Dock Green

[chaz]

No stopping you posting photos now Chaz, looks like finding the RMweb image load was a positive.

 

 

Certainly was. I have loads of photos on my hard drive and I am quite happy to pop a few onto RMweb every now and then.

 

Chaz

[chaz]

The Locos of Dock Green 5 - D5612

 

D5612 is a model of a Brush type 2 - a class that was long lived and was later given the TOPS code 31 and painted blue. “The Brushes” (I never heard them called “toffee apples”) appeared on the ECML in 1962 - so having one run alongside steam is an anachronism but I claim protection under rule one!

 

At the time that I decided on a Brush type 2 for my O gauge layout the only choice was the DJH kit. I wasn’t interested in building this myself so I asked DJH to build it for me. Had I have waited a few years I could have save a lot of money by buying the Heljan model. The model ran for a few years on my home layout before I decided to use it on Dock Green and at that point I realised I would have to weather it if it was to fit in.

 

 

That first photo shows the pristine model on my “lazy Susan”. It’s much too heavy to be repeatedly picked up and turned.

 

 

An essential first step was to search for as many photos of the locos in green in service as I could find. To make a convincing job of a weathering project it helps a lot to look at the real thing.

 

 

 

My first move was to paint the roof all over with a layer of grime - I used a mix of leather and matte black. I cleaned this off again with cotton buds and white spirit, leaving grime around any raised detail and any streaks were vertical. 

 

 

 

Next I used the airbrush to add the characteristic brake dust along the bottom of the body and the bogies etc below it and the black, smokey patches on the roof.

 

 

 

Looking closely at prototype photos I added some oil spills. These seem to leak out from panel joins and access hatches. Brushing on white spirit and then thinned gloss black lets the stains spread on the surface just as oil does in reality.

 

The last three snaps are of the model on Dock Green. It certainly has presence.

 

 

 

 

Looking at that last photo I realise there is one characteristic feature that I forgot to include when I did the weathering - the caked black grease that was plastered on the buffer faces. 

 

Chaz

 

[sb67]

Enjoyed that last set of pics. D5612 is my favourite Dock Green loco.

Steve.

[keefr2]

Steve beat me to it - I was going to say the exact same thing!

 

Really lovely model, perfectly set off by your excellent weathering Chaz!

 

Keith

[chaz]

Enjoyed that last set of pics. D5612 is my favourite Dock Green loco.

Steve.

 

 

Steve beat me to it - I was going to say the exact same thing!

 

Really lovely model, perfectly set off by your excellent weathering Chaz!

 

Keith

 

Favourite loco? That's allowed chaps!

 

I was thirteen when these first appeared, working from the brand new diesel depot at Finsbury Park (34G) and I hated them! They seemed so dull and ordinary after the steam locos they replaced.

 

Chaz

[sb67]

As my local station is on the GE mainline and not far from Stratford I grew up seeing a fair few of these, albeit in BR blue. I think they look very good in green and agree with Keith, the weathering really set's it off.

Steve. 

[chaz]

Another interlude, this featuring some of the wagons.

 

 

These are the two vans I have in white, both lettered "INSUL MEAT". It's essential that this livery be weathered if it is to look convincing.

 

 

These oil tankers are relative unsophisticated models from the Bachmann Brassworks range. The easy way to do the spilled oil effect from the filler hatch on a tanker is to wet the surface first with thinners or white spirit. Then thinned gloss black is added around the filler and it will run down behind ladders and other details leaving the required effect.

 

 

There are a few open wagons on Dock Green with tarpaulins stretched over loads. I made these with black sugar paper which I first crumpled really tightly into a ball. They are tied in place with button thread. As none of the wagons have rope hooks (and I couldn't be bothered to fit 'em) I tied the "ropes" to buffer housings etc. Against the rules but search out photographs of open wagons and you can often see the cut ends of ropes still tied to such places. The black paper has faded over the years to a convincing worn grey.

 

 

Hang on - isn't that an ex-GNR horse box? What's that doing there? All gone before 1950 and NEVER painted in BR crimson. I built this van from the excellent D & S etched brass kit. Every part fitted so nicely it was started on a Saturday morning and finished (apart from paint) before tea-time the following day.

 

 

The last snap of this batch shows wagons standing on the headshunt; the yard pilot must be out of sight to the left. The lowered track between the hut and the wagons is the grade that (supposedly) runs down to the industrial estate. I included the grade (about 1 in 30) for its visual effect. The safety railings were soldered up from brass angle (drilled on a jig) and brass wire.

 

The arched retaining wall behind the wagons is removed when the layout is broken down to move as it spans a baseboard join. 

 

Chaz

 

 

 

 

 

[railwayrod]

Chaz. Really enjoyed the series on "The Locos of Dock Green" especially the "B & W" ones which really took me back to the days of my boyhood and the books of the 1950's & 60s. Great work and craftsmanship.

 

Rod

[chaz]

The Locos of Dock Green 6 - D8025

 

In 1957 I was 8 years old. I was train-spotting on Welwyn Garden City station with my father, watching the constant parade of Pacifics, B1s, V2s, N2s, L1s etc when an English Electric Type 1 appeared on a Luton bound passenger train - the first diesel loco I ever saw. It seems barely believable now so I was reassured to see photos of just such workings in the Oakwood Press book “The Hatfield, Luton and Dunstable Railway”. When the class appeared in the Heljan range I had to have one.

 

I weathered my model in much the same way as I did the Brush type 2. Again I made use of my lazy susan to avoid the need to handle this very heavy model too much. 

 

 

My techniques were much the same as I used on the Brush type 2.

 

 

 

I used Humbrol gunmetal to get a diesel spill on the fuel tank.

 

 

Having checked through my photo catalogue I couldn't find many pictures of D8025 working on Dock Green. Next time I do a show I will try to get plenty. For now this will have to do...

 

 

Chaz

Edited July 22, 2017 by chaz

[sb67]

Liking the green diesels, that looks great.

Steve.

[chaz]

another interlude.... a pot-pourri of snaps 

 

 

 

 

One of the locos in this photo will be the next to be feature in "The Locos of Dock Green" series.

 

Chaz

[chaz]

The Locos of Dock Green 7 - 68891

 

68891 is a J50/1. As some of you have said you like B & W shots…

 

 

The real loco was one of the 157 series, built in 1914 at Doncaster by the GNR and numbered 158. It was renumbered 3158 and then 8891 by the LNER. It had a brief moment of fame in 1946 when it was painted in LNER green, the only J50 to be so treated. It spent a few years at Hornsey and was withdrawn from there in 1961.

 

 

My model (seen above with a test fit of the tank/cab side) was built from a McGowan kit (not to be confused with Jim McGeown who does the excellent Connoisseur kits). I bought the kit at a local show as a second-hand item - some parts had been separated from the fret and one joint had been (very badly) soldered. I assume that somebody had decided that they couldn’t cope and had given up on what I can only describe as an awful kit. I replaced many parts and modified others to get the model finished. 

 

 

The join on a real J50’s cab side was halfway up the “window”; you can often see it on photos. The etched parts put the join above the opening, where it would be on the tightest part of the curve. Not good. I cut off and discarded the top section (the bit you can see in the photo above) after I had soldered a temporary “strap” across the opening to keep everything in line.

 

 

In another example of very poor kit design the top of the boiler, the tank tops and the plate that covers the gaps between these was one piece of half-etched and far from flat brass. It went straight in the bin and I made five separate parts. The gap-filling plate, which I presume was there to stop ash and other dirt from dropping between tank and boiler and falling onto the valve gear, was an odd-shaped part with its front tapered to follow the slope of the tank tops. To get this shape I made a template from thin card.

 

 

There were parts for the coal cage some of which I used. I added three thin brass strips as supports. The side ones were bent into a “S”, the one at the back is straight, all three were soldered to the inside of the bunker. The existing parts seemed designed to butt to the top edge which would be a very weak join.

 

 

I put the front and centre axles in Slater’s hornblocks but rather than spring these I put in a compensating beam, filing the edges where the weight of the model is applied to the axles until the loco sat level. This arrangement allows the four wheels to follow any variations in rail height. The rigid rear axle keeps the loco upright.

 

Now, two snaps of 68891 working on Dock Green…

 

 

 

The two holes in the front plate below the smokebox should have "thistle" type lubricators. These were not included in the kit and I don't know of a source - can anybody help?

 

Chaz

Edited July 22, 2017 by chaz

[chaz]

The piece on 68891 concludes my list of the four six-coupled tank locos I built from brass kits that I have on Dock Green. Here's a snap of the next model which will  feature on "The Locos of Dock Green", also built from a brass kit.

 

 

There are a number of RTR locos which I have added to the stud, including four more industrials, which I will add to the series later.

 

 

My modelling focus has now switched to the On30 FVRR (follow link below if you dare) so I don't think there will be any more 7mm brass on my bench - there are only so many hours in a day - but there will be one further brass kit loco which I am having built by Heather Kay - more details on this model when it arrives. 

 

Chaz

 

 

[N15class]

 

 

 

The two holes in the front plate below the smokebox should have "thistle" type lubricators. These were not included in the kit and I don't know of a source - can anybody help?

 

Chaz

 

I would look at Laurie Griffin's web site I am sure he will have suitable ones.

Edited July 22, 2017 by N15class

[HeatherKay]

 

Well, it's taking shape. I'm reworking the boiler at the moment, but couldn't help posing the fittings. I would hope to have the bodywork fitted to the chassis next week. =o)

[Hal Nail]

 

 

My first move was to paint the roof all over with a layer of grime - I used a mix of leather and matte black. I cleaned this off again with cotton buds and white spirit, leaving grime around any raised detail and any streaks were vertical. 

 

 

 

Loving this series of your locos. What consistency do you put the grime on initially and do you mean you clean off immediately or later when dried?

[chaz]

Image 4.jpg

 

Well, it's taking shape. I'm reworking the boiler at the moment, but couldn't help posing the fittings. I would hope to have the bodywork fitted to the chassis next week. =o)

 

 

Terrific! That looks most encouraging - thanks.  I assume that odd little bit between the smokebox and the front sandbox is a temporary prop to keep the boiler at the right height for the photo?

 

Chaz

[HeatherKay]

Terrific! That looks most encouraging - thanks.  I assume that odd little bit between the smokebox and the front sandbox is a temporary prop to keep the boiler at the right height for the photo?

 

Chaz

The "odd little prop", believe it or not, is the cylinder block/saddle. Part of the reworking the boiler is because Muggins here forgot part of the smokebox wrapper is supposed to fit over the sides of the saddle!

 

I have to say the kit is proving to be somewhat of a challenge, but that's part of the fun.

[chaz]

Loving this series of your locos. What consistency do you put the grime on initially and do you mean you clean off immediately or later when dried?

 

Thanks. I thin the paint "a bit" so that it brushes on quickly but is still fairly opaque - having started at one end of the roof and got to the far end, I return to the start and clean it off. Letting it dry would make it much harder. I ought to say that I do this with enamels - I haven't tried it with acrylics so can't comment as to whether they would work. 

 

 

In the snap the RH end is the "grime mix" sloshed on. The LH (larger) part has been cleaned with cotton buds dampened (but not soaked) with white spirit. To get vertical streaks the cotton buds must be worked that way. This technique works really well on a matter surface where the roughness of the paint provides a key to retain more grime.

 

 

There are other ways to do this - you could add the paint where you want it and not put it on and clean it off - it's a question of trying techniques and using the ones that work for you. 

 

HTH

 

Chaz

[chaz]

The "odd little prop", believe it or not, is the cylinder block/saddle. Part of the reworking the boiler is because Muggins here forgot part of the smokebox wrapper is supposed to fit over the sides of the saddle!

 

I have to say the kit is proving to be somewhat of a challenge, but that's part of the fun.

 

 

I had another look at the photo and can see now what you mean.

 

We all have Muggins moments! In the past I have done an immaculate little assembly on a ground signal with some very fiddly parts that went very well with a neat result. I stood back to admire only to realise that they would have to come off because they were in the way. Needless to say putting them back later was a nightmare as I struggled to get the assembly back and accurate positioning didn't seem possible second time around. 

 

Chaz

[chaz]

The Locos of Dock Green 8 - “Susan"

 

“Susan” is a Peckett 0-4-0ST which I built from the excellent etched brass kit from the original Agenoria range. Why “Susan”? Well I was at a show with Sue and saw some Peckett kits on the Agenoria stand at a bargain price. I hesitated thinking I might buy, I might not. Exasperated by so much prevarication she threatened me with violence if I didn’t buy one, so what else could I call it?

 

 

A few snaps taken during the build.

 

The easiest way to compensate an 0-4-0 (and anyone who builds a rigid one must have more faith in the flatness of their track than I do) is to arrange for one rigid axle and the other free to rock.

 

 

In the photo above I am about to solder a pair of hornblocks into the frames. The jig axles have the coupling rods holding the spacing correct. The fore-and-aft rod that you can see under the axle (running in a tube) is the compensator. It will keep the axle at the correct height but free to rock.

 

 

Space is very limited behind the slide bars and crosshead so…

 

 

I modified the crank pin bushes for the front axle. I plugged the holes with brass tube and tapped them 12BA so that they could be screwed on reversed and would not need retaining nuts. I also put them up in the lathe and thinned the flange.

 

 

The photo above shows the model nearly finished - just the castings to add.

 

 

Susan brings three empty tankers up the grade from the estate…

 

 

…and shunts them into the loop.

 

 

Some time later the Peckett collects some wagons from the warehouse siding. With no crane the warehouse staff would have been somewhat perplexed by the container in that 5 plank!

 

Chaz

[chaz]

A signal interlude

 

When I built Dock Green one of my regrets was that a small goods yard, with all the points with hand-throw levers would have no signals or, at the most, a starter protecting the exit from the yard. In fact the most likely signal at the exit would be a ground disc or dolly. 

 

 

 

I had four working models of these which I had made for my (now dismantled) home layout. However I thought that positioned at the back of the layout a dolly would be very likely to be overlooked by most viewers.

 

 

Another possibility was a miniature shunt arm signal like the model above. I have seen photos of such signals used in situations like the exit from Dock Green. It’s a nice enough model but I didn’t fancy it on Dock Green.

 

 

Checking through my stock of signal parts I found enough parts to make an upper quadrant semaphore on a tapered post. I had made the latter from beech (a very hard, close grained wood) on a planer/thicknesser to which I had access when I was a design technology teacher.

 

 

The parts made up into a neat signal which I installed on Dock Green. I mounted the beech post in a piece of square brass tube. This slid into a socket made of the next size up tube so making the model easy to remove and replace.

 

 

Then I was checking through some folders on the computer and came across these snaps of the GN somersault I had made and which was stashed away in a cupboard.

 

 

I thought that the square tube base was the same size as the one on the bottom of the wooden post UQ signal and so it proved.  I tried swapping the signals. A definite improvement!

 

 

I had to modify the drive connections below the baseboard but a few tweeks and the somersault worked perfectly. A few somersault signals survived to the end of steam and it doesn't seem unlikely that one might do so in the yard at Dock Green.

 

Chaz

[chaz]

The Locos of Dock Green 9 - 60869

 

60869 is a V2. The real loco was built at Darlington in 1939, just a month before the declaration of war. It was numbered 4840 and later renumbered 869. From 1942 it was allocated to New England shed where it stayed until withdrawal in 1963. 

 

 

Green Arrow at Eastleigh looking every inch a speed machine. The V2s were always among my favourite locos and seeing the sole survivor, Green Arrow, a few times over the years inspired me to want a model. I didn’t want the hassle of building such a big machine so when DJH announced a batch build of V2s I didn’t hesitate. 

 

 

 

This is the loco as delivered. I’m sorry it’s such a poor photo but it’s all I have. It’s far too clean to be convincing and with bright unpainted motion - oh dear.

 

 

Now, as a New England loco it would get really filthy but I decided to lightly weather it to suggest it has only recently been out-shopped.

The wheels and motion I painted to look oily/greasy. I use gloss black with a hint of yellow (too much will give a too obvious green) to get a grease effect. 

I added a haze of soot (matte black) along the top of the boiler and a dirt stain on front end of tender side from the fireman washing down the footplate whilst the loco is moving.

All that lovely detail on the tender frames was revealed with dry brushing of dirt colours (but not rust on a well maintained loco). The red buffer beams I toned down with grime colours added as washes and dry brushing. 

 

 

Would anything as big as a V2 appear in Dock Green yard? Well, it would be unusual but not impossible. Some loco crisis at Hornsey and a V2 coming off a fitted freight in Ferme Park - might a harassed shed foreman have “borrowed” the loco for the short run with a trip freight? I suppose it would depend on a crew who were passed for this class of loco....

 

 

 

A high viewpoint lets us see the state of the footplate. That area beneath the smokebox door would get mucky very quickly.

 

 

I like operating this model. The 3-cylinder beat in the decoder (actually a German class 44 2-10-0) sounds good coupled with whistle sounds taken from videos of Green Arrow make it convincing. It's just a shame that one can't give the machine its head on Dock Green!

 

Chaz

 

 

[Siberian Snooper]

I was always under the impresion that if you could drive one loco you could drive them all, it's only the deseasels that you need type training.

[chaz]

I was always under the impresion that if you could drive one loco you could drive them all, it's only the deseasels that you need type training.

 

 

Maybe. But can you imagine a driver who has only ever driven 0-6-0 tanks being let loose on a V2? Or an inexperienced fireman without a clue trying to keep the beast steaming? Could be interesting. 

 

Chaz