scanman Posted April 3, 2011 Share Posted April 3, 2011 Dear all Last Xmas my father-in-law very generously provided me with the wherewithal to purchase the 'Finney' (4mm) kit of a Bulldog & 3000 gal tender. It is intended for use on my layout with a time-span of 1920-1930 (some of you may remember a discussion on the merits of various versions of the Bulldog kits on this very forum). Until today it has resided in my 'Wundy box' (wunday I'll get around to building it). However, it has become obvious that father in law (who is 87 years old) is not the man he was even at Xmas - and therefore the need to build the loco is somewhat pressing. I've not had time to fully research the model, and would now like to enlist the help of the group chasing down those references. The loco is intended to be built as 3448 'Kingfisher' and any help will be gratefully acknowledged. Those of you who have seen a similar request on the 'GWR E-list' and 'GWRSG E-list' may still care to comment here for the benefit of those wh are not members of those lists! As is my practice, the build will feature on the 'Upton Dene' blog on RMWeb Kindest regards, Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffalo Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 Ian, Not sure what information you have already but, from a quick look at the relevant RCTS volume, it appears that 3448 was built with a D3 boiler in Dec 1909. superheated in Feb 1911, had a new type of cylinders with piston valves in Dec 1915. She was fitted with a D2 boiler in Feb 1911, a D3 in Dec 1918, a D2 in Apr 1925 and a D3 in Oct 1928 and was withdrawn in Jan 1949. Top feeds were fitted to most of the class from 1911/12 and the tapered cast iron chimneys appeared around 1920. The most obvious difference in your period is the boiler. The D2 was the short-coned or half-coned type and the D3 was the three-quarter coned type. HTH Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePipersSon Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 Sorry if I'm stating the obvious, but 'Kingfisher' is part of the sub-class 'Birds' within the 'Bulldog' class. That means deeper side frames, and screw reverse (instead of lever?). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffalo Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 Tom, Martin Finney does two different Bulldog kits, a straight and a curved frame version. I'm assuming Ian has the straight framed version which includes provision for the deeper Bird frames. Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scanman Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 Ian, Not sure what information you have already but, from a quick look at the relevant RCTS volume, it appears that 3448 was built with a D3 boiler in Dec 1909. superheated in Feb 1911, had a new type of cylinders with piston valves in Dec 1915. She was fitted with a D2 boiler in Feb 1911, a D3 in Dec 1918, a D2 in Apr 1925 and a D3 in Oct 1928 and was withdrawn in Jan 1949. Top feeds were fitted to most of the class from 1911/12 and the tapered cast iron chimneys appeared around 1920. The most obvious difference in your period is the boiler. The D2 was the short-coned or half-coned type and the D3 was the three-quarter coned type. HTH Nick Hi Nick - Thanks for that - those books are like gold-plated hensteeth & thanks for the detailed info. Looks like I'll be going for the D3 boiler - CraigW on this site has sent me a nice image of the loco 'in flight' in 1924! Sorry if I'm stating the obvious, but 'Kingfisher' is part of the sub-class 'Birds' within the 'Bulldog' class. That means deeper side frames, and screw reverse (instead of lever?). Tom, Tom - Thanks for that - I was aware (& as Nick has guessed) I bought the deep-framed version from Mr Finney. Martin Finney does two different Bulldog kits, a straight and a curved frame version. I'm assuming Ian has the straight framed version which includes provision for the deeper Bird frames. Nick If either of you are interested, the blog site is up - 'A very British Bulldog' and the tender is in 'A Shop' now! Thanks to you both, Regs Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach bogie Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 One curiosity with the Birds (and some others), when paired with the wide 3,500 tenders in the 1930's the base of the cab sides (part with handrail) were altered to curve outwards as if to match the width of the tenders. Prior to this, there had been issues with airflow in the gap between the cab and tender sides. The revised sides deflected airflow away from the tender, preventing dust etc blowing back into the cab. Dukedogs/Earls were built with this feature, still visible on preserved 9017. Mike Wiltshire Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scanman Posted April 7, 2011 Author Share Posted April 7, 2011 Mike - Thanks for that tip - I've got plans to do a Dukedog as well. Nearly got one on Ebay the other week.. Wonder what Bachmann's will be like & whether High Level will do a chassis for it?? Regs Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craigw Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 One curiosity with the Birds (and some others), when paired with the wide 3,500 tenders in the 1930's the base of the cab sides (part with handrail) were altered to curve outwards as if to match the width of the tenders. Prior to this, there had been issues with airflow in the gap between the cab and tender sides. The revised sides deflected airflow away from the tender, preventing dust etc blowing back into the cab. Dukedogs/Earls were built with this feature, still visible on preserved 9017. Mike Wiltshire There are 3 photos of kingfisher (no less!) in More 4mm engines on page 14 and two of them show the turn out of the rear of the cab side sheet very nicely. regards, Craig Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted April 7, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 7, 2011 (re RCTS Locos of The GWR) Thanks for that - those books are like gold-plated hensteeth & thanks for the detailed info. Looks like I'll be going for the D3 boiler - CraigW on this site has sent me a nice image of the loco 'in flight' in 1924! Ian Actually they are quite easy to find if you know where to look Only last Friday I was looking at most of the series - except of course for the one that I need to complete the set - in a secondhand bookshop and I know of at least one other dealer who seems to usually have some of them in stock apart from the rare ones. And in neither case are they exhorbitantly expensive; the last time I saw a complete set they were priced at £140 but, very much in line with that, individual copies rarely come out at much more than a tenner for one in fairly good/very good condition. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scanman Posted April 10, 2011 Author Share Posted April 10, 2011 Actually they are quite easy to find if you know where to look Only last Friday I was looking at most of the series - except of course for the one that I need to complete the set - in a secondhand bookshop and I know of at least one other dealer who seems to usually have some of them in stock apart from the rare ones. And in neither case are they exhorbitantly expensive; the last time I saw a complete set they were priced at £140 but, very much in line with that, individual copies rarely come out at much more than a tenner for one in fairly good/very good condition. Just checked 'Amazon' & 'Bill Hudson' - ordered 3 for £30 from BH (about £7 saving on Amazon) - 'The 2-cylinder loco's, Absorbed engines 1922-47, and the '4-coupled tank engines'. Shame - if I could have bought them through RMWeb it would have been better. However I have just purchased Russells 'Absorbed Engines' through it - will help when I get back to the MSWJR loco. Regs Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.