South Wales Valleys in the 50s

[tomparryharry]

She's a stock RTR Baccy, in BR black unicycling lion, originally 6422 IIRC but with Modelmaster number plates which I've 'red backed'.  She's lost her plastic coal, and now has a few lumps in a nearly empty bunker, and has been mangled about to include my no.13 staples as lamp irons, and I've drilled holes in her to accept these.  Her chassis has been 'redeployed' under 9681, where it's replacing my last Mainline type split chassis, and she's sustained a bit of a bend in her right hand handrail.  There's glue mess where there shouldn't be all over her!  She is certainly not in any condition to be put on 'Bay, even if I could be bothered with that which I can't.  You're welcome to the mortal remains of her body if they are of any use to you; it'll be a fair exchange for the 94xx bodies you gave me; PM if you are interested!

Cheers mate, PM'd you.

 

Ian

[The Johnster]

Just back from Argos having picked up 8763 from 'Bay.  She seems in very good condition, not used much with only a very slight patina on the wheel treads.  She is in a styrofoam box with all the paperwork and a 'Silver Seal' medal, and the rear vac bag in a separate bag.  

 

I've already glued the rear vac bag on and test run her; she is very smooth and quiet and seems to need no running in or attention.  I am already aware of 9681's deficiencies when the two are posed together;  9681 has an old K's whitemetal cab in an un-natural relationship with an early Mainline 57xx body on top of a Baccy 64xx chassis, and has her faults.  The rivet detail is better on 8763's cab is much better, and the sliding roof vent is the other way around; perhaps I built what was orignally 8750 with the roof on backwards, something I'm capable of!  A handrail over the rear corner of the left side cab side sheet at the top is missing on 9681, and her bunker does not have the fire iron hooks.  8763 has sprung buffers, which my other Bachmann pannier, 5756, doesn't; I guess these are a 'silver seal' feature, nice to have but it doesn't make any difference.

 

She is to be repainted, final decision on livery not yet taken but I'm leaning towards austerity black G W R initials with red backed BR plates, numbered as 9649, new to Tondu 6/46 and xfer to Merthyr 11/63, a very long stay at Tondu that will allow several liveries!  I will try to work 9681 up to a similar standard, but little can be done about the rivets!

 

Back to the layout now to give her a bit more of a running trial shunting the pickup.

Edited October 4, 2018 by The Johnster

[The Johnster]

The new 8750 is superior at the cab end to my old K's in further respects; it has steps on the left hand bunker side and a better whistle guard, and of course a proper backhead inside the cab.  I've had the top off her (oo er missis) and painted the regulator handle and brake setter red, and picked out the gauge glass.  Her mech is identical to 5756s, and, having now been cleaned, runs just as superbly.  

 

I reckon a loco supplied new to Tondu in June '46, 9649, would have been in unlined green G W R intitials livery with red backed number plates, including a smokebox plate and shed code and possibly with the numbers still visible on the buffer beams as well in the early BR period; if you work on the principle of overhauls every 7 years when the boiler certificate runs out she could have lasted until mid 1951 in this condition.  It's a shame I can't keep her in the lined black, but I have no evidence for this on a pannier anywhere in South Wales, never mind Tondu.  As she stands, as 8763, she carries an 81A shed plate; this is probably correct as I know some lined black 8750s were used on ECS work between Paddington and Old Oak.

 

But unlined green will be a useful replacement for 4145, which currently carries the livery.  I am beginning to realise that there is very little excuse for a large prairie at Tondu in my period; AFAICT 4145 was only there for the first month of 1948 before being tranferred away and no other member of the class appeared until September 1957, only 3 months before the nominal end of it.  4145 will be semi-retired, along with her spare body 4166, and I suppose I will have saved myself the price of the new Dapol I intended to buy.  3100 was at the shed for some time, of course, at least from 1948 until the end of May '58, but this is another matter, a possible kitbashing project for later.  This was the ultimate prairie, member of a class of 10, introduced by Collett in 1938 with no.4 boiler and 5'3" wheels.  She was used on the daily Porthcawl-Cardiff commuter train, on which her ability to get away quickly from stops on the main line with 5 or 6 on and stay out of the way of the fast traffic was very useful.  She is a loco I'd like, an impressive brute of an engine, prairie on steroids, but has to be pretty low down the list of priorities; I doubt very much she ever ventured far into Tondu's valley hinterland!

 

I would understand if anyone is getting a bit muddled with my numbers; I'm having to pay attention myself, and there's only 9 engines!  I've sent another order to Modelmaster JE this evening; 9647 red backed, 4218, and 5555.  I'm reasonably happy with the numbers once 8763, 4214, and 4581 respectively are renumbered, and 9647 and 5555 repainted, the latter into unlined black unicycling lion.  In case anyone's interested, in which case I seriously suggest you get out more, I'll re-list them when they are all done.  This should be the complete stud, with 8448 being replaced by the new Baccy when it appears and the numbers transferred over, and is enough locos to cover the timetable with allowance for boiler washouts every 10 days.  There is, however, no spare for auto work at the moment and I suppose I could argue the case for another 4575.  This was 6408's job, but as we've seen she's too late for my period. 

 

4557 is mentioned by RailUK as being allocated to Tondu at the start of January '48, but I can find no crosscheck on BR Database.  She went to Neyland in 10/53, and her use at Tondu is a bit of a mystery; I cannot imagine what she was used for, but she is a further possible; an eBay offer at the right price could tempt me into biting, and she's another G W R livery candidate.  The shed also had 44xx, but these were for use on the Porthcawl branch which had very severe curves and I doubt very much if they ever ventured into the mountain fastnesses any more than 3100 did.

[The Johnster]

If I have 9 locos at work, and boiler washouts take place every 10 days and last 2 days, I should be able to work out a rota.  There are 7 loco duties, so 2 locos can be out of service for washouts at any given time.  In reality this would have been worked out over Tondu's total allocation, around 50 locos which would have been increased to near 60 because of the extra Cwmdimbath work had the place been real, but I can't get into that!  But the principle should be that a loco cannot ever work more than 10 'day operating sessions' in a row, and is then out of service for a minimum of 2.  As this will take place over operating sessions and not in real time, proper records will have to be kept and I'm not sure it's worth the effort, but it'll be fun to work it out and might be a further level of realism, part of the imaginary life of the shed which, while it is not modelled, impacts on matters up at the end of the Dimbath Valley.

 

Some boiler washout work will of course be able to take place on Sunday, when no traffic runs.  The pickup doesn't run on Saturdays and the colliery clearances stop at midday on Saturday as well, so the pickup and afternoon colliery clearance duties do not have to be covered, nor does the evening miner's workman's.  Speaking of workmans', the ROF at Tremains works Monday-Friday, which eases the situation with regard to covering the traffic, but means that Tondu is actually quite busy with washouts, presumably all needing roads inside the roundhouse, at weekends.  

 

But if things get a bit too easy I can always institute weekend working at the colliery and Tremains...

 

More about this if I ever do it!  In the meantime, check out British Transport Films 'Wash and Brush Up' for a blow by blow account of what a boiler washout involved, and be glad you didn't ever have to do it on a freezing night with the wind whistling around your ear hole...

[tomparryharry]

I'd suggest Tremains is the key to your conundrum. Tondu had extra work for the RoF. However, once ww2 ended, Tremains downsized pretty quickly. AFAIK, it had a full 3-shift system, with several diagrams on the roster. Trains from the valleys had their timetables altered, and beefed up, to transport the influx (mostly ladies) of several thousand workers in a very short time period. It's little wonder that panniers grew to such a large class. Somewhere on the allocations records, show Newport Division receiving a brand-new pannier every week, for about 6 months..... They had to go somewhere!

 

Happy modelling,

 

Ian.

[The Johnster]

You are right, and thank you for the night shift information about the ROF.  Cwmdimbath, as you know, is inspired by Abergwynfi, and it's 1960 WTT, which includes ROF workman's trains.  I use a B set, but the real thing seems to have been 4 coach sets of Collett non gangwayed, with 56xx as motive power.   Downsized from it's WW2 level of production it may have been, but there was still a cold war commitment in Germany to supply and the remnants of the empire to fight losing battles over

 

Tondu post war was absorbing new and newly transferred 8750s at an impressive rate for such a shed; another factor in the late 40s was the replacement of the few remaining 2721s with 96xx series 8750s.  There were 2 of them at Tondu at nationalisation, gone within just over 2 years.  

Edited October 5, 2018 by The Johnster

[tomparryharry]

You are right, and thank you for the night shift information about the ROF.  Cwmdimbath, as you know, is inspired by Abergwynfi, and it's 1960 WTT, which includes ROF workman's trains.  I use a B set, but the real thing seems to have been 4 coach sets of Collett non gangwayed, with 56xx as motive power.   Downsized from it's WW2 level of production it may have been, but there was still a cold war commitment in Germany to supply and the remnants of the empire to fight losing battles over

 

Tondu post war was absorbing new and newly transferred 8750s at an impressive rate for such a shed; another factor in the late 40s was the replacement of the few remaining 2721s with 96xx series 8750s.  There were 2 of them at Tondu at nationalisation, gone within just over 2 years.

Actually Johnster, I'm a bit intrigued by Tremains. I wonder if the diagrams had a spark-arrested loco on the roster. Didcot had a loco such as this on the roster, as did Worcester. I've no idea with Tremains, and wonder if they had a diesel instead. Or, a fireless...

 

 

Ian.

Edited October 6, 2018 by tomparryharry

[The Johnster]

I have an idea one of Tondu's 1854's had a spark arrestor, but there were no arrestor fitted panniers appropriate to my period.  It would, of course, be dependent on what was actually made there, and I have no idea what that was.  One assumes explosives at an ordnance factory but it was not always the case; if they were making cases but not filling them, or fuses, timing mechs, guidance systems and so on there may not have been a need for that sort of precaution.  I know very little about Tremains except that it was there and there was a platform at one time.

 

ROF work was, for obvious reasons, somewhat secretive and those involved would have been very forcibly and constantly reminded not to talk about it outside the job.  The one I do know a little about is Llanishen, which we always referred to as the atom bomb factory when we were kids.  It never dealt in any radioactive or fissionable material, and was primarily employed in making the hollow spherical cobalt casings that the bang mixture is kept inside of in a nuclear weapon.  I worked for a while for a firm of industrial cleaners in the 80s which had the contract to deep clean the cobalt workshop.  We did this in full NBC suits as cobalt is a horrible material, managing to be simultaneously dusty, greasy, filthy, all-pervasive, and carcinogenic, so we needed full filtration and hazardous waste bags.  

 

We were escorted across the factory by military policemen to the workshop and told to look straight ahead and not to the sides.  We never felt the desire to find out what would have happened if we did...

 

They had a very good, and free, canteen.  But I hated the place.

 

We are digressing.  I would imagine, but cannot confirm, that Tremains had it's own loco for internal work, and it would probably have been a diesel, based on the fact that I reckon that a fireless or steam loco would have been remembered by my 80s drivers and mentioned.  The RAF's Manning Wardle at St Athan was.

[tomparryharry]

I have an idea one of Tondu's 1854's had a spark arrestor, but there were no arrestor fitted panniers appropriate to my period.  It would, of course, be dependent on what was actually made there, and I have no idea what that was.  One assumes explosives at an ordnance factory but it was not always the case; if they were making cases but not filling them, or fuses, timing mechs, guidance systems and so on there may not have been a need for that sort of precaution.  I know very little about Tremains except that it was there and there was a platform at one time.

 

ROF work was, for obvious reasons, somewhat secretive and those involved would have been very forcibly and constantly reminded not to talk about it outside the job.  The one I do know a little about is Llanishen, which we always referred to as the atom bomb factory when we were kids.  It never dealt in any radioactive or fissionable material, and was primarily employed in making the hollow spherical cobalt casings that the bang mixture is kept inside of in a nuclear weapon.  I worked for a while for a firm of industrial cleaners in the 80s which had the contract to deep clean the cobalt workshop.  We did this in full NBC suits as cobalt is a horrible material, managing to be simultaneously dusty, greasy, filthy, all-pervasive, and carcinogenic, so we needed full filtration and hazardous waste bags.  

 

We were escorted across the factory by military policemen to the workshop and told to look straight ahead and not to the sides.  We never felt the desire to find out what would have happened if we did...

 

They had a very good, and free, canteen.  But I hated the place.

 

We are digressing.  I would imagine, but cannot confirm, that Tremains had it's own loco for internal work, and it would probably have been a diesel, based on the fact that I reckon that a fireless or steam loco would have been remembered by my 80s drivers and mentioned.  The RAF's Manning Wardle at St Athan was.

There is a very informative article on Tremains, but apart from your direct, railway sided viewpoint, I'm not sure there is much to add to Abergwynfi.

 

Ian.

[The Johnster]

It has occurred to me that a Tondu loco with a spark arrestor may be nothing to do with Tremains ROF, as the shed's area included the pit prop depot at Lletty Brongu.  The one at Marshfield was worked by Canton locos, never with spark arrestors and 08s after steam, but fire was an issue and the depot was eventually destroyed in a spectacular blaze that generated enough heat to buckle the relief lines and close the SWML.  I saw it from the top deck of a replacement bus from the A48 Newport Road, and it was of almost sun-like light intensity, and the radiant heat could be felt from about 2 miles away through the bus window.  Not much was left.

[tomparryharry]

It has occurred to me that a Tondu loco with a spark arrestor may be nothing to do with Tremains ROF, as the shed's area included the pit prop depot at Lletty Brongu.  The one at Marshfield was worked by Canton locos, never with spark arrestors and 08s after steam, but fire was an issue and the depot was eventually destroyed in a spectacular blaze that generated enough heat to buckle the relief lines and close the SWML.  I saw it from the top deck of a replacement bus from the A48 Newport Road, and it was of almost sun-like light intensity, and the radiant heat could be felt from about 2 miles away through the bus window.  Not much was left.

I had a quick look at Tremains.  No less than 7-8 Fowler 0-4-0 diesels, and an oil fired Peckett. No real reference to a spark-arrested pannier, although if it did have a diagram, that would be the place.

[The Johnster]

Oil fired Peckett, eh?  Nice...

 

Were all these locos just for the ROF or for the entire industrial estate?  An oil fired steam loco suggests single manning as well as a fire risk fitting.

 

4581, already renumbered once from it's original 4587, has begun it's transformation into 5555 with a coat of black paint.  The loco will be in unlined black with unicycling lion and black backed number plates; I have a photo of it in this condition at Abergwynfi.  4581 was in lined green unicycling lion, and I was rather reluctant to do the repaint, but it never carried this livery during the short time it was at Tondu.  I bought it from NHY 581 of this very parish and his subtle weathering was much more effective than anything I can achieve, hence the reluctance to paint over it.

 

But needs must, and I am happy with the result.  I managed to paint around the safety valve cover, and paint the top feed housing, without going over the line, and am quite chuffed with myself.  Paint'll go off overnight and I'll put the lions and R.A. spots on tomoz, then she'll get a coat of Halfords rattlecan matt acrylic varnish.  I am going to attempt the removal of the plastic coal and retention of the lamp bracket shield on the bunker rear like I did with 5633, so she can have a half or less full bunker. 

 

Plates are on order, along with a set for 4218, which will need no other work, and red backed ones for 9649, the new girl, which also needs a full repaint.  I have decided to go for the unlined green G W R initials livery she must have been delivered new to Tondu in in June of 1946 and which she probably carried until about 1953, but the red backed plates are a Rule 1 guess.  I should probably give this loco buffer beam numbers as well, and a hefty dose of weathering; the new would have been well worn off by 1948 at the start of my period!  I may paint her green later this week, ready for the new plates.  She will be the flag bearer for this livery now 4145 is withdrawn, which will make me less miffed about sacrificing her lovely LNWR lined black turnout.  I can, sadly, find no trace of any loco carrying this at Tondu, which is a shame because it is very characteristic of the WR during my period.

[tomparryharry]

Oil fired Peckett, eh?  Nice...

 

Were all these locos just for the ROF or for the entire industrial estate?  An oil fired steam loco suggests single manning as well as a fire risk fitting.

 

4581, already renumbered once from it's original 4587, has begun it's transformation into 5555 with a coat of black paint.  The loco will be in unlined black with unicycling lion and black backed number plates; I have a photo of it in this condition at Abergwynfi.  4581 was in lined green unicycling lion, and I was rather reluctant to do the repaint, but it never carried this livery during the short time it was at Tondu.  I bought it from NHY 581 of this very parish and his subtle weathering was much more effective than anything I can achieve, hence the reluctance to paint over it.

 

But needs must, and I am happy with the result.  I managed to paint around the safety valve cover, and paint the top feed housing, without going over the line, and am quite chuffed with myself.  Paint'll go off overnight and I'll put the lions and R.A. spots on tomoz, then she'll get a coat of Halfords rattlecan matt acrylic varnish.  I am going to attempt the removal of the plastic coal and retention of the lamp bracket shield on the bunker rear like I did with 5633, so she can have a half or less full bunker. 

 

Plates are on order, along with a set for 4218, which will need no other work, and red backed ones for 9649, the new girl, which also needs a full repaint.  I have decided to go for the unlined green G W R initials livery she must have been delivered new to Tondu in in June of 1946 and which she probably carried until about 1953, but the red backed plates are a Rule 1 guess.  I should probably give this loco buffer beam numbers as well, and a hefty dose of weathering; the new would have been well worn off by 1948 at the start of my period!  I may paint her green later this week, ready for the new plates.  She will be the flag bearer for this livery now 4145 is withdrawn, which will make me less miffed about sacrificing her lovely LNWR lined black turnout.  I can, sadly, find no trace of any loco carrying this at Tondu, which is a shame because it is very characteristic of the WR during my period.

 

Filling factory No2 ( to give the correct title to Tremains) was a vast undertaking, so I'd suggest you have a quick google. There are books, but I haven't purchased one yet. Photo's on google show some beefy looking Fowler diesels, but, no oil fired Peckett.

 

Happy hunting,

 

Ian.

[The Johnster]

You've convinced me; Uncle Google, as the squeeze calls it, to the rescue!

[The Johnster]

Uffern Dan!  24 miles of track!  40,000 workers!  Cooling towers, all sorts; serious factory! 

 

Wikipedia says it was a 'war only' factory, closed in 1945 presumably at the end of hostilities and finally done with a year later as a store.  The main work was clearly filling shells, which is I imagine less suicidal than making the explosives in the first place, but sound scary enough to me; no doubt all sorts of restriction were in force and enforced.  But the halt was open until 1961, and as I say there was a service from Abergwynfi and evening return to serve it, possibly from other places as well.  A photo in Google's 'images' shows two trains at an island platform, I believe on the up side and clearly the morning rush; the platform is black with people who obscure any modelling detail.  Trains are clerestories and one is hauled by a 56xx bunker first.  It's probably taken from a footbridge.  The sun is out and looks about right for between 8.30 and 9.00 am in summer.

 

I was under the impression that ordnance work continued much later and that the site closed in the 60s, not 1946, but I suppose it is possible that the halt remained, along with the workman's services, to cater for the industrial estate.  In any case, I shall continue to run my 'ROF' workman's on the basis of the 1960 Abergwynfi WTT information.

 

Thanks for this major eye opener, Ian!

[tomparryharry]

Uffern Dan!  24 miles of track!  40,000 workers!  Cooling towers, all sorts; serious factory! 

 

Wikipedia says it was a 'war only' factory, closed in 1945 presumably at the end of hostilities and finally done with a year later as a store.  The main work was clearly filling shells, which is I imagine less suicidal than making the explosives in the first place, but sound scary enough to me; no doubt all sorts of restriction were in force and enforced.  But the halt was open until 1961, and as I say there was a service from Abergwynfi and evening return to serve it, possibly from other places as well.  A photo in Google's 'images' shows two trains at an island platform, I believe on the up side and clearly the morning rush; the platform is black with people who obscure any modelling detail.  Trains are clerestories and one is hauled by a 56xx bunker first.  It's probably taken from a footbridge.  The sun is out and looks about right for between 8.30 and 9.00 am in summer.

 

I was under the impression that ordnance work continued much later and that the site closed in the 60s, not 1946, but I suppose it is possible that the halt remained, along with the workman's services, to cater for the industrial estate.  In any case, I shall continue to run my 'ROF' workman's on the basis of the 1960 Abergwynfi WTT information.

 

Thanks for this major eye opener, Ian!

Yes, it was a big place. The Royal Mint took over bits of the place in the 1960's whilst the mint at Llantrisant was being built.

[Welchester]

Is this the place to bring up the old joke: Llantrisant - the hole with a mint?

[tomparryharry]

Is this the place to bring up the old joke: Llantrisant - the hole with a mint?

 

Llantrisant has had its ups & downs. I remember it being a quite run-down place. In the last 30 years however, its had a major revival, and is now a very desirable place to live. The old 'hole' joke is fairly justifiable, being a 50-year old story.  Nowadays, you can expect to pay a pretty penny to live in the village. Approaching the place, it now takes on a Mediterranean air; more south European, less South Wales. 

 

I witnessed the Mint relocation first hand. The programme of decimalisation was ramping up in the 1960's. Dad was asked to overlook certain parts of the move; I seem to remember the stamping, quality, and weights & measures shops were the first to re-locate. Llantrisant was just a green-field site then. The big problem was creating working space. The answer came by taking up factory space in Tremains & Brackla estates. The Mint effectively split in two, the new parts relocating, with the older, Tower Hill site, keeping the foundry shops and other parts, remaining in London.

 

It's funny how time can reach out, and grab you back. I spent 2 years delivering a project in Aldgate, just a stones throw from the old Mint. It seemed  a bit weird looking down at Tower Hill & the Mint, and rekindling memories... 

 

Thank you Bishop. Replying to your post has been very therapeutic.

 

Ian.

[The Johnster]

The 'old village' of Llantrisant, on the hilltop, has a medieval feel to it and some nice pubs, and the church is worth checking out if you are into that sort of history.  The common, given to the locals in perpetuity by the Black Prince in recognition of their service as archers in his French wars, was a place for picnics in my childhood as a stop on the way to visit rellys in Tonypandy; the view was quite rural in those pre-Mint days.

[The Johnster]

Goodies in the post from Modelu today; more lamps and a loco crew, my first Modelu figures.  I'm very impressed, especially with the driver's loose hanging dust coat, lovely piece of printing!   The crew were ordered for 5633, but this is not my only crewless loco, and 4581/5555, 4214/4218, 8753/9649 (awaiting new numbers), 6642, and 9681 need a human presence on the footplate.  In the case of the latter 2, this means building a footplate for them inside the cab, which will also stop daylight showing in the wrong places.

 

4214/8 is a bit of a problem in that I can't get into the cab without potentially damaging the loco; may I take this opportunity of suggesting again to manufacturers that we are paying enough to have easily removed and replaced cab roofs.  I imagine modern image modellers have it even worse, and their more visible cabs make the problem more apparent as well.  

 

Onwards and upwards, sort of.

[tomparryharry]

Goodies in the post from Modelu today; more lamps and a loco crew, my first Modelu figures.  I'm very impressed, especially with the driver's loose hanging dust coat, lovely piece of printing!   The crew were ordered for 5633, but this is not my only crewless loco, and 4581/5555, 4214/4218, 8753/9649 (awaiting new numbers), 6642, and 9681 need a human presence on the footplate.  In the case of the latter 2, this means building a footplate for them inside the cab, which will also stop daylight showing in the wrong places.

 

4214/8 is a bit of a problem in that I can't get into the cab without potentially damaging the loco; may I take this opportunity of suggesting again to manufacturers that we are paying enough to have easily removed and replaced cab roofs.  I imagine modern image modellers have it even worse, and their more visible cabs make the problem more apparent as well.  

 

Onwards and upwards, sort of.

careful & sharp knifework should release the roof of your 42xx. I have done one previously.  I'm more annoyed with the back cab doors open.

[The Johnster]

I actually quite like this feature and the view it gives into the cab.  I'll have another try, but not tonight; I need to buy more crews first.  Tonight has 2 jobs lined up, both painting; the spray varnish for 5555 which I haven't built a booth (got an old cardboard box out of the under stairs cupboard) for yet, and a coat of unlined GW green for 9649, to have G W R initiials livery.  This will be popular with the squeeze, who likes green and says too many of my engines are black!

 

I am told that the cabs of 42xx/5205/72xx locos were uncomfortably hot places to work in and Imagine that these doors would be open in most circumstances to get a bit of air in there.  I have seen a photo of a 42xx with the driver sitting half outside the loco, perched up in the cab reveal with his feet on the seat, and remember seeing this in reality on locos in service in the early 60s.  The cab is small for such a big engine, and very enclosed.  I suppose you could make closed doors easily enough if you wanted, but I won't attempt this unless I acquire another 42xx, as I like to have little differences between otherwise identical locos of the same class.  Re this, it did occur to me the other day that I could model the fireman's side cab door open to get a crew in there and improve the view, partly self defeating as the fireman's legs are probably going to be in the way!

 

I have 2 8750s now, but 9681 has it's sliding cab shutters closed, and 2 56xx, but the only difference here is in the body tooling spec's improvements between the original Mainline and the current Bachmann; of course, they carry different liveries.  I may do the open cab side door trick with one of these.

Edited October 10, 2018 by The Johnster

[The Johnster]

Missions accomplished, but the greening of the pannier was a bit more of a faff than I'd reckoned on; forgot about the splashers and all the other fiddly bits on top, didn't I?  Paint was Revell Aqua Colour Dark Green Acrylic, and although it is the same, from the same pot, as the paint I used on 4145 I am a bit suspicious of it.  It is a little lighter and has a more 'army green' tinge to it, though it is not as bad as the colour Hornby were turning out GW and BR green locos in 30 years or so ago!  I'm not too worried at the moment; the loco is not finished yet and by the time the transfers are on, the varnish applied, and a good bit of weathering splashed all over the top of it it might not look too far off for a loco still running in slightly faded GWR livery in the early 50s.  But I won't be painting any more engines with this stuff!

 

Transfers and varnish tomorrow and then all she needs is numbers and crew to go into service.  She'll share bottom link duties with 5756, 9681, and 2761 on the miner's workman's, pickup, and any control work such as the odd clearance from Remploy or material deliveries to the colliery.  This 4 loco link only has 2 basic jobs, the workman's and the pickup, so they are likely to be the go to cover for failures on the other trains as well.  I am considering that the NCB could hire one, which would need relieving at lunch time.  My thoughts on the colliery loco, not modelled as it's off scene, is that it is a Sentinel, in honour of the one at Ogmore Vale, but Rule 1 is making it's presence felt.

 

Actually, a hired BR pannier for the colliery has several advantages; several places had them during the 50s. It could come up double heading the miners, and double head the ecs back in the evening for fun, and trip up to the terminus to collect materials brought up on the pickup.  It could also bank the loaded up to the terminus for running around; this would need a bit of jiggery pokery with wiring and isolating switches, a departure from the original layout concept of 'simple as possible' but never mind.

 

Just thinking aloud for now, no firm plans made.  I need to concentrate on finishing the jobs I've already started before we get involved in this sort of thing!

Edited October 10, 2018 by The Johnster

[tomparryharry]

Abercynon had a couple of ex-LNWR coal tanks, which were hired out to the NCB. I've seen a photo, and that's about my limit. I'm sure there is extensive history out there.

[Happy Hippo]

Abercynon had a couple of ex-LNWR coal tanks, which were hired out to the NCB. I've seen a photo, and that's about my limit. I'm sure there is extensive history out there.

Cruelly, I would think that the Shedmaster at Abercynon would be happier sending some old ex LNWR tanks off to be mistreated by the NCB, rather than some of his beloved pannier tanks.

Edited October 11, 2018 by Happy Hippo