Henry Comes to Carmarthen Junction

[RosiesBoss]

Introduction

As mentioned in an earlier post http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/85586-gordon-comes-to-carmarthen-junction/, I have been assembling some Thomas & Friends characters for use with my young grand-daughter.

 

One of the gaps in the collection was Henry, the green engine. Those familiar with the Awdry stories will be aware that his (the original) Henry started life as a round-top boilered loco which was rebuilt at Crewe with a Belpaire boiler. Some of the illustrations show him as similar to an LMS Black 5, but with a slab-sided tender – not a Stanier one.

 

I looked carefully at both the Bachmann and the Hornby models. The Bachmann one is just too different from any of the illustrations to consider further. The Hornby one, based upon a Black 5, has a Stanier tender and is tender-driven.

 

 I decided to assemble my own version from Hornby and Tri-ang components.

 

Assembly

I purchased a tired-looking, boxed Hornby Railways R859 Black 5 (made about 1974) from the “bring & buy” stall at the Epping Model Railway Club’s annual exhibition on 7 Jun 2014 for $50.00. This was one of the early tender-drive versions, with the tender permanently coupled to the loco. Numbered 45192, it was also named “Ayrshire Yeomanry”.  I tested the loco and it all worked!

 

I dismantled the loco and saw that the chassis block was originally designed to accept an X04 motor, but that this had been replaced by a large ballast weight, to ensure the wheels would rotate when pushed by the motorised tender.

 

 

I purchased an old tender for a Tri-ang Deeley-Johnson 3F 0-6-0 from Train Trader at Pymble, NSW for $5.00.

 

My spares box already had suitable spare gears and several X04 motors, so I was ready to commence surgery! I also had a damaged Thomas body with a usable face.

 

I disconnected the power wires from the motor in the tender, then removed the tender from the loco chassis and set it aside as a long-term spare.

 

I cut off sufficient of the ballast weight to make room for the X04 motor, then test fitted the motor and drilled and tapped an 8BA hole to secure it.

 

I removed all of the valve gear for safekeeping, then took out the rear wheel assembly so I could fit a nylon gear to the axle. I then reassembled the rear wheels, taking care to restore correct quartering.

 

I then refitted  the coupling rods and tested the chassis under power to double-check that all worked well – it did!

 

I then made up a loco-to-tender drawbar from brass strip and fitted it to the loco. I reassembled everything and then tested the completed model under load with an 8-coach train. It worked perfectly the first time!

 

I removed the old split-axle coarse wheels from the tender, fitted top-hat brass bearings and tapered-axle wheelsets, then filled the open axleboxes with automotive body filler.

 

I removed the moulded smokebox door and redundant nameplates from the body and then fitted the ex-Thomas face.

 

 The model was then completely dismantled for painting, using Humbrol enamels. Once painted, it was fitted with a standard Hornby crew.

 

To my eyes, it now looks much more like Rev. Awdry’s rebuilt Henry with its slab-sided tender than the Hornby or Bachmann commercial models. It runs sweetly and with adequate power for its intended use. I may have another attempt to apply the number to the tender, once all paint has fully cured.

 

Reflections

This was another inexpensive conversion, costing just $55.00 plus assorted spares. Hornby does not currently list Henry, but their equivalent “Railroad” version of the Black 5 currently retails in Sydney  for about $164.00.

 

It was fun and I’m happy with the result, which took about 9 days’ worth of spare time from the first purchase.

 

 

 

[RAWRlab]

Looks great, very much like the books
I was wondering what your proceedure is for painting the wheels? I'm doing a similar type of project and was wondering what you did to avoid screwing something up (given that there's a lot of things which could go wrong with the wheels). 
 - Cheers from a fellow Aussie

[RosiesBoss]

G'day, RAWRlab,

 

My procedure was pretty simple:

 

1. Loco driving wheels

• Strip the loco chassis down to just the cast block plus the driving wheels.
• Using a soft #4 paintbrush, paint the wheels with strokes going from axle to the tyres, ensuring that the portion being painted is away from the frame, ie with just air behind it.
• Keep the brush angled so that no "overstroke" will touch the tread/tyre
• Gradually rotate the wheels so that each section is painted as noted above
• Don't paint the inner side of the wheels - they can't be seen and paint interferes with the pickups

2. Bogie wheels

• While the bogie is off the chassis, brush paint the wheels (just the outer, visible sides) in the same way as the driving wheels

3. Tender wheels

• Remove the wheels from the tender
• Paint the outer sides only, as described above

Reassemble the loco after the paint has cured. Lightly oil the tender and bogie wheel bearings. Test the model on your track and remove any excess paint that may have settled on the driving wheels so that it may be affecting the pickups.

 

Whatever paint you choose to use, ensure it it fresh and free-flowing. If your brush starts to clog, rinse it in a suitable solvent before resuming the work.

 

I hope this is of some help.

 

Regards,

 

Rob

[Ruffnut Thorston]

Hi Rob.

 

My first conversion uses an old "Hall" Chassis Block, with new "Black 5" type wheels. (The "Hall" uses the same basic chassis block as the B12 (original use!), Flying Scotsman, Black 5, Ivatt 2-6-0 Tender Loco, and even the auto-uncoupler fitted Diesel Shunter!)

 

EDIT: To add...

 

The early B12 Chassis block does not have the recess for the "Motion Bracket" required by the Black 5. The first two uses for the chassis, B12 and Hall, do not have valve gear, and so do not need a motion bracket. The chassis block was used "reversed" for the Flying Scotsman, and a recess added for the motion bracket then required. The original "rear" end of the chassis block was also modified, with recesses and an 8BA tapped blind hole, to take the Flying Scotsman Chassis Extension.

 

Later Black 5 chassis blocks are missing the 8BA tapped holes for the pick-up plate, and may not have the 8BA tapped hole for the motor mounting screw.

 

The two I am looking at just now do have the motor mounting screw hole tapped 8BA! It is marked on the bottom:-

Hornby Made in Great Britain, along with the Euopean "CE" markings. S.4176. Internal Hornbyy Code R759-0590/R859-0560. That relates to the Hall R.759, and the Black 5 R.859.

 

The original "Front" of the chassis block, the rear on the Black 5, has a larger hole to take the body securing screw. this replaces the 8BA tapped hole on the B12/ Hall/ Flying Scotsman chassis blocks, meaning that the later blocks cannot be used with these locos.

 

The hole in the "back" of the block used by the body screw on the B12 and Hall is there, but not tapped 8BA, wheras the hole for the front bogie used for the B12 and Hall is there, and tapped 8BA!

 

Back to the conversion...

 

The Cast weight/ cylinder holder was not used this time, instead I used a Chassis Extension meant for the Tri-ang Hormby "Flying Scotsman", which turned out to be an exact fit when screwed in place, as on the Flying Scotsman Locos.

 

It needed "thickening up", so I used two layers of about 1mm Thick Plastic Card, with the top layer being made to fit the cyinder block to.

 

Mine has the later Valve Gear and Cylinders Hornby used from the "Duchess" Class....your early one has the "Britannia" Cylinders and Valve Gear, and the Weight Block is different from the later models, as the later Cylinder Block fits on TOP of the extension....

 

The hole for the motor screw was already present on the Hall Chassis, but the Black 5 Body screw requires a hole in the chassis enlarging to fit.

 

EDIT:

 

Some photos now added to a later post on here....below...

 

I have since contemplated shortening the Weight Block....it still fits OK, and uses the original screw acording to my examination! (Confirmed by your conversion.)

 

I have also found that the Later Duchess Cylinders and Valve Gear would not be too hard to fit to an original Weight Block. A couple of 8BA Holes, and a couple of screws to locate the cylinders, in place of the "pegs" and 1 screw Hornby Used. A small rebate could also be made in the top of the Weight Block...about Half a mm I think!

Though a test-fitting of an early weight block with Duchess cylinders fits OK for hight with no modifications.

Edited August 29, 2018 by Sarahagain

[RosiesBoss]

G'day, Sarah,

 

Thanks for your notes. It seems there's often more than one solution to these (self-imposed) challenges.

 

I like your willingness to "mix and match" parts to achieve your aims.

 

Regards,

 

Rob

[Ruffnut Thorston]

Hi Rob.

 

I have edited the above post in the light of information discoverd by examining some cylinder blocks that we have now got hold of...

Edited February 24, 2016 by Sarahagain

[cypherman]

Hi all,

I have done a similar conversion to one of my Black 5's. Like you I picked it up cheap, But for me it was from Ebay. Think I paid £10.00 for it as a none working engine. I bought it for spares for my other black 5's. But when it arrived I was in such good condition I could not bring my self to strip it. I also noticed that unlike yours my model had the gear wheel attached to the rear axel. That got me thinking about why It was there. So I did a bit of detective work  and found that the chassis is actually a derivative of the Hornby Albert hall chassis. Which was in turn a derivative of the B12 chassis. So in similar fashion I fitted an x04 motor and some lead extra weight in the body and it now runs great. I repainted and renumbered in black into a late crest Black 5. The only thing I want to do with it know is get rid of the awful original valve grear and replace it with the slightly more accurate later valve gear. Typical of Hornby to be cheapscates and reuse the Britannia valve gear instead of making the correct ones.

[Ruffnut Thorston]

Some photos of one of our re-built Hornby Black 5 locos. This one has the later type X.03 motor and silver-grey gear wheel.

 

This is the conversion reffered to in my earlier post on this thread, using the chassis extension from a "Flying Scotsman" model.

 

Black 5 Locomotive with Stanier Tender. Tender mounted on early Stanier Tender Drive Chassis, fitted with Pin-point axle wheels.

 

 

 

Complete Locomotive (no Tender). Left Hand Side.

 

 

Chassis with motor. Left Hand Side.

 

 

Chassis with motor. Front Right Hand Side.

 

 

Front section of the chassis top-side, shewing the "Flying Scotsman" type chasis extension thickened up on the 'top' with plastic-card.

"Duchess" type cylinders and valve gear, as used on the later Hornby Black 5 locos, and the Railroad / Henry versions.

 

 

Front section of the chassis underside, shewing the "Flying Scotsman" type chasis extension thickened up on the 'top' with plastic-card.

 

 

Rear section of the chassis underside, shewing the "Flying Scotsman" type pick-up plate, and the later Tender Drive type drawbar (Sprung) as used with the 4-4-0 Locos (GWR 'County', MR 'Compound', SR 'Schools', LNER 'Shire')

 

Edited August 29, 2018 by Sarahagain