Restoring a GWR "Tanner one-er" in 4mm - another E-bay rescue!

[Pierview]

This was intended to be my main summer project but got overtaken by the 54xx rebuild described here a few weeks ago. This Wills/SEF  61xx came from the same E-Bay source as the 54xx ,and was also minus wheels and motor. The body was missing a few bits, had some incorrect detail and had been given a thick coat of paint and gloss varnish. In short the type of project that I like to get my teeth into!

 

 

 

 

 

I began the restoration by dunking both body and frames into the dreaded Dettol bath. After a few days the frames were the first to emerge and after cleaning up only needed the cross wires for the brake shoes to be soldered into position. A High Level Slimliner + gearbox and Mashima 1420 motor were obtained and assembled in readiness for the chassis reconstruction.

 

 

 

The cylinders and slidebar assembly  required attention. As previously assembled, the slidebars were too short and the distinctive "G clamp" type cast support was missing altogether. A further dunking in paint stripper reduced the cylinder assembly to its component parts, which were then re-assembled with the slidebars  positioned to show the correct length. I found spare Comet etchings for the "G clamp" in my spares box and these were assembled and soldered in the correct position position. The crossheads were capable of re-use but the connecting rods were awful thick whitemetal castings, which was a trend followed by several kit manufacturers in the 1970's. I can't stand them so they went into my scrap whitemetal box with other horrors to be melted down for ballast weights at a later stage. Replacement connecting rods were a nice etched set from Brassmasters.  

 

 

 

 

The Markits wheels are on order and whilst awaiting their arrival I decided to get on with the body. When this emerged from a week in the Dettol bath it was covered in a thick sludge, and, whilst most of this washed off, it was still necessary for further treatment with paint stripper. This finished the job and also reduced the kit to its component pieces .After individual cleaning up of each part this is what I ended up with.

 

 

Re-assembly followed almost immediately and with all major parts being soldered together with low melt solder progress was quite rapid. The over sized hand rail holes have been filled for subsequent re-drilling and I will then move on to further detailing. Both cab steps had been snapped off and whilst one came with the loco as acquired the other was missing. I therefore fabricated a replacement from brass scraps as shown.

 

 

 

More to follow as progress proceeds.

 

Barry

Edited August 16, 2023 by Pierview
update

[wookey]

Lovely stuff :) - there’s something very satisfying about bringing something worn out or tired back to good order,  best of luck with the rest of the project, I’ll be keeping an eye out for the painting stage - thats the bit that brings me out in a sweat! 😂

[Pierview]

Whilst I was awaiting the arrival of the driving wheels I decided to press on and complete the loco body. This is contrary to my usual practice of achieving a running chassis first, but I didn't want to waste modelling time. The chimney that came with the model turned out to be a rather nice brass one, albeit of the wrong type. I think that it is for a 45xx small prairie so I reluctantly put it in the spares box. Its replacement was a white metal one which had arrived with another second hand kit and this looks more like the correct shape. The front boiler stay rods were missing so I fabricated replacements from brass wire. All handrails were renewed with smaller knobs where needed and I added the small extra ones over the front steps. The smokebox door handles looked too thick and were replaced with a Markits set. Lamp irons were made in my normal manner from office staples, and I added the 3 distinctive steps on the LH side bunker. I replace the cab steps including the replacement one I made earlier and added white metal sand boxes. As acquired the cab was missing regulator handle, reverser and hand brake column. The invaluable Mainly Trains cab details etch provided the first two items and I scratch built the hand brake using the ingenious method described by the late Iain Rice in one of his books. Holes were drilled for the replacement brass whistles but these will not be fitted until painting is completed.

 

 

 

 

I now look forward to getting it running again!

 

 

Barry

 

[Pierview]

With the arrival of the Markits wheels I have been able to crack on and get the chassis running. I found that the rear screw in chassis spacer fouled the final gear drive, so I removed it and replaced it with a suitable etched one. Brake shoes came from the invaluable Mainly Trains etch. I probably need to do a little tweaking to the chassis as it is not yet quite as smooth as I would like it to be.

 

 

Meanwhile, the body has been primed and is currently in the process of receiving its final coat together with lining. 

 

 

More to follow in due course.

 

Barry

[Captain Kernow]

I also very much like this kind of project and it's good to see the progress you are making.

 

 

(My own next loco project (to be described on my workbench thread) is the rebuilding of an old Iain Rice J72 0-6-0T, featuring a Mainline body and what seems to be the prototype test build for the Mainly Trains chassis kit that he designed for them).

 

[Pierview]

I have now completed the 61xx rebuild and have portrayed it in BR condition as 6151. I saw this loco at Paddington in the autumn of 1961 and still have the poor quality snapshot that I took that day. Recently I was able to obtain a better photograph taken the previous year and I worked to that.  6151 had  crests with both lions facing to the front of the loco, which was a short lived livery variant. It was later changed to both being left hand facing, but locos overhauled c. 1957 received the earlier version. Previously I have used HMRS lining transfers, but this time I used a bespoke large prairie set from Fox Transfers. I am pleased with the effect which I fancy is slightly finer than the HMRS type. 

 

 

A quite interesting summer project, albeit slightly expensive. Given the cost of wheels and motors these days this is largely unavoidable, but I don't mind on this occasion as the 61xx fills a gap in my collection. The total cost of the project also represents a considerable saving against starting with a new SEF kit. It might have been quicker though!

 

Barry