RosiesBoss Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Introduction My GWR and BR(W) model loco collection includes representatives of most GWR 4-6-0s: Saint, Hall, Star, Castle, King, Manor. However, it did not include a (Hawkesworth) County. As such a loco wouldn’t see a lot of use on my layout, I chose not to buy an Airfix/Dapol/Hornby RTR model. (I couldn’t justify the expense – around A$180.) However, when the GBL model appeared, I decided to buy one to motorise, using as much of the static model as possible, together with (mainly) bits and pieces from my scrapbox. Please note that this project’s aim was to have fun by turning a static model into one that could haul trains of appropriate size and fit into the rest of my collection. It was not intended to be a fine-scale model – accurate in every respect for display in a glass case. As manufactured, the model is a bit of a mixture of periods. It displays: GWR livery (1946-48) Speedo (from early 1950s) Single chimney (pre-Nov 1956) I did briefly consider using a chassis from another RTR model, as I have done with several others (see Refs 7 to 13). When compared with prototype dimensions, the coupled wheelbase turned out to be spot-on at 7’0”+7’9”. This meant that about the only commercial chassis that might be suitable were found under modern Hornby or Bachmann models, whose likely price would defeat the object of a low-cost project, as I did not have one of these in my scrapbox. One alternative considered was to make the chassis from ½” x ½” brass channel, as I used in some earlier projects. On reflection, this would have taken about as much work as modifying the existing die-cast chassis, so the latter was the direction taken. In early BR days, the class was painted in lined black. The class began to be repainted in lined green from May 1955. Most images I have seen of this class in single-chimney condition and green livery display the second BR emblem. However, page 53 of Ref. 6 has a great shot of 1026 taken in 1956 with the first BR emblem, so that is the finish I chose to adopt for my model. Parts List GBL County model Cylinders from Airfix 61XX (same as Hornby part X8886) Slidebars, crosshead & connecting rod from Hornby 28XX (X8834) Brass bar for coupling rods Romford 24mm driving wheels, crankpins & axles Small generic open-frame motor (equivalent to Hornby Type 7) Brass gearbox (designed for DS10 motor and left over from recently constructed Craftsman kit used for Barry Railway G class) Romford gears Front bogie frame (from unknown whitemetal kit) 12mm dia front bogie wheels (Gibson) 16mm dia tender wheels (Hornby X8074) Brass handrail knobs (various commercial) Phos. Bronze wire for handrails & power pickups PC board for power pickups Humbrol enamels HMRS transfers Marker lamps (Springside) Crew (Preiser 14014) Construction – Chassis As received, the GBL chassis is one piece: even including the front bogie! The plastic cylinders are disappointing, having vertical sides, rather than the more characteristic GWR shape. I chose to replace these with cylinders left over from a repair to an Airfix 61XX. These had lost their plastic slidebars, but had the right shape and included valve spindles and drain pipes. They were repaired using slidebars sold as spares for the tender-drive Hornby 28XX. Matching crossheads and connecting rods were also set aside for this project. After removing the cylinders and motion, undersized axle holes were drilled through the centres of each dummy driving wheel. These were then carefully opened up to 1/8” diameter, ensuring that they were perpendicular to the chassis and parallel to each other. The dummy driving wheels were then ground off. Romford wheels/axles were test fitted and clearances adjusted to provide free rotation. The front of the chassis was then filled with 5-minute Araldite to provide future reinforcement. Before further changes were made, the front body/chassis mounting screw hole (now covered by Araldite) was drilled through for further use. The matching mounting pillar on the underside of the body was also shortened to ensure a good match. The front of the chassis was then modified to accept the Airfix cylinder block and the dummy bogie wheels were ground off. It now looked like this: A swing-link for the front bogie was fabricated from brass strip and a hole drilled and tapped 8BA into the chassis for it to pivot on. The front of the chassis was then modified to provide room for the wheels to swing when the model was negotiating curves. This was done gradually, with much trial and error until it was just right. With driving wheels and cylinders fitted, the chassis now looked like this: The motor was now assembled to the mounting frame and a suitable location determined: the middle axle, with the motor forward of that, but concealed between the wheel splashers. This preserved the gap under the front of the boiler but still left two original body/chassis screw holes available. A slot was opened up under the middle axle, to provide room for the Romford gear. The motor/gears/frame assembly was then fitted to the axle and wheels refitted. The driving wheels were drilled and tapped 10BA and crankpins installed. Coupling rods were now fabricated from brass strip and adjusted until any binding was eased. The Hornby connecting rods were modified by soldering brass behind the oversized big-end bearing, then new smaller holes drilled to be a good fit on the Romford crankpins. With motion dry-assembled, the chassis looked like this: The chassis was then dismantled again for painting. Once this had cured, Romford washers were soldered to the crankpins, which were then trimmed back. It was then found that small “joggles” had to be made into the connecting rods to clear the front crankpins. The chassis now looked like this: The next task was to design and fabricate power pickups to all six driving wheels. I chose to mount a piece of printed circuit board between the dummy springs, to which I soldered 26 SWG phos bronze wire. This was attached to the chassis by means of the rear self-tapping screw holding the chassis to the body. Thin insulated wires were taken through the disused hole under the front axle to the motor. As seen in many earlier images, the loco/tender coupling is a rigid bar. This was cut off and a brass replacement fabricated. This was mounted on a thickened section of the base of the chassis, which had been drilled and tapped 10BA, A slot was opened up in the rear of the chassis to facilitate the brass bar to move from side to side, pivoting off a 10BA screw which was inserted from the top and locknutted in place. A spare 6BA nut was used as a spacer between the bar and the base of the chassis. Construction – Tender and Body The metal tender chassis was removed and discarded. The top of the body was unscrewed from the lower (dummy) frames. Redundant spigots were shipped off the underside of the frames. Dimples behind the axleboxes were carefully deepened with a 2mm drill. The outer ones were fitted with brass bearings so that 2mm dia pinpoint axles were a good fit. (The inner bearing holes were left as enlarged to facilitate movement of the inner axle around curves.) Hornby tender wheels were transferred to spare pinpoint bearing axles and test fitted. It was found that they fouled the internal wheel splashers moulded into the underside of the floor of the tender, so these were cut out. The wheels then were able to rotate freely. A tension-lock coupling was fitted to the rear of the tender. Redundant spigots were snipped off the underside of the loco footplate. Small slots were opened up in both footplate and boiler to make room for the motor/gearbox assembly. Moulded handrails were then removed from both loco and tender bodies. New handrails were fabricated from phos bronze wire, fitted with new brass knobs where required and then mounted on the bodies. The centre of the chimney was drilled out. New lamp brackets were made from domestic staples and fitted. Sheet lead ballast was inserted into some voids in the chassis and boiler to improve traction, but not so much as to prevent wheelslip (and consequent stalling of the motor). The model was then repainted and new transfers fitted, as appropriate to early 1956. Fresh coal and a crew completed the model. Results On test, the model could just haul four Bachmann Collett coaches. This is a little disappointing, but should improve after some running-in. If not, I may consider re-motoring with a more powerful unit. Nevertheless, 1014 doesn’t look too bad when seen with her cousins. Here she is, lined up outside her shed, alongside 7827, 6007, 4081 and 7812: Reflections The only item specially bought for this project was the GBL model, which cost A$19.95. Everything else came from my stock of spares and bits and pieces – all bought cheaply as and when they became available over many years. I guess the cost of these bits would not have exceeded A$30, bringing the total cost to around A$50 – somewhat cheaper than the local price of a new Hornby model. I began construction on 29 Nov 2016 and continued (in spare time) until completion on 21 Jan 2017. The project provided much needed mental stimulation and relaxation – far more satisfying to this modeller than simply opening a red/yellow or blue box! References & Relevant Links Anon.: “The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway: Part 8 – Modern Passenger Classes” (2nd ed., 1960, RCTS) Anon.: “The Locomotives of the Great Western Railway: Part 12 – A Chronological and Statistical Survey” (RCTS, 1974) E.L.Cornwell (ed.): Locomotives Illustrated – Their Life and Time: No.8 – Counties of the GWR” (Ian Allen, 1976) John Lewis et al: “Great Western Way” (2nd ed., HMRS, 2009) http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/115437-gwr-ex-barry-railway-g-class-0-4-4t/ Hugh Ballantyne: “Western Steam in Colour 2” (Ian Allen, 1990) http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/67786-gwr-1376-ex-bristol-exeter-0-6-0t-project/ http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/72460-gwr-1331-ex-whitland-cardigan-0-6-0st-project/ http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/103776-motorise-gbl-stephensons-rocket/ http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/96216-motorise-gbl-city-of-truro/ http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/67037-motorising-a-kitmaster-stirling-single/ Post 14 here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/59875-motorising-kitmaster-08/ Post 4 here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/76129-airfix-park-royal-railbus/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiebrfan Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Well done mate, very well thought out and executed. Really enjoyed the blow by blow info and photos showing what you did. Regards Glenn Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castle Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Hi Rosie's Boss, That is a great piece of authentic kit and RTR bashing! Nice job. In many ways, not unlike a smaller version of what the County Set at Didcot are doing to build No. 1014 Mk. II: http://www.gwcountyproject.org.uk/index.html All the best, Castle Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowanj Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 That's an ingenious way to produce a working chassis, which I would never have thought of. I did base my City of Truro on your work and it was a pleasant break from other modelling. I have a D11 chassis from theGBL series, so may have a bash at seeing if I can get a motor into it. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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