And Now for Something Completely Different

[colmflanagan]

With apologies to Monty Python for the title. But, it is relevant, honest!

 

My earliest serious “interest” in Irish railways was with the Belfast & County Down Railway, which had a railhead only eight miles from where I live, sadly closed in 1950. The BCDR was a small but smart railway, carrying mainly passenger traffic. It also was among the diesel pioneers, and had two locomotives, both built by Harland & Wolff. D1/No2 was more of a shunter style loco ( though reputed to have travelled at speeds of up to 55 on a test run!) –it spent most of its working life on the Ballynahinch branch. The second locomotive, and the subject of this thread was D2/No28. 28 was a rather different beast- it boasted 500 bhp (the same as CIE’s “C” class near twenty years later), and really “looked modern”. It was diesel electric, with electric traction motors mounted on bogies, as far as I know, this was a first in the British isles. It’s maximum service speed was 55mph (the BCDR’s official line speed limit). There are quite a few photos of this unusual machine available – that is because it was not finally scrapped until 1973.

 

No 28 entered service in 1937. (It never carried the “official” designation D2) It ran on the BCDR until 1944 but was never owned by that company, being eventually returned to Harland & Wolff. It appears to have been a bit troublesome but nevertheless saved the company in running costs over a similar powered steam engine. In 1945 the LMSNCC hired it, and it ran there until 1952, where it seems to have been quite highly regarded, and performed on local passenger trains before settling down to a life of shunting around York Road. Once again it went back to H&W but in 1957 was hired to its third railway company, the GNR. After the dissolution of the GNR, 28 was passed on to the UTA which finally bought it in 1962. In 1968 it became part of NIR, and shunted around Great Victoria Street (where I first saw it in 1968) before finally being scrapped in 1973. It really ought to have been preserved as a unique part of our rail and marine heritage (its engine was a Burmeister & Wain – marine diesels built under licence by H&W).

 

Here's a picture already published in a number of books, just for those of you who haven't seen anything of this machine; it was originally finished in BCDR dark lined green; much of its later life was spent in funereal black. It never had a number plate (though I may just fit my model with an NCC style one!)

 

 

 

 

That's the history bit , and people really quick on the uptake will have guessed by now what I have decided to model.  More will be posted as construction proceeds.

[David Jackson]

Looking forward to seeing the results of your labour on this one. Are you planning a total scratchbuild, or a major conversion from something?

[colmflanagan]

Funny you should ask that, David....

 

From the outset I realized that this was going to be a real ”scratch” job – there’s barely a bit of 28 which bears any resemblance to anything else which ran on British or Irish metals. For this reason any thoughts I’d had about modelling it were quickly passed over in favour of more “practical” projects. Then, quite recently, I decided to have another look and made two personal “breakthroughs”.

First, I’d thought it was a mass of curves – almost impossible to recreate in 4mm in my favoured plastic card. Bending and soldering metal has never been my strong point. Then, on closer inspection of photos, I realized that actually most of the surfaces were in fact flat –it was just that they were all kinds of angels to each other! Tricky enough but do-able, and thanks to plastics ability to be chamfered and sanded and scraped, the curves between some of the panels, for example the roof, might be made utilizing the thickness of the sheet to provide necessary curves in these areas.

Second –my model has to run and pull at least three bogie coaches (about the same load as the real thing); The one drawing I have, a rather sketchy NCC side view in Bill Scott’s excellent book on NCC locomotives, showed the bogie dimensions. Oh, dear. 7’00” wheel centres with 3’6/7” wheels. I pored over my BR drawings for a possible donor. Nothing at all. Then – a comment by a friend – “Black Beetle” might do a special. A phone call confirmed this-yes, it was not a problem. Indeed not, and that was mine solved. The project was go. I ordered a power bogie and a dummy - I’d used the “beetles” before on my MPDs and liked their smoothness - and I could always get another power bogie if there wasn’t sufficient traction. I ordered what I needed and they arrived quite promptly. Time to take the plunge.

I decided to have a go at the chassis first –after all if the thing doesn’t run, what’s the point? I needed something as rigid as possible but there’s no space under the footplate level for struts and so on – this is a loco that’s not really much bigger than an 08 BR shunter. So I decided to build a kind of “box” structure which would provide rigidity and also mountings for the Black Beetles, which do stick up above solebar/footplate level and need clearance; much of this was done by “working backwards” from the drawing; the box needs to fit inside the lower part of the body shell, and so there was quite a bit of carving away until the bogies would rotate sufficiently freely. It’s not a thing of beauty but it does work. The "footplate" part is 030 plastic card, the "box" mostly 060 in layers to the required depth.The cab floor shown was added a little later when work had begun on the body. You can see my detailed and highly accurate technical drawings in some of these pictures. I'm a bodger at heart and often just hack away until it starts to look right. I quite often throw away the first few efforts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up would be the body… to be continued

[Castlefinn]

A useful tip if you are chamfering plasticard especially long bits is to laminate the plasticard using alternate back and white sheets ,much easier to keep the profile consistant.Andy. 

[janner]

A useful tip if you are chamfering plasticard especially long bits is to laminate the plasticard using alternate back and white sheets ,much easier to keep the profile consistant.Andy. 

 

What a good idea!

[colmflanagan]

No 28 THE BASIC BODY SHELL

 

I decided to build the body a bit like I’d build a plastic card structure- ends, sides separate, with a frame here and there to align them. One issue that had to be addressed was the large number of louvres which 28 had along the sides, and some on the front of the bonnet. I decided on grounds of cost and waiting time not to go the etched route, and experimented with various ideas but finally settled on using Slater’s embossed 4mm corrugated iron sheet; not 100% (what ever is?) but from a reasonable viewing distance gives a reasonable impression. I began by cutting out side plates, of the lower “platform” on which the sloping bonnet sits – this has vertical sides, as does the cab so a single piece was cut for each side. I used 30 thou plastic sheet (.75mm) and then 010”(Slaters again) which was glued on to it, making a kind of laminated sheet. A “false floor” was built of 030”on top of this in which the bonnet would sit.

 

 

 

 

I made the big front grille too deep and had to alter it later.

 

On the bonnet, the sides and front are angled inwards, it takes a while to get the right shape and size but I just persevered and threw away a few bits which didn’t look right until I was finally happy. holes were cut for the louvres which were then glued in – making them pretty well flush with the sides rather than recessed, except for the large ones at the front, where I used the same material but with extra lines scored horizontally. The front was created the same way and angled round, as was the cab rear, which had an interior frame to keep it to shape, as well as a frame round the bottom. This allowed the whole assembly to be eased upwards off the chassis box and then slid forward to remove it to allow access in future to the power bogies.

 

The roof which covers bonnet and cab was made from some old coach roofs (ratio GWR) cut and sanded to suit. I put a chunk of lead (about 120gm) into the interior of the bonnet and then the roof was glued on., and the bonnet glued down on tis "floor". There's going to be a bit of filling required, and owing to a slight mismeasurement inside (which it is too late to correct) the cab section sits very slightly higher than the rest.

I did a few rough traction tests, putting the completed body shell on the chassis, and the thing pushed four or five old Hornby clerestory coaches on my layout, which seems reasonable, so I left it at that. Still lots to do, but the machine is beginning to look vaguely like 28 now.

 

 

PS just in case anyone else is fool enough to try this job, please don't take the measurements on my scribbled drawings as being definitive

- I often in these prototype jobs make changes afterwards and don't necessarily change the "drawings".

[kirley]

I was lucky enough to see the 'trial run' and it runs very smoothly.  The number of different angles on this 'box' are considerable and Colm has certainly captured to look of No 28. Looking forward to seeing the next phase.

[Nelson Jackson]

Great work so far Colm.

[colmflanagan]

 

My first effort at sharing a video - the test run yesterday. More pictures and text to follow in due course.

 

 

Colm

[colmflanagan]

DETAILS AND BOGIES

By now the machine was taking shape, and next up I decided to tackle the bogies. And once again I spent some time poring over pictures and looking at catalogue to see if there were any bogie frames which might fit the bill. I wasn’t entirely surprised to find out that there wasn’t – I’ve already mentioned the fact that the wheel base is shorter than any other diesel locos that I know of. Closer inspection of the photos showed that they appear to be (not surprisingly) a unique design. I decided to build them from scratch and created side frames from 60thou plasticard. I spent a while checking out MJT castings and ordered axles boxes which looked a bit similar (they were MR wagon ones) and then the most solid springs (9 leaf van type); these arrived very quickly, and once I had cut off the springs from the MR boxes (they come as attached but were too thin looking for my purposes) I had something that was starting to look the part. (I lost one of the axle boxes, and had to cobble up a plastic replacement, which, when the bogies are painted black, will not be noticed I hope); sundry other gubbins (sandboxes etc.) were made from scraps of plasticard as well.

 

 

 

Then came fitting; a fair bit of cutting away of the power bogie cut-outs in the chassis box was needed to let them swing and have sufficient fore and aft play to run smoothly. I added Peco couplings (all my BCDR stock has them) and also the vacuum cylinders which unusually on this loco, were just behind the buffer beams. The buffer beams were cut out and some spare buffers fitted. I used some I already had, they are close I style but I am sure if I’d been more fussy I could have found some exactly correct-but own up, how many of you study puffers closely?

 

Then it was, put the body on top and try a trial run. You can see the results on the video clip, and I attach some pictures taken that day.

 

 

 

 

 

Since then the handrails have been fitted, which brings us up to date. I had originally tried plastic rod for handrails but without proper handrail knobs it looked a bit naff – and after one broke off when I handled the model, I did them in metal as I should have in the first place!

 

 

Next up primer and painting, then final details, like glazing and cab doors etc... I’ve another project clamouring for attention so it may be a little while before I return to 28.

[Hunslet 102]

Nice work Colm of this iconic locomotive,it is one I have intended to do also for my Gt Victoria Street layout but one of those projects that keeps getting put on the back burner.Some good tips that will help me when I eventually do make a start.Great thread

[colmflanagan]

A couple more pics of progress to date - another "test run" in primer - I think the "look" of the loco comes out more clearly now that the rather bright white plasticard finish is obscured, and the bogies and under frame painted.

 

 

 

 

One thing I did find was that there were a few  occasions when 28 faltered (always on the same places, on curves on the layout - points were negotiated fine.) When I investigated I came to the conclusion that the power bogie had not got quite enough fore and aft/sideways  play and as it would turn, if the track wasn't dead level, it would lift and would rub slightly against the underside of the chassis "box" - this led to the bogie wheels lifting ever so slightly, and loss of power as contact was lost momentarily.

 

I tried cutting away some more clearance but couldn't quite cure it, though it did improve. So I decided to wire up the pickups on the dummy bogie (they are already there).  This cured the problem, which was probably made worse by the short wheelbase of the bogies themselves, and there isn't a lot of room down there on this machine.

 

So it's painting next, I plan to do her in County Down lined green, but running as in the early fifties with the UTA red hand.

[Phil Clarke 1980]

That's magnificent ! I shall show my dad he models irish that's amazing

 

All the best Phil

[colmflanagan]

I finally completed 28 on 28 February – nice piece of unforced symmetry there!

 

 

I see another bit of Ulster diesel tech has crept into the background..one of Mr Fergsuon's best..

 

 

 

 

 

The following pics and video show her in action on a BCDR train. This would have been a normal passenger load for the engine, much more and slipping begins, unless the coaches are free running – these ones aren’t really, long wheelbase 4 wheelers and in one case an old Hornby Dublo style under frame, tend to create a lot of drag especially on gradients or curves. You can hear this coach thump as it jumps on the points leaving Stranraer!

 

 

 

 

 

The final picture is representative of 50 years of diesel train technology. imagine you had the option of travelling for two and a half hours to Glasgow on either of these trains, which would YOU choose?

 

 

 

As I said earlier, the livery, while BCDR in origin, has the UTA “red hand” symbol, as running on the NCC lines in the early 1950s, by which time the number “28” had either been removed or worn away from the tank sides. Shame that 28 never got an NCC style number plate. I still reserve the right under modeller’s licence to fit one, at least that way if she ever appears in public people will know what to call the engine, rather than just “that green thing.”

 

 

I think I’ll take a short rest now. But I am very satisfied with the results in the end, of my attempt to re-create “something completely different”!

[Horsetan]

Reminds me of a class 20 gone wrong!

[janner]

superb model, congratulations

[Waverley West]

Well, you certainly can't accuse that of being "run of the mill." It obviously runs very smoothly too. Very nice Colm!

[Mike 84C]

Very nice Colm I think you are pretty safe in saying there is not another one like it! Unique!

[StephenB]

A fine piece of work.

 

Stephen

[PhilJ W]

Did you know that the bogie wheelbase of most American switcher locomotives is 8 feet? That translates to 28 mm in HO scale, which of course is is 7 feet in 00 scale. I am looking into modelling another diesel with 7 foot wheelbase bogies and I have identified a couple of locomotives that have a suitable style of bogies for my project. You could have saved yourself some effort perhaps by going down that route. Another advantage is that most if not all have gear towers attached which will allow some flexibility with regard to placing the motor.

[Nelson Jackson]

Lovely model very nice indeed

[colmflanagan]

That is an interesting point, and if the wheel size were reasonable would be a perfectly sensible and simple starting point.  I am not at all familiar with US HO stuff (except for the Bachmann HO Thomas range coaches which is another story...)   The Black Beetle has proved a useful motor unit which I've used quite a bit over the years, and using them allowed me to put quite a lump of lead under 28's bonnet.

 

Colm

[David Jackson]

From experience using American bogies in projects, I would have thought that fitting two drive bogies into such a short locomotive would not have been practical. Possibly one drive bogie and motor would be feasible. However, in this case, two Black Beetle bogies was probably the best option to give maximum traction with 8 wheel drive. 

I recently tried to build an eight wheel drive chassis with a decent motor and flywheels for an NIR MV, but gave up and had to settle for a 4 wheel drive, as I could not fit the motor and transmissions between the bogies. The MV is a longer loco at 42ft over buffers, as against No 28 at 36.5ft. Lack of traction with only four drive wheels has forced me to look again at the possibility of a different 8 wheel chassis using different bogies, motor and transmissions. 

[PhilJ W]

Isn't only one bogie powered? I was thinking of a similar arrangement to the Lima class 20 which has one bogie powered via a gear tower and a flexible drive to the bogie at the nose end. The locomotive that I'm considering is the 1932 BTH Bo-Bo locomotive built for Fords Dagenham factory, this is only 4 or 5 feet longer than number 28 and has similar space constraints. Incidentally number 28 was 1A-A1 so only 2 driven axles is prototypical.

[David Jackson]

Colm has used two Black Beetle drives for No 28 to give plenty of traction and smooth running without traction tyres, plus all wheel pickup. The Lima Class 20 only drives four wheels, but they are fitted with traction tyres at the expense of pickups, so it only picks up power on four wheels, which is not the best solution for smooth running. The 1A-A1 wheel arrangement is immaterial as two driven wheels instead of four in a model requires twice as much weight for hauling a given load. Besides many RTR locomotives have less wheels powered than the prototype, and who ever heard of a full sized loco fitted with traction tyres. Model railways is all about compromise.