Variation on the theme of the standard Stewart Reidpath 0-6-0T?

[Paul H Vigor]

I succeeded in rescuing a vintage 00 loco from eBay the other day.

 

Having taken delivery, I took its top off to investigate its parentage. I suspect the loco comprises a standard, heavy, cast metal, Stewart Reidpath 0-6-0T body running on a custom (S-R)-built 0-4-4T chassis. The other curiosity concerns power pick-up - the chassis is fitted with a sprung 'skate' suggesting stud contact. I am familiar with 'skates' and stud contact in 0-gauge but not in 00/4mm. Even though I believe Peco still manufactures a stud contact strip, I have never seen one in action. Any info gratefully received!

 

Can anyone shed any light on the coupling? I've not seen one of these before.

 

All the best,

 

Paul

[Ruffnut Thorston]

Hi.

 

Nice loco.

 

The coupling appears to be the pre WW2 Hornby Dublo coupling.

 

Stud contact in HO was used by Marklin.

 

I believe that Marklin was originally conventional 3-rail, the same as Hornby Dublo, but changed to Stud contact later.

 

 

Edited December 11, 2020 by Ruffnut Thorston
Added photo

[D51]

The body is certainly the Essar parallel-boiler tank locomotive.  I agree with Ruff that the coupling is the standard pre-war Hornby Dublo.  The chassis does not seem to be Essar as the wheels are of another manufacturer.  They look like Romford but could also be Cimco, I think, who also made wheels secured by nuts.  It would have been interesting to see the motor and chassis.

 

Marklin-style skates also work well on Hornby Dublo three-rail track and there are many examples of Wrenn, Tri-ang and present-day Hornby locomotives converted to three-rail using these skates.  I have a Hornby Dublo R1 converted to three-rail using a Marklin skate.  Different sizes of skates are available from Gaugemaster.

 

Frank

[Barclay]

Never seen one running as an 0-4-4T but it really suits it. Superb!

[Nearholmer]

That is really very nice - or at least has the potential to be.

 

To me there is enough of a Brighton D3 tank to allow a paint-job inspired by that, unless a bath is sufficient, and the current livery can be retained.

[Paul H Vigor]

1 hour ago, Nearholmer said:

That is really very nice - or at least has the potential to be.

 

To me there is enough of a Brighton D3 tank to allow a paint-job inspired by that, unless a bath is sufficient, and the current livery can be retained.

My first thought was an approximation of an LCDR R Class? The Westinghouse pump made me think 'Southern'. I suspect I'll retain the present livery - a part of its history?

[Paul H Vigor]

2 hours ago, D51 said:

The body is certainly the Essar parallel-boiler tank locomotive.  I agree with Ruff that the coupling is the standard pre-war Hornby Dublo.  The chassis does not seem to be Essar as the wheels are of another manufacturer.  They look like Romford but could also be Cimco, I think, who also made wheels secured by nuts.  It would have been interesting to see the motor and chassis.

 

Marklin-style skates also work well on Hornby Dublo three-rail track and there are many examples of Wrenn, Tri-ang and present-day Hornby locomotives converted to three-rail using these skates.  I have a Hornby Dublo R1 converted to three-rail using a Marklin skate.  Different sizes of skates are available from Gaugemaster.

 

Frank

Many thanks for the info, Frank. The chassis appears to be a professional (or built by an amateur who really knew what they were doing) build? It fits the body really well. It doesn't appear to be fitted with an Essar motor but later in S-R's history I believe they were using other motors? I will add a bare naked chassis photo in due course!

All the best,

Paul

[Nearholmer]

31 minutes ago, Paul H Vigor said:

LCDR R Class

Yes, even closer.

 

But, I’m with you on the history point.

[Paul H Vigor]

1 minute ago, Nearholmer said:

Yes, even closer.

 

But, I’m with you on the history point.

May be just me, but the S-R body appears better proportioned as an 0-4-4T?

[Barclay]

The large splashers and extended smokebox do seem to suit this type of loco. In my own conversion of one to represent an industrial 0-6-0T I have whipped both of these off:

 

 

 

 

[Paul H Vigor]

3 hours ago, Barclay said:

The large splashers and extended smokebox do seem to suit this type of loco. In my own conversion of one to represent an industrial 0-6-0T I have whipped both of these off:

 

 

 

 

Most say, I find these chunky freelance tanks rather pleasing!

[detheridge]

For what it's worth, Edward Beal wrote about chopping Essar bodies to make anything from an 0-4-0T to an 0-8-4T Wath banker in Scale Railway Modelling Today. I have both the 1939 and 1944 editions. If anyone has a copy, the drawings are on p.141 in both editions. He would extend the rear bunker, or add/remove sections from the boiler, or even splice two bodies together, and enlarge cabs. He didn't make an 0-4-4T (so your one may be unique?), but did manage 0-4-0, 0-6-0, 0-6-2, 0-8-2 and 0-8-4 tanks. 'Modelbashing' at its finest and possibly earliest iteration? (As an aside, Edward Beal also postulated making a Hornby Dublo N2 into an 0-8-0T)

Best wishes, 

David.

Edited December 19, 2020 by detheridge

[SignalArts98]

I remember purchasing two Stewart Reidpath 0-6-0 locomotives and one of them had a gwr style tapered boiler in a Rhymney Railway livery. 

 

Dan 

[roythebus1]

The Model Railway Club's OO test tracks were originally fitted with the inner circuit with switchable stud contact, the middle circuit with switchable outside third , and the outer circuit EM with stud contact!

 

I've never seen the outside third being used by anybody at the club in the 1960s, the stud contact would sometimes run Hornby double 3-rail, alert rather erattically. The test tracks were rebuilt by myself, Grovenor of this parish, and others to OO, OO with N, and P4/OO, dispensing with third rail and stud contact. 

Edited December 20, 2020 by roythebus1

[PatB]

ISTR at least one 4mm scale, stud contact layout appearing in RM as late as c1977-78. I think it was a variation on the GWR branch terminus theme and may have been RotM. 

[CKPR]

You're right, the swan song for stud contact in 4mm was Tony Ross' 'Lower Hemlock', which was RotM in October 1977 and was a nicely atmospheric 'old school' GWR BLT. He described the trackwork thus:

 

"At present I am using N/S rail soldered to 1/32" brass sleepers. The points were made by GEM [George E. Mellor] himself in 1946 and this is their fourth layout.Outside third pick-up was used at first, changing to stud-contact around 1960...I shall be sorry in some ways to see the end of the studs, having used them for many years and found them to be a good conversation piece, but no doubt the layout will look better without them"

 

 

Edited December 23, 2020 by CKPR

[hartleymartin]

In case you were not aware, the Stewart Reidpath 0-6-0 Tank Engine and Essar chassis was used in the late 1940s as the first model of "Thomas" by Rev. Wilbert Awdry. He retired the mode around 1979 when a Triang 3F Jinty was repainted for the role, and later on a Hornby E2 was used.

[Barclay]

Hi did you make any progress with this?

[Nearholmer]

There’s an interesting article about the Essar 0-6-0T by Albyn Austin in the current TCS magazine. I was surprised to learn that it began as an H0 model of an LSWR G6, before the mould was altered to make it look big enough for 00.

 

This tallies with the comment way back up thread about it being well-proportioned as an 0-4-4T, in that an 02 is very close indeed to a G6, and more likely to have lodged in the subconscious.

 

He also mentions the GWR version, which was apparently made by using a special top part for the multi-part mould in which the bodies were cast.

 

 

 

Edited June 7, 2023 by Nearholmer