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Hawthorn Leslie 0-6-0T (More or Less)


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I hope I can be forgiven for this piece of lockdown nonsense. This is an attempt to make use of a Stewart Reidpath casting for an 0-6-0T, which I have long considered bears a passing resemblance to a Hawthorn Leslie Locomotive. I recently obtained one of these and by good fortune found a photo and drawing of a suitable prototype in Industrial Railway Record no. 241.

 

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This will not be a scale replica of the loco. concerned, but I am hoping it will look the part - it will be something of a 'scrapbox build', using what I have to hand as far as possible, and will also give me the chance to try a couple of  new things. So far the following items have been located to help me with the build, the most important of which is the spare chassis for the Impetus 'large Bagnall' which was left over from when I built the kit some years ago. There is also a Minebea 6 pole motor which I am keen to try out - it is strong, smooth and slow revving, but it does get rather hot. However that heavy lead body will make a great heat-sink!

 

 

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There are, obviously, some some other bits I need to obtain - I will report back when progress has been made.

 

Edited by Barclay
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Yes the splashers must go together with the extended smokebox, which looks too 'main line' for me. All solid lead and weighs an absolute ton - it will need a stouter compensation beam than normal. I've yet to decide whether to go for the 4' wheels from 'Selborne', which I believe was a special, or the more normal 3'6". Probably the latter but I need to check the likely ride height first.

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A somewhat distressing session with the Dremel has removed the smokebox extension and the splashers/sandboxes. There is a hole in the running plate of course that needs to be filled. I also intend to make a brass overlay for the smokebox to tidy things up together with a light skim of filler to the front, but for now it looks like this:

 

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Underneath the casting is of lovely quality, except where I have been making modifications. This shows a chunk of filler to make the boiler completely round, which I haven't smoothed down yet, and also the areas where the chassis will rest, which had to be widened with the Dremel to fit my EM chassis frames.

 

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The chassis was taken apart and modified to fit these mounting areas on the body, before re-assembly.

 

 

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A test shot with a spare chimney from the odds and ends tin and a dome for a GE N7, supplied by SE Finecast. I think it has the shape of the original, although it has highlighted a small issue - the body casting is extremely close to the real loco dimensionally, except that the boiler appears to be pitched a little higher. Therefore chimney and dome naturally sit a little higher, but if I used shorter items would this change the character of the loco? It is still well within gauge and has that graceful slope from chimney to dome to cab top that someone (Drummond?) said was important to the look of a loco. I don't think he was thinking of industrial tanks though.  I will carry on looking at it for some time before making a final decision.

 

 

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Edited by Barclay
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It's always nice to get the destruction out of the way asap, and prove to yourself you haven't ruined the thing.

 

The GP35 is a Tenshodo model, a Pacific Fast Mail import from the mid-60's. I bought it very cheaply from a US dealer, but it was in a proper state! There's a thread describing its re-construction, although it has been a while since I updated it.....

 

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The Minebea motor is very slow revving so I decided to stick with a simple old-fashioned transmission - Romford 40:1 gears in a Branchlines motor mount. It went together very easily, with a dab of solder to hold the motor in at top and bottom. A short running in session with Brasso, clean and lubricate, and it is running like a dream, and no longer running hot, which is great news, as I hope to use them in plastic bodied diesel shunters in the future.

 

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The body, of course, is intended to be a main line 0-6-0T loco, albeit generic in outline. However it is actually quite small - I believe its origins are in HO scale. The larger boiler fittings seemed to suit it well and make it look like a slightly smaller loco but in a larger scale of course, if that makes sense.

 

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It has received a riveted brass overlay to the smokebox, which I allowed to sit about 1/2mm proud of the front so that this area could be filled with Milliput and rubbed down smooth. A smokebox door and turned handles were added and sandboxes made up for the footplate. The safety valves are Tri-ang, and fit nicely into the cast on base.

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Edited by Barclay
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This week the body has been almost completed. Sandboxes have a small washer and a short handrail knob to make a lid; handrail knobs have been fitted; spectacle grills are Mainly Trains by Wizard; and a spare backplate casting has been attached inside the cab. The cab floor with crew and handbrake casting will have to be glued in from underneath when all else is finished. 

The Dremel has come into its own again, drilling out the buffer holes for Gibson industrial buffers (on their way) and also to make a hole for the couplings to gain some purchase on the casting. I found these couplings on my workbench - I must have bought them at an exhibition. They are IKB models etchings and are very delicate indeed. 

 

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Edited by Barclay
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Thank you - that isn't my workbench sadly, it's my desk. Since I've been working from home I spend a lot more time at it. For workbench see photo in the first post - the usual 6" square of space surrounded by junk I'm afraid!

 

The origins of the chimney are lost in the mists of time. I dredged it up from my tin of bits which contains about 20. I think it's probably from Gibson but I modified it with solder and some hand turning when I once planned to use it on something else so I don't think it could ever be identified now.

 

Meanwhile - success, and failure!

 

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Success because I seem to have finally managed to master my new airbrush. The model was painted with some ancient Gloy LMS maroon which has lasted perfectly. This is a non--standard livery for me but with the loco being more than a little freelance I decided to have it owned by the nearby industrial estate rather than the Harbour Authority - a chance to try a different colour and have a go at making my own transfers, which seemed to be going well when I printed them out:

 

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However when applied to the loco the letters were barely visible so the ink simply isn't dense enough. Complete failure. The only way I can see to do it would be to print onto white decal paper the size of the tank and try to colour the background to match the paint. I'd be interested in others' experiences..

 

Gibson buffers arrived and attached, but IKB couplings altogether too fragile for this clumsy oaf - I've broken one already!

Edited by Barclay
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22 hours ago, Barclay said:

However when applied to the loco the letters were barely visible so the ink simply isn't dense enough. Complete failure. The only way I can see to do it would be to print onto white decal paper the size of the tank and try to colour the background to match the paint. I'd be interested in others' experiences..

I've already gone through all this myself. They work if your livery is a light colour but, as you have found, they won't show on a dark  colour. I really wouldn't recommend printing onto white decal paper. You will never get the ink to match the paint and the edge of the decal won't be coloured, so you'll have to try and paint around the edge. The white decal paper is also thicker than the clear stuff and entire thing will simply look a mess. Been there, done that!

 

 

 

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Thanks for the info - I'll have to knock it on the head for now, but I do fancy the idea of lettering, as a contrast to my usual cast brass number plates. Microscale in the U.S. make some alphabet decals, so I might obtain a sheet when I next place an order, but I won't be able to get that classic British yellow shaded red look. I think POWsides do custom work - it might be worth asking....

 

Edit - having had a quick look I think they would only do it if it was a wagon they could add to their range, but they do make alphabet sheets in a choice of colours and sizes.....

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On the subject of Transfers I am currently trying to source someone who can print white and colour on a clear waterslide material for a friend who is into restoring old Dinky and Corgi models. So if anyone comes up with a supplier I would be interested to hear.

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For excellent waterslide transfers you need to contact John Peck at Precision Decals http://www.precisionlabels.com/

 

Great service, good price and good quality transfers made form your own artwork. A plus point is that John has a printer that can print white. Well worth the money and I have used his service many times over the last few years. I would never bother trying to print my own any more, a satisfied customer.

 

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A little more work this weekend:

 

The MJT horn blocks were made up. This involves gently rubbing the blocks down until they run fairly smoothly in the bearing and then working them in with Brasso. It always makes my hands hurt by the time they're done but they are a great product. Coupling rods were made up and London Road Models jig axles used to set the horn blocks in position. The compensation beam is a little beefier than usual as befits the weight of the body. The Bagnall rods don't have the marine style bearings that the H/L had but I'm not being picky...

 

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The body has had the black and red parts painted and the lovely but fragile IKB couplings replaced with some less beautiful examples. I can't weather it until I decide how to letter it. I think I'm likely to head down the route of plain yellow rub-down transfers from Powsides.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

The next step has been to think about some cylinders. These are from brass tube. The slide bars are from 0.8mm square Nickel silver, soldered inside the cylinder for strength while the fronts, which should have big hefty bolts, were a cop-out with the riveting tool. Next step mechanically will be crossheads and slidebar brackets, plus some way of attaching the cylinders. I will probably copy the simple Impetus method of using a piece of brass rod running right through the frames.

 

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Still determined to letter the loco I bought some waterslide decals from K4 in the USA. They were reasonably priced and the postage was at cost, just over a dollar, which is quite unusual for US suppliers, most of whom pile it on for foreign postage.

 

The transfers go on well enough but they do have a very visible backing sheet, so it pays to cut as close to the letter as you can. Despite this and even after several coats of Decal softener they are still not perfect. The transfers also give a slightly patchy appearance and yesterday I was in two minds whether or not to abandon them and forget about this style of livery. I finally decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and think they will be OK with a coat of gloss varnish followed by weathering. The varnish will be Humbrol, because the first time I tried this I used Tamiya lacquer - who knew it contained cellulose? Well not me until I saw all the paint crackling up - trigger a strip-down and repaint (I'd only done one side luckily). The black has yet to be re-touched.

 

Happy Christmas my friends - see you on the other side...

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

The crossheads were made up from square brass tube and offcuts of brass. They are assembled on the slidebars to ensure they are a good fit. Slidebar brackets were cut out and soldered on. At this stage they could be fitted temporarily to the chassis to check for fit but will be left off until the chassis has had a good run.

 

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After which the wheels and pickups were installed and the loco run in on the layout and the rolling road:

 

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Running is very promising - the Minebea 6 pole motor is quite happy to spin the loco's wheels when it hits the buffers, even though it is already touching 400g on the scales. It is also very slow running, at 12V and with 40:1 gears it's doing about 16mph, which is really a little too slow for a steam loco but fine for shunting and shuffling around. It's a proof of concept for me that shows this set up ought to work well in diesel shunters.

 

In terms of chassis placement and fixing I found the visual balance a little out as originally set up and ended up moving the chassis forward a little, necessitating some more grinding at the front of the body underneath, and a small extension at the rear of the chassis. Size wise the loco is similar to the Kerr Stuart Victory:

 

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I have also come a little closer to completing the paintwork, with the transfers sealed with gloss varnish and the whole sprayed with blackish muck before the sides were washed clean with a brush soaked in thinners. Finally a light further coat of weathering to blend things together.

 

Edited by Barclay
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The chassis was completed with some Slaters brake blocks and the installation of the cylinders. The cab steps are surplus from an equally ancient stamped brass kit by R.M. Evans. An interior was fitted but can barely be seen - at least you can't see the ground through the cabside. The final item will be works plates from Narrow Planet but that will be some while because they aren't able to take orders at the moment.

 

The layout is shunted using a card index system and wagons end up in one of three sorting sidings before leaving for the storage sidings. One of these represents the Industrial Estate, and this is where no.5 comes in - arriving stage right to collect wagons bound for the estate. That's my excuse for having it anyway!

 

 

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Edited by Barclay
To correct that horrible backscene
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6 hours ago, Barclay said:

The chassis was completed with some Slaters brake blocks and the installation of the cylinders. The cab steps are surplus from an equally ancient stamped brass kit by R.M. Evans. An interior was fitted but can barely be seen - at least you can't see the ground through the cabside. The final item will be works plates from Narrow Planet but that will be some while because they aren't able to take orders at the moment.

 

The layout is shunted using a card index system and wagons end up in one of three sorting sidings before leaving for the storage sidings. One of these represents the Industrial Estate, and this is where no.5 comes in - arriving stage right to collect wagons bound for the estate. That's my excuse for having it anyway!

 

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I always love pictures of your layout.
This is a handsome beast and put together with your usual style.
Interesting to see the similarities between it and the Victory.
Chris.

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On 17/01/2021 at 17:24, Moxy said:

Narrow Planet have recently started taking orders again. (They have also changed their trading name).

 

https://www.lightrailwaystores.co.uk/collections/custom-etched-products

 

hope this helps

Thanks for the tip-off, the plates are ordered!

 

The loco will be w/n 3676 of 1927, a loco which appears to be very similar to the modified Reidpath body save for the classic H/L square spectacles which were impossible to replicate on the model. The real 3676 was delivered to Dalton Main Collieries, near Rotherham, and is depicted in 'Steam Locomotives in Industry' by the IRS, 1967:

 

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