rowanj

Tony and others on RMWeb recently helped me put together an authentic rake for the Queen of Scots as running North of Leeds. Beyond Newcastle, it was a Haymarket turn, very often A3 hauled. I had a few parts lying around in various boxes, including a Hornby ex-tender drive body, a tender -drive tender body and a pair of broken-down motorised A3/4 chassis from the first of the run, So I suppose this is budget modelling, and has resulted in 60097, the one-off A3 with full-size smoke deflectors, Moulded handrails were replaced, tender body narrowed to fit a modern Hornby chassis, and a whistle, ashpan lever and lampirons fitted. Real coal came from the NYMR. Deflectors from Phoenix and nameplates from Fox were the only things bought for the job, because, of course, I don't count the cash I spent/wasted on the original buys which finished up in the spares box. Anyway, here is Humorist on the job I built her for, - budget modelling and evidence that a carved tender-drive A3 body can fit on the latest chassis, as someone asked a while ago.

Humorist heads the Up Queen of Scots towards Newcastle. Given the origin of the parts, I'll settle for it. The tender was re-lined and coaled with a lump from the NYMR. I added lamp irons, a whistle, ashpan lever and handrails to the tender-drive body. i also modified yje smokebox door, which had the later split handrails, Deflectors are from Phoenix Precision and nameplates from Fox.

It would be nice to identify the A3 in the photo above, Brian, but I can't help, I'm afraid. As I did the mod to get Humorist after realising I was short of Haymarket stock for my Queen of Scots, it seems apposite to show her on that working. Just s it passed, a North Tyneside EMU Parcels headed North on its' way to South Gosforth, via the ECML and the South-West curve at Benton Quarry, just beyond Little Benton North box.

Still work in progress, but "Humorist" is in sufficient condition to take a fully fitted freight North to Edinburgh. We always hoped to spot this unusual A3, and it is underlined in my book, but I can;t recall when or where I saw it. Certainly. Little benton is a possibility, but it could just as easily have been at Newcastle, Chathill, or Waverley, I suppose Carlisle is another option, either at Citadel or Canal, which was a doddle to "bunk" after a few hours spotting by Kingmoor, which wasn't!

The rake of NCB Internal User wagons heads South behind a Gateshead N10, a Dave Alexander kit. Althoug the NCG had running powers on lines in NE England, including parts of the nearby Blyth and Tyne, this, unfortunately for my modelling purposes, did not extend to the ECML. Nor do I have any justification for running the NCG rake, so I need to apply the dreaded Rule 1. The wagon behind the loco was away haing a couping replaced, so I took the oppertunity to add some weathering powder, using a photo of a wagon at Fenwick Pit on the Backworth Complex.

I could do with another A3 from 64B, so here is a "work in progress" on test, The chassis is made up from a couple of duds I had in the spares box. On one, I had the classic "out of gear" problem which these early ones suffered from, and on both, I had done my usual trick of not managing to refit the pickups properly. I disposed of the chip, and fitted wires directly from wire pickups to the wheels, soldered to PCB and Araldited to the plastic baseplate which represents the brakes. The trick is to get the contact between the motor and the chassis, Ipushed a small brass offcut into the gap below the lower brush holder to replace Hornby's method which uses a contact point on the chassis floor. The body is Pretty Polly, from, I think, a tender - drive China-built model. I have repkaced most of the moulded handrails on the cab and firebox, and will do the same on the smokebox door. It needs a whistke, vacuum stand, coupling hook and I;ll add an ABS banger plate. The tender chassis is Hornby, again from the spares box. The body is a tender-drive model, so I;ve cut and reassembled it to more accurate dimensions, and cut out the horrible coal moulding, In the past, I used to just cover it with real coal, but it is just too tall, designed as it was to clear the Ringfield motor. Encouaged by my pal SirWilliam Stanier, who has produced a great range of one-off versions of Royal Scots and Jubilees, this will become Humorist, with its' full-size smoke deflectors. Anyway, here it is on test, which I'm happy to say it passed.

I could do with another A3 from 64B, so here is a "work in progress" on test, The chassis is made up from a couple of duds I had in the spares box. On one, I had the classic "out of gear" problem which these early ones suffered from, and on both, I had done my usual trick of not managing to refit the pickups properly. I disposed of the chip, and fitted wires directly from wire pickups to the wheels, soldered to PCB and Araldited to the plastic baseplate which represents the brakes. The trick is to get the contact between the motor and the chassis, Ipushed a small brass offcut into the gap below the lower brush holder to replace Hornby's method which uses a contact point on the chassis floor. The body is Pretty Polly, from, I think, a tender - drive China-built model. I have repkaced most of the moulded handrails on the cab and firebox, and will do the same on the smokebox door. It needs a whistke, vacuum stand, coupling hook and I;ll add an ABS banger plate. The tender chassis is Hornby, again from the spares box. The body is a tender-drive model, so I;ve cut and reassembled it to more accurate dimensions, and cut out the horrible coal moulding, In the past, I used to just cover it with real coal, but it is just too tall, designed as it was to clear the Ringfield motor. Encouaged by my pal SirWilliam Stanier, who has produced a great range of one-off versins of Royal Scots and Jubilees, this will become Humorist, with its' full-size smoke deflectors. Anyway, here it is on test, which I'm happy to say it passed.

No7 on my NCB rake, a combination of Parkside and Slaters kits, and a couple of Dapol 21T hoppers. The mineral wagon-don't look too closely- is a scatchbuilt body on a Parkside chassis. At a recent visit to the NYMR, the J27 was in service. I saw lots of them, including this one on a trip to York in 1965,

And here it is on the layout.

Another NCB loco just out of my Works is the Hunslet J94 modified with a "Lambton Cab". No 7 is in careworn condition. I like the effect of Raimatch Weather Black over Halfords Red Primer if I am looking for a worn paint job rather than a "thick with rust and grime" effect.

Modelling wise, there isn't anything too exciting about this train. The L1 is a Darlington loco, and 3 of the 4 carriages are Hornby. At the rear, however, is an Isinglass kit of a Gresley 6-compartment brake. I suppose i should at least do some weathering. The lads at the fence, however, will be thrilled, L1's did get from Darlington, Saltburn and Richmond to Tyneside, but I have no evidence of them at Little Benton, This is either an SLS Special, or, more probably, was parked here rather than Heaton before heading home on the SO Newcastle-Richmond.

Not quite there yet, but this is more or less the condition of No 7 as in my photo of a sister loco in 1969. The 3D cab replacement was a simple swap. I got a detailing fret from RT Models, but only used the spectatcle plates and cab surrounds. The etch is excellent, and using it as well as the printed cab is really guilding the lily, as the fret comtains a cab on the etch. It will come in handy for a future planned build of either 29 or 5, currently on the NYMR. I;ll add a front coupling and do some weathering, though I find Railmatch Weather Black over Halfords Red Primer gives a nice cared for/careworn look,so I won't be too heavy-handed.

The best excuse I could think of to see NCB No 48 at Little Benton is as follows..... Following an inspection, a fault was found, for which rectification was beyond the capacity of the Ashington Workshop, so the loco was sent to RSH's Forth Banks Works- they did contract work on behalf of Hunslet. Following the repair, the loco was escorted back to Ashington by a Heaton J94 to allow passage on BR metals. A rake of LOCO coal wagons was due to go North too, so 2 birds were killed with 1 stone. Well- it's a theory.

Some "Adventures in Weathering", using Humbrol Weathering powders. I don't have an airbrush, and my brush work is pants, so hopefully, over the next 10 years, I'll have cracked the use of the powders. The 9F on passenger duties is a product of 2 sets of real circumstances, combined together in my ficticious railway world. A Tyne Dock 9f hauled Special went from Newcastle to Consett in 1966, just before the line was finally handed over to diesels. Another was sent to Alnmouth to work the last day of steam on the Alnwick Branch. In my world, an entusiast Special started at Waverley to Consett. The 9F took over from a 64A V2 at Alnmouth for the Consett. leg Here it makes its' return way North to Alnmouth, ready for Alnwick duties tomorrow. The loco is ex-GBL Evening Star, with the tender top from the GBL 76xxx, on a Hornby Railroad chassis. I really like the Bachmann WD. I have 2, re-numbered as NE-Based locos, and this one 90135, has been powdered based on a photo, It is held at signals on my mineral wagon rake. Some time ago, I "won" a J94 on EBay. It never really ran, so was stuck away in a drawer. As I'm currently working up a Lambton Cab version, I dug it out, It still ran very badly, so I took it to pieces and found a hard-wired DCC chip. I have a couple of Bachmann DCC fitted loco which run OK on my DC system, but this one refused to go. I managed to get rid of the chip and convert it to straight DC, and took the oppertunity to set it up as Ashington No 48. It sits in the headshunt, waiting for ? I/m building up a nice little collection of these industrial locos, and it would be nice to have an excuse, beyond Rule 1, to run them.

On test, the loco pulls my rake of 21T hoppers into the sidings at Little Benton North, The injectors under the footplate have been removed, and the centre pair of steps fitted. I'm waiting for the detailing etch from RT Models to, as a minimum, use the rims for the front and rear spectacle plates before it heads for the paintshop. It looks as though these locos were painted unlined black in service, but I'm thinking about testing out my newly acquired Humbrol weathering powders on this loco to see what happens.

I strggle to get photos of full length trains on the layout. This is the view from what we called "Halls Bridge", named after a nearby farm. It overlooks Little Benton North Box, and was an occasional spotting location. Another "gang" were to be found there, rather than our more usual crew. It must be a Friday or Saturday as the QoS has 8 cars- an additional 2nd Parlour-, and is all-steel in formation with my newly acquired Parlour First. "Irish Elegance" works it home to Edinburgh. I'm in the process of adapting a Dapol J94 to the Lambton-cab version, So far the new printed cab and its handrails, cab-side injectors, and centre steps have been fitted. The injectors under the footplate have been removed. Here it is on test pulling a load of hoppers into the sidings at Little Benton South.

Massive thanks to all who helped me get an authentic Queen of Scots rake. I managed to get a model of a Parlour First, at last, and here she is on the FO/SO with the additional Parlour 2nd. I'm assuming Agatha is just out of shops and am leaving the roof white, just for a contrast., as advised by D5158 (Alan).

Finally a K3 paired with a spare Bachmann tender of the early GS type. This one runs on a Bachmann split chassis from a V1/3, cut down. A D11, repainted into BR, running on a Gem kitbuilt chassis. I had a few of these , so converted one to the earlier D10, with mods to the cab and front end. I need to check how I motorised it.

The A3 is the Flying Scotsman model, All I did here was fit handrails and a few extra details before putting it on a Hornby chassis. I did spend more time on the old Hornby tender-drive body shell to reduce it to the correct dimensions, based on a thread I found here on RMWeb. It is the last survivor on BR-Prince Palatine. The 9f is repainted Evening Star on a Hornby Railroad chassis, modified to represent the locos at Tyne Dock on the Consett trains. The tender body came from Golden Arrow as a resin casting. It's probably worth saying herer that these mods were fdone when chassis's could be got for reasonable prices, unlike today.

It's good to see this thread come back to life. I used the GBL bodies quite a bit, and still have a few in the spares box. They are are boon for folk to motorise, modify, cut and shut or practice painting and weathering. I found a few photos on an old USB stick, so thought I'd share them. These use the J39 body, based around the Bachmann model. I converted one to a J38 with the shorter LNER GS tender,and stuck it on a Hornby Jinty chassis. The J39 runs on an original Bachmann split-chassis, and I paired it with a spare DJH NE tender.

This should be a pretty straightforward project- a Dapol J94 converted to a NCB loco with the cut-down Lambton cab. The cab is a printed one from Railway Mania. the donor loco is Dapol, and was a gift from a great friend who I've never met personally, but who I "met Virtually" via RMWeb. 5 Austerity locos were converted to fit through narrow tunnels near Sunderland. I suppose the best known "Lambton Cab" locos are 29 and 5 at the NYMR. Of the Austerities, No 60 is preserved on the Aln Valley Railway, though the cab windows are different to the kit version, so another prototype should be found. I have a photo of 59, so that will be that. The 3D kit gives you the cab and 4 injectors, which sit on the footplate. two thicknesses of wire are provided for cab handrails and injector pipework. The cab of the donor simply unclips- or at least mine did- and the new one clipped in place equally easily, given the usual care need when handling 3D prints. The kit supplies 4 injectors, which is a good idea as one of mine pinged away when taking it off the sprue, They are pre-drilled to take the pipework, which is handy. My donor needs the 3rd pair of steps adding, I'll rmake these from plasticard or brass, However, the cab windows, especially the rear spectacle plate ones, would benefit from having surrounds added, and RT Models offer a detailing kit which I may indulge in, depending what I find in the scrao box. Here is the basic conversion work so far.

Looks really good. I do like to see these "one offs". HUMORIST is on my "to do" list.

And the last photo from the stock. Busier than I ever remember Little Benton, the North Eastern kits J77 takes empty fish and meat vans into the sidings. i built this loco at the beginning of my adventures into etched kits, and I'm tempted to do some tidying up and give it a respray. The J72 is a mash-up of the early Mainline/Bachmann models, modified as did hundreds od others, to represent the first short-bunker version.I added a few additional details and put it on a Mainly Trains chassis. Both these have cheap Chinese motors, bought when you got 5 for £5, and when fitted to High Level gearboxes, they run well. Top speed is insufficient for anything other than this sort of work, however. The J72 was slipping on the rake - my baseboards and track leave something to be desired- so I added some extra weight, including a lead lump in the chassis above the leading drivers and as far back as I could without hitting the gear on the middle axle, and it ran off with the rake without a hitch. 60113 is on an empty stock train from somewhere up North. The real thing certainly got to Newcastle, but I doubt if it went any further, So for some reason, in my world, it must have been either left on a train or was purloined to replace a failed diesel, So I assume it got to Edinburgh, and 64B promptly sent it back ASAP on the next available turn. The loco is Hornby/Graeme King on a modified Hornby chassis. It was built some time ago now, and agin, ideally, I would have another go at it, but it doesnt really fit the location, and life's too short. It still looks OK from "normal viewing distance"

To finish the stored photos, here are a couple of my 2 named expresses. 60033 burst out of "Scottie Bridge" on the Up Elizabethan. I just about get away with running it as a 10-coach train. It must be mid-week, as the Up Queen of Scots is a 7-car train and, unusually, has an EE Type 4 for motive power. I have photos of this arrangement South of Newcastle, but not North, Presumably it did happen.

We still can't get over the sad sight of Jenner's when we visit Auld Reekie.