Leaderboard

The tender has now acquired four sets of steps and all the springs and axleboxes and is beginning to look the part. Intermediate buffers and hoses still to do. Buffer heads will be fitted after painting. Dave.

So with the last parts of my degree finished, I can give myself a few weeks before I move to pastures new... So it's worth mentioning what has happened too me since writing and planning for the Hattons A3, I had a sudden realization that getting something such as a RTR A3 would actually cause more hassle than it would be practical. Of course the original intention for the A3 would be to operate at a friends garden railway. Which is still very much the case, however, in the time since finishing my degree it has become very clear to myself that getting something smaller for a operational layout would in fact be better, the cost of owning and running the A3 would in fact be harder as it would probably spend more time in the box rather than running, in addition it has allowed me to look into investing my money into more rolling stock, as plans develop for a kit of an LNER Sundry Van or LNER Fruit Van. So, much like previous projects where I have changed my mind, which I find myself fully entitled to do! History Briefly the J68's or GER C72 Class were built in 3 Batches of 10, producing a total of 30 engines, the first 10 were built for passenger services in mind ( Fitted with Screw link couplings, Screw reverser's, Vacuum and Air breaking) and the last 20 were build with shunting duties in mind. The first 10 are where my interest lie's, as the locomotives flexibility can allow the engine to pull small passenger & mixed freight trains. The Kit What has struck me is the ability to develop these kits, looking through the instructions it is very clear that a locomotive can in fact be modified to appear in multiple different forms, in this case the locomotive can have Ross Poppet Safety Valves, Ramsbottom Safety Valves, Condensing gear and GER or LNER type Chimney's. It's very clear that attention to detail is key here, although most modelers would take this kit to the next step in development by looking to purchase extra components to adapt the model to look and perhaps operate to a higher standard. For those who follow my modelling and know my M.O. it was almost destined that I take the kit as it came and develop it further to become a better kit overall. Replacement parts This is where we begin with the first major parts that I am replacing between the kit and other small companies, in this case I have replaced the buffers from the white metal versions to turned brass & sprung buffers by Markits for GER Tank Engine Locomotives. The next major change has come in the form of the couplings, as Connoisseur produce a basic coupling for show more than anything else, however I went to H&A models and got myself some working screw link couplings. The final major part which I have replaced is from Ragestone Models, in which case we have the replacement Ramsbottom Safety valves next to there counter part and the replacement reversing wheel, regulator & gland. The only part not being used is the GE whistle which can be used for other project's in the future. Frames Any solid base for a model or even a real locomotive lie's in the frames, as per the instructions we will focus on the frames and get them to a good state before I even look at doing the body. surprisingly this was rather easy to sort out. However this being my first O gauge kit I thought right I'll take my time anyway. I am rather impressed how quickly the instructions move to get the frames together for the loco, after 4 major segments of the instructions I had the frames together and ready for major assembly. Swiftly moving to fitting the rest bar the brakes everything was rather straight forward. Body Following this the body was a pure joy to build nothing too complex other than the beading which fits into the cabsides and the smokebox but after stopping and thinking all came together rather easy. The tanks all fairly easy to put together. All in all it has been rather enjoyable to get the kit to this point. The kit is very quick moving once you reach this point Anyway that's all for part 1 I will produce part 2 tomorrow and bring you up to date as to how the locomotive looks right now... Thanks Tom

On a number of occasions over the years, I have posted comments indicating my dis-satisfaction with the ‘Mainline’ Dean Goods that is currently serving on my North Leigh layout. It’s really too late for my period, with Belpaire firebox and other details that place it long after the turn of the century. My model Dean Goods at North Leigh I have recently been following Mikkel’s conversion of a ‘Belpaire’ Dean Goods into an earlier ‘round-top’ version and have thought of following suit but several events have sent me towards modelling an Armstrong Standard goods instead. As readers of my Broad Gauge (BG) blog will know, my BG models were inspired by the knowledge that one of my wife’s ancestors was based at Bullo Pill at the time of a major accident in 1868. The official accident report provided me with ‘recipes’ for building two ‘authentic’ GWR trains of the period: an express mail train and a goods cattle train. Since then, however, more research into the family history has revealed a number of other engines that were driven by members of the family and one of these was (standard gauge) Armstrong Goods No.684 (built 1872). As I thought about this, I realised that I had completely forgotten about having commented last year on ‘RosiesBoss’s conversion of the ‘Mainline’ model. Looking again at his version, I thought it also looked too ‘late’ for my modelling period, so I decided it was time to go back to some basic research. Armstrong’s Standard Goods The Standard Goods started life as the ‘388 class’ in 1866 and set a pattern which was closely followed by Armstrong’s successor, William Dean, with his own well-known ‘Goods’ class. The Armstrong version had a slightly longer wheelbase (by 2 inches) and a boiler that was 9” longer (at 11 feet), although the engine was a little shorter overall, owing to a much smaller footplate for the enginemen. The earliest engines had no cabs but these were added from 1879 onwards. As was usual with long-lived GWR engines, a long list of modifications was made at both the Swindon and Wolverhampton works, resulting in a bewildering number of variants. If only GWR engines really did all look the same, as some commentators have suggested! To build a model, the first thing I needed was a reasonable drawing and I soon found that there are several pitfalls that I shall record briefly. I first turned to Russell’s ‘Pictorial Record of GW Engines’, which contains several photos and drawings of these engines but they all show examples after they had been re-built with many Dean-type features, including large domes and shorter chimneys. I tried tracing some drawings from this book to compare the dimension with the Dean Goods and realised that they are not always reproduced accurately. When looking at a drawing by Maskelyne, it became obvious that the vertical dimensions as printed did not match the horizontal scale. Because of this, the boiler pitch appears very similar to the Dean Goods, whereas at should be 3½” lower, which makes a noticeable difference to the appearance of the prototypes. Next, I turned to Holcroft’s ‘Ouline of GW Locomotive Practice’, where I found a good side-on illustration of engine No.31 (built in 1872) with a cab but still with the smaller type of dome as originally fitted. This book also contains a drawing of Armstrong’s earlier goods engine, No.361. By E.L.Ahrons. When I overlaid this drawing onto the photo of No. 31, it was clear that they were virtually identical above the footplate, so I decided to use this drawing as a basis for designing my model. The earlier design had a shorter wheelbase to the leading axle and a different design of safety valve cover My plan is to use the technique I used for my model of a Broad Gauge ‘Gooch Standard Goods’, with a length of brass tube to provide a strong structural component around which I shall 3D-print the other features, such as smoke box front and backplate. I have not yet decided on the chassis. The wheelbase is so close to the ‘Dean Goods’ that I may look to use a commercial chassis. My intention is to present my model in the livery introduced in 1881. This was the first move away from the original Holly Green and also introduced Indian Red frames and orange chrome lining. At that stage, the wheels remained green, although this was changed to red a few years later. I have colourised an early photograph to show the effect I wish to achieve: My coloured impression of Armstrong Goods No.31, c.1881 I have taken the plunge and made a plan. In succeeding posts, I hope to follow through to a complete model – it may take some time Mike

Over the weekend and Monday evening I pressed on with a bit more work on the Roxey Mouldings coaches I've been making. As covered earlier, the first of these is a brake third which I mostly finished last year, and the one on the right is a composite which I've made in the last week or so. Weirdly, the composite went together without any head-scratching, whereas I had to resort to a bit of guesswork with the brake. I was puzzled as to why this should be the case do decided to have a closer look at the contents. It turned out that the brake had been packed with the wrong instructions! Obviously they were still mostly relevant or I'd have been all at sea but I thought it odd that they made no mention of the corridor connections and left me in the dark with regard to the trussing arrangements. Other than the fact that you need to raid the scrap box for a few vital bits (I think queen posts are part of the basic structure of a coach, so should be included in the parts, similarly with cornice and rain strips) these are very good kits that go together without any difficulty whatsoever. The parts all fit straight off the etch and there's no need for any fettling beyond trimming back locating tabs and maybe opening up a hole or slot a smidge. With the first one, I followed the guidelines about forming the tumblehome. This involves forming the tumblehome first, then making a sharp fold beneath it for the lip or ledge which abuts the chassis. As I was forming the latter, though, I found that the lower beading at the base of the tumblehome was starting to crease inwards. With the second one, I took the route of partially forming the ledge first, then forming the tumblehome, then going back and completing the fold for the ledge. This seemed to work a bit better so I'll try to keep it in mind for the next one! I'm perfectly happy with the brake but it's one area where I wanted to improve things on the next build. Both roofs are now fitted and fixed in place and I've begun detailing and final finishing. There are no seats so these will need to be provided. Again, I tend to feel that some provision for these should be in included in a kit, although I know that many kits don't. But the Comet, Slaters and PC kits I've made did include seats so I've taken that to be the norm. I think I might be able to get away with some very basic scratchbuilding as there just needs to be a hint of the seats' presence through the windows. They''re not like Centenary coaches where the interiors are easily visiblle. Hope this has been of interest to anyone looking at the Roxey range. They made some good albums as well. Cheers!