DJH 1366 class in duplicate - completing the class!

[Pierview]

The GWR 1366 locomotives are one of my all time favourite classes. They were an everyday sight in Weymouth when I was growing up and the harbour tramway, on which they worked, ran past the bottom of the street in which we lived. It also ran past the playground of my junior school so I saw plenty of these little tanks in action in my formative years.

I acquired my first DJH 1366 kit about 25 years ago and went on build 3 more so that now I have 1367,1368,1369 and 1370 which were the locomotives in use during my spotting days. All the 1366 class had spells on the tramway, however, and from time to time it occurred to me that it would be fun to complete the entire class by building 1366 and 1371, the latter being the only member of the class I didn't see. The cost of new kits plus motors and wheels was a deterrent though and I never seriously pursued the idea. A few weeks ago, however, a chance e-bay search found no less than 3 unmade 1366 kits for sale. I secured one of them after some frenzied bidding and to my surprise a short while later a 4th appeared from the same seller. I managed to win this at a lower price and as the only bidder so I was in business. I estimate that the kits date back to the early 1980's and a bonus point in their favour was that they both included Romford wheels , albeit of the old type, and MGS D11 motors. The latter are  new units and quite serviceable but High Level gearboxes and motors are my preferred choice these days so the D11's will probably be sold on.

As can be seen, I have made a start on both kits but work is now paused whilst I await for my first gear box and motor and balance weight and axle covers etch. With the current state of postal deliveries it could be quite some time!

   

 

 

More to follow in the new year. Compliments of the season everyone!

 

Barry  

[Halvarras]

3 hours ago, Pierview said:

The GWR 1366 locomotives are one of my all time favourite classes. They were an everyday sight in Weymouth when I was growing up and the harbour tramway, on which they worked, ran past the bottom of the street in which we lived. It also ran past the playground of my junior school so I saw plenty of these little tanks in action in my formative years.

I acquired my first DJH 1366 kit about 25 years ago and went on build 3 more so that now I have 1367,1368,1369 and 1370 which were the locomotives in use during my spotting days. All the 1366 class had spells on the tramway, however, and from time to time it occurred to me that it would be fun to complete the entire class by building 1366 and 1371, the latter being the only member of the class I didn't see. The cost of new kits plus motors and wheels was a deterrent though and I never seriously pursued the idea. A few weeks ago, however, a chance e-bay search found no less than 3 unmade 1366 kits for sale. I secured one of them after some frenzied bidding and to my surprise a short while later a 4th appeared from the same seller. I managed to win this at a lower price and as the only bidder so I was in business. I estimate that the kits date back to the early 1980's and a bonus point in their favour was that they both included Romford wheels , albeit of the old type, and MGS D11 motors. The latter are  new units and quite serviceable but High Level gearboxes and motors are my preferred choice these days so the D11's will probably be sold on.

As can be seen, I have made a start on both kits but work is now paused whilst I await for my first gear box and motor and balance weight and axle covers etch. With the current state of postal deliveries it could be quite some time!

   

 

 

More to follow in the new year. Compliments of the season everyone!

 

Barry  

 

Phew! Good job the 57xx wasn't your all-time favourite class 🤪!!

 

I like these little locos too, not just because they're cute but because of the Cornish connection. 1369 was the last steam loco of GWR design to work in the county, however I left it very late to obtain a Heljan model and had to settle for a green 1370, although the price was certainly right. I have the etched plates for 1369 waiting for its respray into black at some point......

 

Looking forward to seeing the posed line-up - an entire class is not something we see very often!

[hayfield]

In recent years I have picked up a few DJH kits (I have 3 1366's) and its interesting to see the various kits have evolved over the years. Early kits when the company was in Banbury seemed to rely on Kays using brass bar chassis K's wheels and motors.

 

Then the wheels migrated to Romford wheels and motors to Anchorage D11's. Later on chassis were made from etched brass and gearbox motors, initially still using Anchorage D11 then on to Mashima can motors

 

The kits now seem to be devoid of wheels, gears and motor, all of which are now extras

 

I must admit they have always been high quality kits and seemingly have sought to improve the kits as the hobby moves on over the years, the early kits now look quite basic against the modern hybrid kits

Edited December 19, 2022 by hayfield

[phil_sutters]

13 hours ago, Pierview said:

The GWR 1366 locomotives are one of my all time favourite classes. They were an everyday sight in Weymouth when I was growing up and the harbour tramway, on which they worked, ran past the bottom of the street in which we lived. It also ran past the playground of my junior school so I saw plenty of these little tanks in action in my formative years.

 

 

Barry  

Happy Christmas all

Snaps from Dad's albums to reminisce over. 

[lapford34102]

35 minutes ago, phil_sutters said:

Snaps from Dad's albums to reminisce over. 

Thanks for putting those photo's up. I'm looking very hard at the bottom one and wondering if it's not my late Dad.

 

14 hours ago, Pierview said:

It also ran past the playground of my junior school so I saw plenty of these little tanks in action in my formative years.

Where WADMES used to hold their summer exhibition.

 

Stu

[Pierview]

3 hours ago, phil_sutters said:

Snaps from Dad's albums to reminisce over. 

Great photos Phil and thanks for sharing them.  I particularly like the shot of 1367 which was recently ex-works if I recall. Note also the Cosens paddle steamer  "Consul" in the background. The shot of 1369 is also of interest as beneath the grime it was still lettered "Great Western" and didn't receive the BR totem until it received a general overhaul the following year. When 1370 became the first of the class to be withdrawn it was initially replaced by 0-6-0ST 1361 but this was considered to be underpowered and was sent away again after about 6 months to be replaced by 1369.

 

2 hours ago, lapford34102 said:

Where WADMES used to hold their summer exhibition.

Indeed they did. WADMES was  Weymouth and District  Model Engineering Society.

 

Barry 

[Steamport Southport]

Try and find a film called The Damned.

 

Quite a good film and has Oliver Reed in it. But more interesting is the scenes of Weymouth with the 1366s filmed in 1961.

 

It's probably on the BFI website or YouTube.

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056576/

 

 

Jason

[Halvarras]

50 minutes ago, Pierview said:

The shot of 1369 is also of interest as beneath the grime it was still lettered "Great Western" and didn't receive the BR totem until it received a general overhaul the following year. When 1370 became the first of the class to be withdrawn it was initially replaced by 0-6-0ST 1361 but this was considered to be underpowered and was sent away again after about 6 months to be replaced by 1369.

 

Interesting, I didn't know 1369 was one of those 'late survivors' which reached the 1960s still displaying its Great Western origins, albeit obscured by layers of grime (my  steam loco collection is set in Cornwall around 1961 and when I discovered a photo of 9635 at Newquay still lettered 'GWR' in July of that year I had to get hold of the Bachmann model of the loco in this livery!)

I had assumed that the '1366' was simply a modernised '1361' in terms of superstructure, but were there mechanical improvements to explain why 1361 was considered underpowered? Or perhaps being older 1361 was just more worn out and tired.......

[Pierview]

3 hours ago, Halvarras said:

 

3 hours ago, Halvarras said:

 

Interesting, I didn't know 1369 was one of those 'late survivors' which reached the 1960s still displaying its Great Western origins, albeit obscured by layers of grime (my  steam loco collection is set in Cornwall around 1961 and when I discovered a photo of 9635 at Newquay still lettered 'GWR' in July of that year I had to get hold of the Bachmann model of the loco in this livery!)

I had assumed that the '1366' was simply a modernised '1361' in terms of superstructure, but were there mechanical improvements to explain why 1361 was considered underpowered? Or perhaps being older 1361 was just more worn out and tired.......

 

The quoted tractive effort of a 1366 was 16,320 lb as opposed to 14,835 for the 1361 class. The fact that 1361's stay was brief was a bit surprising as 1363 had worked the tramway 10 year's previously in 1949. However there is no doubt that trains had become heavier in the intervening years and I understand that crews considered that 1361 was not strong enough. It may have been the case of trying to find more work for 1361, which had been displaced from Laira,  but sadly after leaving Weymouth it went for scrap. 

[Pierview]

18 hours ago, Halvarras said:

 

18 hours ago, Halvarras said:

 

Phew! Good job the 57xx wasn't your all-time favourite class 🤪!!

 

I like these little locos too, not just because they're cute but because of the Cornish connection. 1369 was the last steam loco of GWR design to work in the county, however I left it very late to obtain a Heljan model and had to settle for a green 1370, although the price was certainly right. I have the etched plates for 1369 waiting for its respray into black at some point......

 

Looking forward to seeing the posed line-up - an entire class is not something we see very often!

 

 

I like 57xx's as well but have only managed 8 to date. - which is probably enough!

 

Barry

[Pierview]

I've managed some work on the two 1366's during the festive break. The first one (1371) now has a working chassis with a  High Level  RR+ gearbox and 1020 motor. As this seemed to perform quite well I have ordered another set for the second loco (1366) . As this won't be arriving until early January together with some other bits, however, I won't be able to progress 1366  much further and will therefore move on to complete the the body for 1371 in the meantime. 

 

 

Barry

[Pierview]

A bit  more progress to report  on the first kit (1371) which is now complete and ready for the paint shop. I think that the 1366 is one of DJH's better kits and it went together quite well, although a certain amount of fiddling was necessary to  persuade the pannier tank assembly to sit neatly against the cab front. I replaced the cast smokebox  door handle with a turned brass one and drilled out the chimney. I also added injector overflow pipes, fashioned from wire and lamp brackets. I notice from the photo that I have forgotten to add the spare lamp brackets, so will have to add these shortly. I didn't like the rear bunker fire iron hooks that came with the kit so made my own from wire. Surprisingly ,the kit did not include rear cab window grilles so I added these from the Mainly Trains etch. They are not exactly correct but are much better than anything I could have made. My other 1366's  have each been fitted with a shunter's step and bell for Weymouth tramway working but as 1366 and 1371 were allocated elsewhere in the period I am modelling they will not receive these local additions. I have managed  some work on the second loco (1366) and have assembled the cab and cylinder assemblies. The motor and gearbox arrived from High Level this morning so assembly of those items will be the next job.

 

 

 

 

 

Barry

Edited January 6, 2023 by Pierview

[Pierview]

My workbench is a bit like Swindon Works erecting shop at the moment!  A brief update on the second loco (1366)  which now has the body completed in a similar manner to 1371.  I am still awaiting the arrival of some bits so I can't finish the chassis at the moment but I have assembled the High Level gearbox and motor. As a fill-in project I have turned my attention to a partly assembled Keyser 4575 kit which I picked up on Christmas Eve for a very reasonable price. More on that at a later date.

 

 

Barry

  

[Captain Kernow]

This is a most interesting thread and thanks for sharing all this.

 

I just love all this 'old school' modelling, as I used to assemble DJH kits (amongst others) for a model shop back in the late 1970s and into the 1980s. This gave me lots of practice in loco kit building but I concentrated so much on this kind of work, that I didn't build much for myself during that time, so that when I came to first exhibit 'Engine Wood' in 1994, I had to rely heavily on 'borrowed' stock for the first few years!

 

I'd certainly appreciate seeing a few photos of your other locos, if possible please, especially the 57XX panniers. Are these also kits (presumably K's, if they are of the 57XX variety) or based on the Mainline or Bachmann model?

 

 

[Bulwell Hall]

On 19/12/2022 at 12:54, Pierview said:

Great photos Phil and thanks for sharing them.  I particularly like the shot of 1367 which was recently ex-works if I recall. Note also the Cosens paddle steamer  "Consul" in the background. The shot of 1369 is also of interest as beneath the grime it was still lettered "Great Western" and didn't receive the BR totem until it received a general overhaul the following year. When 1370 became the first of the class to be withdrawn it was initially replaced by 0-6-0ST 1361 but this was considered to be underpowered and was sent away again after about 6 months to be replaced by 1369.

 

Indeed they did. WADMES was  Weymouth and District  Model Engineering Society.

 

Barry 

 

Here's another couple of photos of 1367 on the Tramway at Weymouth, this time in August 1939.  They were among a number of photos taken at Weymouth that came to light recently.  The view of the boat train just arrived at the Quay is quite routine and doubtless the engine crews were often asked to pose with enthusiastic young passengers.  The second view was taken as an up boat train negotiated the recently completed new alignment at Ferry's Corner on its way to the station.  The Collett K38 Ocean Mails passenger brake van was a regular feature of the boat train at this time.

 

Gerry

Edited January 16, 2023 by Bulwell Hall

[Pierview]

4 hours ago, Bulwell Hall said:

Here's another couple of photos of 1367 on the Tramway at Weymouth, this time in August 1939.  They were among a number of photos taken at Weymouth that came to light recently.  The view of the boat train just arrived at the Quay is quite routine and doubtless the engine crews were often asked to pose with enthusiastic young passengers.  The second view was taken as an up boat train negotiated the recently completed new alignment at Ferry's Corner on its way to the station.  The Collett K38 Ocean Mails passenger brake van was a regular feature of the boat train at this time.

 

Gerry

 Excellent  photos which are new to me. The building in the backgound at the ferry terminal  is the Ritz Theatre. Of largely wooden construction  it survived the war intact but burned to the ground in a disastrous fire in the early 1950's. The skyline behind the shot of 1367 with the  up boat train was considerably changed by wartime bombing. 1367 was the longest serving member of the class  at Weymouth.

 

Barry

[Pierview]

8 hours ago, Captain Kernow said:

This is a most interesting thread and thanks for sharing all this.

 

I just love all this 'old school' modelling, as I used to assemble DJH kits (amongst others) for a model shop back in the late 1970s and into the 1980s. This gave me lots of practice in loco kit building but I concentrated so much on this kind of work, that I didn't build much for myself during that time, so that when I came to first exhibit 'Engine Wood' in 1994, I had to rely heavily on 'borrowed' stock for the first few years!

 

I'd certainly appreciate seeing a few photos of your other locos, if possible please, especially the 57XX panniers. Are these also kits (presumably K's, if they are of the 57XX variety) or based on the Mainline or Bachmann model?

 

 

 

It's certainly  a trip down memory lane revisiting  some of these old kits. It makes you realise what a struggle it was to make them go and I can't say that I miss hefty brass frames and the difficulty in getting motors to mesh and stay meshed!  

 

My 57xx locos are a mixture. The two 'flat cab' ones are  Bachmann examples repainted and detailed and  for the 'round cab' variant I have used 3 Bachman plastic bodies on Comet chassis kits. There are 2 others from K's kits as shown. Forgive the poor quality shots which were quickly taken with my mobile phone camera. My other 57xx is a condensing tank which uses the k's bodyline kit on a re-wheeled tri-ang jinty chassis.

 

 

In the foreground is 3737 which is a s/h K's kit dismantled and re-worked. It has a chassis modification to anchor the K's motor in place and stop it pivoting on the chassis spacer and disengaging. A classic  bit of bad kit design!

 

 

This is  4624 which is another s/h k's model, picked up for £5 and similarly dismantled and rebuilt. it sits on a Comet chassis and the  middle splashers have been carefully cut out and replaced in their correct position. The Comet kit has the correct spacing but the K's kit has a slight inaccuracy and the wheel base is the same  as that of the ubiquitous  tri-ang jinty.

 

As a point of interest. 3737 and 4624 double headed the Royal Train from Weymouth to Portland in 1959 on the occasion of  the visit of the late Queen and the then Prince Charles to visit the naval base and take a short cruise on HMS Eagle.

 

Barry

[Pierview]

Both 1366's now completed and running satisfactorily and here are the two little chaps waiting to be painted. The weather will have to warm up before that can happen though!

 

 

Barry

 

 

 

 

[Pierview]

After a concerted effort over the last couple of weeks the 1366 twins are now complete. 

 

 

 

I should have liked to provide a few more subtle detail differences, such as different BR crests, but  as it was these two only ever carried the early "cycling lion" emblem. 

 

 

 

 

The DJH kit makes a good representation of the prototype and I think it is one of their better kits. 

 

 

 

So I now have the complete class!

 

Barry

[Pierview]

Here we have all 6 of them! 

 

 

 

Mad or what?

 

Barry

[GernBlanstonShow]

I've been considering picking up one of the last 1366 kits and a matching DJH motor and drivetrain.

 

Have you had these running on First radius curves? I would want to use it on my compact layout. What wheels would you suggest if someone were to do this kit today?

Have you tried the DJH drivetrain in one or just the high level ones you've mentioned?

Lastly I've never fashioned pickups myself, was that difficult on this model?

 

(My previous experience: fully completed an American Mantua 2-10-0 1970's era kit)

[Pierview]

14 hours ago, GernBlanstonShow said:

I've been considering picking up one of the last 1366 kits and a matching DJH motor and drivetrain.

 

Have you had these running on First radius curves? I would want to use it on my compact layout. What wheels would you suggest if someone were to do this kit today?

Have you tried the DJH drivetrain in one or just the high level ones you've mentioned?

Lastly I've never fashioned pickups myself, was that difficult on this model?

 

(My previous experience: fully completed an American Mantua 2-10-0 1970's era kit)

 

My personal opinion is that the 1366 class loco is one of the better DJH kits and I had no problems with assembling any of mine.

 

The wheelbase is short on this class and I found that the model, just like the prototype, was quite at home on short radius curves. I can't speak for first radius curves but my 1366's cope well with the tight curves on my small dockside layout.

 

The original Romford wheels supplied with this kit have been improved by Markits and are now more accurate with a finer profile. I would recommend them as being the best and easiest option.

 

Although I used High Level gearboxes and motors on 1366 and 1371, my other 4 members of the class have a variety of motors, including one with a Portescap. However 1370 was built using a DJH unit which I found to be very satisfactory  and easy to fit.

 

Regarding pick ups these can come in a variety of forms and I would recommend Iain Rice's book  "Chassis construction in 4mm" This gives a number of easily produced solutions for the modeller.  Generally for under chassis pick ups I use a couple of pieces of circuit board fixed to the underside of the frames .  Sometimes I solder a buzz bar of wire (about paper clip diameter) to these and solder in turn the fine wire pick ups to this. In certain instances I solder the wires direct to the circuit board but there are any number of variations, some of which have been described by others on this forum.  It is not that difficult but care and time taken will give the rewards in terms of performance.

 

 Good luck if you decide to go for it and I look forward to seeing the results!

 

Barry

Edited March 2 by Pierview
grammar

[GernBlanstonShow]

Welp my package from Ellis Clark just arrived, I went for the kit and motor!

 

I still want to get a few bits for kitbuilding; like a jig and a copy of one of Iain Rice's books you recommended.

 

Part of the reason I went for it is that I found what color I would paint the model. I know the modern GWR scheme the South Devon railway did (for 1369's last service in 2017) is definitely out there, but I fell in love with the particular green color. While I have mostly BR era schemes similar to you Barry, this color really inspired me. I'll look at either matching the modern GWR lettering or possibly doing a BR crest, but the bright Green-blue color is 100% for sure.

 

I appreciate your feedback Barry, looking to get wheels and axle covers from Markits and get to it!

 

 

[Pierview]

36 minutes ago, GernBlanstonShow said:

Welp my package from Ellis Clark just arrived, I went for the kit and motor!

 

I still want to get a few bits for kitbuilding; like a jig and a copy of one of Iain Rice's books you recommended.

 

Part of the reason I went for it is that I found what color I would paint the model. I know the modern GWR scheme the South Devon railway did (for 1369's last service in 2017) is definitely out there, but I fell in love with the particular green color. While I have mostly BR era schemes similar to you Barry, this color really inspired me. I'll look at either matching the modern GWR lettering or possibly doing a BR crest, but the bright Green-blue color is 100% for sure.

 

I appreciate your feedback Barry, looking to get wheels and axle covers from Markits and get to it!

 

 

It is an attractive livery but of course quite fictitious! The South Devon painters were having a bit of fun with their take on modern GWR livery before the loco came out of service. The locomotive 1369 actually managed to retain "Great Western" lettering on its side tanks until 1961 when it was repainted in BR livery. That didn't last too long though as it passed into preservation in the mid 1960's and was promptly repainted into GWR green.

 

Good luck with the model and it will be interesting  to hear how you get on.

 

Barry