ex-Barry Railway G class – modified Craftsman kit for LSWR T1 class

·         0-6-0ST: 680, ex-ADR – scratchbuilt body on 2nd-hand H0 chassis

·         0-6-0ST: 2195 ”Cwm Mawr”, ex-BP&GVR  - kitbashed from some Hornby Smoky Joe body parts and a 2nd-hand H0 chassis

·         0-6-0T: 2161: ex- Brecon & Merthyr Rly “Victory “ class – Centre Models kit

·         0-6-2T: 83, ex-Rhymney Rly – Rebuilt Dublo N2 body & chassis

·         0-6-2T: 152, ex Cardiff Rly – scratchbuilt body & chassis

·         0-6-2T: 411, ex- Taff Vale Rly O3 – modified Wills U1 body on 2nd-hand whitemetal chassis

·         0-6-2T: 1670: ex-Brecon & Merthyr Rly - Rebuilt Dublo N2 body on scratchbuilt chassis

 

I have a soft spot for the ex-Mersey Railway (MR) 0-6-4Ts. Some were sold on to the Alexandra Docks Railway (ADR) and thence to the GWR. A few came here to Oz, where I photographed the last survivor, J&AB 5, in Hexham, NSW in the early 1970s:

 

 

More information on this loco may be found in Ref.3.

 

After many years of procrastination, I worked up the courage to scratchbuild one of the last survivors that ran on the GWR: No 1346, which had been ADR 24 and MR 2. Images of 1346 seem to be scarce, but can be found scattered around the “net”. I did use lots of images of J&AB 5 for insight into details of the class, as, apart from the removal of condensing apparatus and the installation of a full cab, it remains in almost original condition. Images of the other survivor, “Sarah Siddons” (Ref.5) also proved useful.

 

General arrangement drawings are difficult to find, although I understand that the original (MR) design was published in Model Railway News in Aug 1966. I relied on the weight diagrams published in Ref.2, together with whatever images I could locate. The diagrams showed that the wheelbase is unlike any produced as the chassis of any RTR model that I could identify, so no short cut was available here. Hence I chose to build the inside frames from brass channel and the bogie frames from square section brass tube. The main frames were fiddly, as high precision was needed to get the outside cranks and connecting rods to rotate freely .

 

Parts

·         ½” x ½” brass channel

·         18mm dia Romford driving wheels, bearings & extended axles

·         12mm dia bogie wheels (brand unknown)

·         High Level Slimliner compact gearbox (54:1), through www gwydirvalleymodels.com

·         Mashima motor with 2mm shaft

·         Flywheel made from old Dublo coach wheels

·         0.010” & 0.015” brass sheet

·         Copper pipe, for boiler barrel

·         BA screws, washers & nuts

·         0.4mm dia phos. bronze wire, for handrails and power pickups

·         Nylon M3 screws & nuts for power pickups, screwed into holes tapped in chassis

·         Insulated household wire  (for main steam pipes)

·         Commercial brass handrail knobs

·         Home-made outside cranks

·         Home-turned chimney, dome & safety valve cover

·         Stainless steel strip from windscreen wiper arms (for connecting rods)

·         Modified Hornby smokebox door

·         3D-printed front sandboxes

·         Front springs adapted from those on the chassis of a scrapped Mainline Dean Goods

·         Hornby buffers (meant for 28XX class)

·         Thick acrylic sheet, for rear sandboxes

·         Transfers for rivets: “Signs of all Kinds” (Adelaide, SA, Australia) Soak 156

·         Green electrical insulation tape,  for boiler bands

·         HMRS “Pressfix” transfers for buffer-beam numbers and tankside insignia

·         Home-printed cabside numberplates

 

Construction

 

Construction took quite ordinary progress, with the frames being cut and sculpted from channel brass and the body soldered together from parts cut from brass sheet and copper pipe. In some cases, paper patterns were adapted from the weight diagram. The bogie frame was made from rectangular cross-section, thin-walled brass tube.

In this project, I chose to use 0.015” thick brass for the outside frames, so the front-end would remain strong and rigid, despite having no footplate in front of the smokebox. Hence, it was impractical to impress the rivet pattern from behind, as done in some other projects. (See Refs. 7 & 8.)

One trap for the unwary. The footplate is narrower than the side tanks both in front of and behind the tanks. This is obvious at the front, as seen in the weight diagrams and photos. The narrower rear section is more subtle, evident to my eyes only in photos such as the one above, where the shadows help out. (Guess who had to re-make the bunker because of this?)

Some details were 3D printed. Others came from the scrapbox or were turned on my lathe. Tank fillers and front cylinder covers were punched out of polystyrene sheet. Rear sandboxes were carved from pieces of thick acrylic sheet.

 

Frames:

Roughly cut out, with paper templates

 

Trimmed:

 

Complete with motor, gearbox & pickups:

 

 

Footplate & side tanks:

 

Boiler, smokebox & firebox:

 

Body almost finished, on frames:

 

More details added:

 

Finishing

 

The livery applied to 1346 was tricky to resolve. Would it have been plain black, as applied to many short-lived absorbed locos (see pp.53-4 of Ref.6), or would it have been green with “Great Western” on the tank sides?  The image in Ref.4 resolved that, as “Great Western” is clearly visible. This would have been applied when the GWR replaced its boiler with that recovered from (withdrawn) 1344. I therefore chose to finish the model in GWR green.  Boiler bands were made from thin strips of green vinyl electrical insulation tape.

 

The model was spray-primed in grey, then brush-painted with two coats of the black, green, red and metallic colours. The vertical rivet pattern on the side tanks, so obvious in many extant photos of the prototypes, was represented by water-slide transfers, applied between 1st and 2nd coats of green. This gave a superior effect to that achieved in my model of GWR 153 (Ref.9), where the transfers were applied before priming:

 

1346 passing other South Wales locos at Carmarthen Junction loco depot:

 

1346 passing 2195 & 152 at Carmarthen Junction Station:

 

Reflections

 

This is not a museum-quality model! It was designed and built to run alongside many other scratchbuilt and kit-built GWR types and to tolerate regular handling. Some compromises were made, such as:

·         Flangeless wheels on centre driven axle, as the 3rd axle is so close that flanged wheels would foul each other

·         Absence of underhung springs on 2nd & 3rd axles (I couldn’t work out how to attach them to the inside frames.)

·         Minimal rivet details

·         Rear steps mounted outboard of the frames to facilitate the model negotiating curves

·         Rear part of outside frames modified to provide clearance for bogie wheels

 

Nevertheless, I hope it captures the look and feel of this long-lost loco.

 

References & Further Reading

1.       RCTS “The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway – Part 10 – Absorbed Engines 1922-1947 (RCTS, 1966)

2.       J.H.Russell: “A Pictorial Record of Great Western Absorbed Engines” (OPC, 1978)

3.       http://www.australiansteam.com/JAB 5.htm

4.       http://www.gwr813.org/GWR1346.htm

5.       Photos: https://hmrs.org.uk/photographs.html?limit=30&location=645&p=1&subgroup=174

6.       John Lewis et al: “Great Western Way” (HMRS, 2nd ed., 2009)

7.       http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/107593-gwr-1076-class-double-framed-pannier-tank/

8.       http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/134586-gwr-stella-2-4-0-kitbash/

9.       http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/132253-gwr-ex-cardiff-railway-kitson-0-6-2t/

10.   https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/154031-gwr-680-–-ex-alexandra-docks-0-6-0st/

 

[St Enodoc]

Nice work! I remember you mentioning this when we were chatting at the last St Luke's show. It's good to see it come to fruition. Look forward to seeing it in the flesh too.

 

I've got some Alan Gibson "Universal" coupling rods that I'll never use - would you like them to add a finishing touch? PM me if so.

 

What's next?

[RosiesBoss]

G'day, St Enodoc,

 

Thank you for your kind words. It seems like such a long time since we chatted at the very last St Luke's show. Times have changed and there won't be any more held there. I look forward to a time when my wife and I won't be in self -isolation and we will be able to share times with our friends and relatives - but not just yet. Meanwhile, I have to be content with sharing my models on-line.

 

I am interested in your universal coupling rods, which should be much easier to use than the SS strips I have been using recently. I guess they don't need (brittle) carbide drills, either.

 

Apart from completing 1346, I have been carrying out some maintenance and improvements on several older coaches and wagons in my collection. I'm about to put suitable HMRS transfers on a few rebuilt (ex-)Tri-ang clerestory coaches for use on my branch line terminus layout. While doing this, I will be thinking about what new construction projects I can start.

 

My scrapbox holds lots of goodies, including spare tenders, bits of bodies and chassis, as well as wheels, motors and gearboxes, which allow me to choose from the following:

• GWR 803 (ex-L&M Ravelston) 0-6-0T - scratchbuilt body on Hornby Toby chassis
• GWR 681-4 (ex-CR) 0-6-0PT - to use kitbashed Hornby body on K's J69 chassis
• GWR 1358-60 or 1380-86 0-8-2T - scratchbuilt body on 2nd-hand H0 chassis
• GWR Barnum class 2-4-0 - semi-scratchbuilt body on Tri-ang Nellie chassis
• GWR 39XX class 2-6-2T - semi-scratchbuilt body on Tri-ang Princess chassis
• GWR 781-5 (ex-BR E class) 0-6-0ST - Heavily rebuilt Bachmann Thomas, including smaller wheels

I'm yet to make up my mind, and I could end up making something else entirely! The way things are going with COVID, it looks like I'll have plenty of time to make more models while still isolated. At least it keeps me off the streets!

 

Happy modelling and kind regards,

 

Rob

[Gordon A]

Looks good apart from the chunky coupling rods.

[RosiesBoss]

G'day, Gordon A,

 

You're right!

 

I'll tone them down initially with black paint, which has worked very well in so many other models using the same rods, such as 152.

 

Regards,

 

Rob

[andrewnummelin]

Great to see this model. I bet there aren't many of these around.

My own efforts may be seen on the Scalefour Society Forum at:

https://www.scalefour.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=100&t=2568&hilit=pc%26nr#p27782

 

If anyone else should like to have a go it should be noted that the HMRS can supply a copy of the general arrangement drawing of the loco as supplied to the Mersey Railway:

https://hmrs.org.uk/drawings/0-6-4t-4ft-7ins-driving-wheels.html

 

It's a great shame I hadn't discovered this when I started my model - I could have avoided several errors!

 

You mention the problem of the underhung springs: the visible ones were fixed to the outside, not inside, frames. Note the different hangers and sizes.  (The GA shows the springs for the inner bearings of the driving axel to be above the axel.)  I've discussed the problems of underhung springs with a number of modellers more experienced than myself, and have been given the advice that the best option is to fix the spring to the bearing but have it loose in guides on the frame. But one still has to think about the strap under the axelbox!

 

I'd add another couple of references that I found very useful:

Maund, T.B.; The Steam Era on the Mersey Railway 1886-1903; Railway Archive No. 2 Nov. 2002 p. 3

Parkhouse, Neil & Watson, E.J.; The History of the Steam Locomotives of the Mersey and Mersey Electric Railways; Railway Archive No. 5 Nov. 2003 p. 27

[RosiesBoss]

G'day, Andrew,

 

Thank you for your kind comments.

 

I'm impressed by the detail you managed to incorporate in your model - especially the chassis. I did enjoy reading through the account of your build. I see how you mounted the underhung springs and how you incorporated the outside frames into the chassis, instead of attaching them to the footplate, as I did.

 

Nice work!

 

Regards,

 

Rob

 

[MrWolf]

It has been most inspiring reading this topic, I built one of those Dean Sidings Barry Railway 0-6-4 kits using a Hornby chassis and a lot of detail parts well over a decade ago. That was an interesting project, but not suitable for the current layout even if I still had it.

Any chance you could share some pictures of the Barnum 2-4-0? 

That sounds like a project that I would like to tackle.

[RosiesBoss]

G'day, Mr Wolf,

 

The Barnum project is still in the planning stage. I've been gathering photos for some time. References so far include Model Railways, May 1980 and Railway Modeller, May 1988, both of which have drawings and other useful data. I do intend to scratchbuild most of it, but I do have a suitable tender, possible chassis block, wheels, axles, gearbox and motor. So, "watch this space".

 

Regards,

 

Rob

[MrWolf]

Thanks, I'll have a hunt for those magazines and figure out what will be needed. I'm something of a fan of obscure and obsolete locomotives. 

[St Enodoc]

12 hours ago, RosiesBoss said:

G'day, Mr Wolf,

 

The Barnum project is still in the planning stage. I've been gathering photos for some time. References so far include Model Railways, May 1980 and Railway Modeller, May 1988, both of which have drawings and other useful data. I do intend to scratchbuild most of it, but I do have a suitable tender, possible chassis block, wheels, axles, gearbox and motor. So, "watch this space".

 

Regards,

 

Rob

 

10 hours ago, MrWolf said:

Thanks, I'll have a hunt for those magazines and figure out what will be needed. I'm something of a fan of obscure and obsolete locomotives. 

There were some articles back in 1966 in RM too - the series was called "Building a Barnum", funnily enough..

[MrWolf]

Thanks for that, with a bit of luck I can make use of some of the odds and ends of detail parts that have been gathering dust since 1998