A4 Dapol A4 streaks in.

[Rob Hayes]

Hi All there were many who said in the past that Dapols Blue mallard release was wrong. I was one of them However I have have just found this very rare photo of here as depicted by Dapol albeit with a non corridor tender.. But regarding size and motor this can be forgiven.

 

Here she is with small 22 numbers in metal, but with LNER red gold black shaded letters on the tender.. Nice.

 

http://www.nrm.org.uk/ourcollection/photo?group=Doncaster&objid=1997-7396_DON_46_161

 

Cheers DR Al I will check it out, I really like the buffers and wheels it look much better. I would like to do the same to my farish SNG which I have already improved in various ways (paint)

I will take a gander.

 

cheers Rob

[Les1952]

Hi All there were many who said in the past that Dapols Blue mallard release was wrong. I was one of them However I have have just found this very rare photo of here as depicted by Dapol albeit with a non corridor tender.. But regarding size and motor this can be forgiven.

 

Here she is with small 22 numbers in metal, but with LNER red gold black shaded letters on the tender.. Nice.

 

http://www.nrm.org.uk/ourcollection/photo?group=Doncaster&objid=1997-7396_DON_46_161

 

Cheers DR Al I will check it out, I really like the buffers and wheels it look much better. I would like to do the same to my farish SNG which I have already improved in various ways (paint)

I will take a gander.

 

cheers Rob

 

Sadly the pic shows her in black.....

 

She was only repainted blue in 1948 and went straight to BRITISH RAILWAYS on the (now corridoor) tender ready for the locomotive exchanges.   Mallard was the ONLY A4 not to be repainted blue by the LNER after the war- logical as she was the last black repaint.   It may have been a commercial decision ("blue sells better") to release Mallard in postwar blue, even though the timeline was known in advance- Dave and I had several discussions on Mallard's possible liveries, the most recent being for Modellbahn Union's black one (and I've not yet checked if this has the non-corridoor tender it ought to have.

 

OTOH at Dapol's Club day a painted prototype of Bittern in late BR guise was on display and this one correctly has a non-corridoor tender.

 

All the very best

Les

[Revolution Ben]

Hello Les,

 

Was the Bittern model on display at the open day a forthcoming release?  Would it be suitable to represent the locomotive as preservered, for those of us who model the present day but like an excuse to authentically run the occasional steam loco?

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

[Rob Hayes]

Sadly the pic shows her in black.....

 

She was only repainted blue in 1948 and went straight to BRITISH RAILWAYS on the (now corridoor) tender ready for the locomotive exchanges.   Mallard was the ONLY A4 not to be repainted blue by the LNER after the war- logical as she was the last black repaint.   It may have been a commercial decision ("blue sells better") to release Mallard in postwar blue, even though the timeline was known in advance- Dave and I had several discussions on Mallard's possible liveries, the most recent being for Modellbahn Union's black one (and I've not yet checked if this has the non-corridoor tender it ought to have.

 

OTOH at Dapol's Club day a painted prototype of Bittern in late BR guise was on display and this one correctly has a non-corridoor tender.

 

All the very best

Les

 

So dapols release was still wrong then ahaha. WOW so it is in wartime black I had missed the lack of parabolic curve lines. I take it this shot Is very rare I have never seen a photo of a wartime black A4 EVER.. I would love to see more as I really like the simple effective wartime black. It has the added advantage that if I want to model it It would be relatively easy to do.

 

I would like to know if its true one only had the valence removed from the driving wheels and not from in front of the cylinders.

 

Is there any photo evidence for this.

 

Cheers Rob

[Les1952]

So dapols release was still wrong then ahaha. WOW so it is in wartime black I had missed the lack of parabolic curve lines. I take it this shot Is very rare I have never seen a photo of a wartime black A4 EVER.. I would love to see more as I really like the simple effective wartime black. It has the added advantage that if I want to model it It would be relatively easy to do.

 

I would like to know if its true one only had the valence removed from the driving wheels and not from in front of the cylinders.

 

Is there any photo evidence for this.

 

Cheers Rob

 

I've now found the Mallard photo - it is from page 56 of the Yeadon A4 register- to quote the caption- " Even Mallard's treatment ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous.  Like all other A4s, it lost its skirts, went into unlined black, and had LNER reduced to NE.  It did get LNER again- as here- but still on black and in transfers, not metal."  He goes on to say the final LNER repair was just 2 weeks to early to get blue paint and stencilled numbers.

 

"The depths were really plumbed on Sunday, 22nd September 1946, .......to change from 4468 to 22, as the best that could be found were those tiny twos done by stencilling!"   

 

So not even metal numbers on the cab, just white stencils.    Willie Yeadon never stated things as fact if there was only a 99% certainty.

 

On the subject of part-removed valances.  There is a picture of 4462 William Whitelaw, dated 5 June 1941, with wheel valances removed and cylinder-front valances retained, otherwise ex-works in prewar Garter Blue, on page 44 of the Yeadon Guide.   It had the front part removed a few days later and ran in prewar livery without valances for another year.  It had also acquired a corridoor tender fopr the first time on this overhaul..

 

Page 20 of the same book shows 4487 SEA EAGLE in prewar livery without valances- first one to lose the lot in July 1941.  The precendent is there, folks.

 

All the very best

Les

[Les1952]

Hello Les,

 

Was the Bittern model on display at the open day a forthcoming release?  Would it be suitable to represent the locomotive as preservered, for those of us who model the present day but like an excuse to authentically run the occasional steam loco?

 

cheers

 

Ben A.

 

As running just before withdrawal and as first preserved.  I seem to remember that she has been BR green with two tenders recently, but is now LNER Garter blue with valances, and two tenders!

 

However, she may have had the correct tender for a time when first put back to service- I don't know.

 

All the very best

Les

[Rob Hayes]

Many thanks for the info Les, I must pick up one if the Yeadon books it sounds fascinating, were can I find the book is Yeadon its full title or the authors name. Sorry for stupid questions I just want to make sure I get the right thing.

 

Regarding bittern in preservation didn't she first run in its war un-valanced garter blue with number 19 and her non corridor tender.

 

I hear they rebuilt the tender to a corridor type I am not sure when though but I think it must be recently as I thought when she was in BR green she had a non corridor for a while but will have to check,

 

Cheers Rob

[Les1952]

Many thanks for the info Les, I must pick up one if the Yeadon books it sounds fascinating, were can I find the book is Yeadon its full title or the authors name. Sorry for stupid questions I just want to make sure I get the right thing.

 

Regarding bittern in preservation didn't she first run in its war un-valanced garter blue with number 19 and her non corridor tender.

 

I hear they rebuilt the tender to a corridor type I am not sure when though but I think it must be recently as I thought when she was in BR green she had a non corridor for a while but will have to check,

 

Cheers Rob

 

"Yeadon's Register of LNER Locomotives"- in fifty-odd volumes.  Volumes 1 and 2 cover the Gresley pacifics.     I think there are one or two "spare" tenders - the second tender Bittern has been running with is the one that ran behind Scotsman, I gather.  Easier to swap a non-corridoor tender for a corridoor one than to add a corridoor, which would involve replacing the entire superstructure. 

 

All the very best

Les

[60800]

Bittern's tender ( N^o 5638 to my knowledge ) was rebuilt to 1928 cut down corridor condition at some point during her 1995 - 2007 mainline standard restoration

[TomE]

There a quite a few photos of Bittern under restoration on the MHR here:

 

http://steamtube.ning.com/photo/photo/listForContributor?screenName=2r1pc7kgs50sr&test-locale=&exposeKeys=&xg_pw=&xgsi=&groupId=&groupUrl=&xgi=&page=1

 

Which could come in useful for anyone wanting to model her post restoration. 

 

Tom. 

[Les1952]

Bittern's tender ( N^o 5638 to my knowledge ) was rebuilt to 1928 cut down corridor condition at some point during her 1995 - 2007 mainline standard restoration

 

Great shame as that precludes putting her back to ANY genuine pre-preservation condition...

 

All the very best

Les

[Crepello]

Bittern arrived in Hornchurch from Liverpool yesterday. Can't stop admiring it! Just right for my mini version of Stoke Summit!

[Crepello]

It's just been pointed out on the N gauge Yahoo Group that Commonwealth of Australia in early crest livery has been fitted with a double, rather than single chimney as advertised. Whoops!

[Black Sheep]

 

I'm waiting to see how it runs.

 

And before you jump down my throat for pre-judging, they have not been perfect in that area in the past.

 

Chris

Sad to say I feel the same, had one in my hand and didn't buy it because of the name on the box.

 

Owned 4 Dapol locos, rejected 3 back to retailer / Dapol the 4th Dapol wouldn't touch as I 'have to return it via the shop you bought it from' who were in the process of shutting down and had ended their trade agreement with Dapol

 

Paid £15 to someone at another shop (whod sent it to Dapol as the other shop couldnt) to repair it, 6 months good running later and that was it, sold it as a non-runner on e-bay

 

This was a couple of years ago and would love to be convinced things have improved.

[silverlink]

As far as I know Bittern never ever ran with a corridor tender, it was one of only a few A4's to keep its original tender from building to scrapping its number was 5638.

Ian

[Bomag]

As far as I know Bittern never ever ran with a corridor tender, it was one of only a few A4's to keep its original tender from building to scrapping its number was 5638.

Ian

 

 

Err - I thought Bittern wasn't scrapped - I am certain I saw it last month!

 

If you meant the scrapping of the tender I infer from previous posts the original non-corrider tender was the one converted at the last major overhall.

[silverlink]

Point taken,

I was referring to all the A4's in general not just Bittern.

[NZmodeller]

Hi Everyone,

 

My 4498 SNG has just arrived, running very nicely, no problems.  Looks especially good at speed hauling teak. The "as preserved" livery is fine too but the evidence I have is that during it's time in LNER livery in the 60s and 70s the nameplates on the original were (incorrectly) red rather than black on the model. I can see the rationale behind the decision to produce the model with black nameplates so I don't really have a quibble with Dapol in that regard.

 

Having established that the correct nameplates are available, does anyone have a recommended method of removing the factory plates safely so the new ones can be glued straight back on?. Any stories along the lines of  "I tried and wished I hadn't" would be just as welcome.

 

Peter

[Black Sheep]

are the plates on the model etched?

 

if they are then carefully painting the plate including text the desired colour, wait a moment and then rub the surface of the plate clean with kitchen towel being careful not to transfer paint to the body.

 

That's one of the ways of painting plates recommended by manufacturers before sticking them, wandering if this might save removing and re-gluing

[NZmodeller]

Thanks, I might try that

[NZmodeller]

Hi Everyone,

 

Just in case anyone else is looking at nameplate replacement, thought I had better share this.

 

I decided to test the rigidity of the glue on the nameplates by applying a little pressure to the edge of the plate with a modelling knife.  This was sufficient to ping the plate off without much effort at all and without any damage around the edge. On this basis I've ordered some red plates.

 

Peter