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Recreating the legendary meeting on the Lickey…Lms garratt, u1 and Bertha….albeit some 30 odd miles north east

Bertha meets the U1

I used Gibson frames and high level motor gears on this model. It is a combination of a Lima 94 xx and an Airfix city of Truro. Valve gear and cylinders from comet.

Hello John how does the A5 run, and how does it compare with the established rtr manufacturers products?. best wishes Brian

Thanks Mark good to see you on here again, I appreciate how life can get in the way of modelling!

Thank you John I thought I had put 50 wagons behind it, on counting on the video it’s only 48! In any event it can haul even more

Hello John, yes I also enjoy OO bills videos servicing and repairing old locos. Go on let’s see a Merchant Navy on Little Benton…

On its test train

On its way back to Yorkshire…and it’s fate ive just had it running with 26 wagons…I’m sure it can handle at least twice as many courtesy of the high level double motor assembly

The view many a guard would see prior to being banked

69999 complete en route to the Lickey

Gday Manna Yes I have. I suspect, like most of us who have been in this hobby a while , I have more wagons and coaches than my layout requires. When it travelled through Water Orton, in real life, it was light engine. The prodigious loads were tackled on its native lines. I am tempted though, to recreate the time on the Lickey, when Bertha, a LMS garratt, and 69999 were coupled together.

Hello John thank you, of course now I’m a senior citizen officially, I have the time to dedicate to a model . Wintertime has also meant less calls from my family for assistance! I think I have averaged four hours per day most days. I will do the math …about 96, more like 100 plus hours. It didn’t help, having to make replacement pieces, and yes I found the missing valve gear, in my wires spares box. Still no sign of the smokebox door. I do love it when a model gains its identity

Painted just awaiting transfers glazing cab roof added, couplings ( three link) front pony truck on water tank after securing body to chassis

The locomotive is now in primer, decided to paint weathered black. I don’t think I can replicate that used look by starting with the gloss black.

Handrails pipework and other bits and pieces added as per the photos I have accumulated. A thorough clean then primer .

All the main parts as supplied with the kit, with the exception of cab roof have been added to the model. The roof will be added after painting to allow glazing and painting inside the cab. There is still work though to be done. The photos of the real locomotive circa 1955, reveal assorted pipework and bits and bobs which I will need to model. More soon

It would have been interesting to see in detail what the problem was, it looked like a motion bind. If I recall it was handed to the repairer, but didn’t elaborate on how it was remedied. The next mention of it ,was it being returned to the customer.

Boiler and cab in place, firebox backplate to be added , side boiler valances , outer pipework…getting there

You may have noticed on one of my chassis ( rear one by Water Orton East jct box) the eccentric rod and expansion link were not correctly in position as they should be when rotating. The expansion link being pulled too high in the rotation. I had made up the four sets of motion….only, you’ve guessed, it losing one of this assembly, again somewhere in the chaos of my loft. I have various bits of motion in spares. I measured the eccentric rod which should be 17 mm . I managed to produce one , rivet it to the expansion link and add it to the final chassis. On running it a few times, and noticing, it didn’t quite align as it should. I re checked the assembly. I had made it 15 mm! I removed it, and recreated one, to the correct measurements, now added and all good. The joy of our hobby. I will photo the comparison

Well that running session pointed out some matters that needed addressing. The whitemetal ashpan needed some metal removed. The brass valances also..ever so slightly but all in all given what a big complex loco it is very pleased. I had a bit of good luck, I found in my magazine stash, a May 2021 Steam World with colour photos of the beast, shown here with my reference work by Essery and Toms.

Always an interesting moment in a garratt build. The three sections running….or not around your corners. The weight was added to replicate the yet to be finished body, without it the unequal balance meant the front chassis derailed. The sandboxes had to be removed from front chassis, for now I hadn’t allowed sufficient clearance , the rear live insulated wheel touched the box whilst negotiating, my corners. It hadn’t previously, but the extra load made the difference. All trial and error, as ever when making any locomotive I have to enable it to go on my layout with its, the layouts, idiosyncrasies .

Well working on the main body. The instructions are very poor….basically fit 106 to 107 etc. It would help if the parts were numbered, either on the fret or on a diagram. The next stage is always interesting when building a garratt. Having two working chassis, now with painted superstructure…ensuring they pivot when attached to the central body….more soon

Finished the oil tank. No provision was made for the supports clearly seen on tank sides. I’ve fashioned these from brass wire shaped by dremel. I’ve now built a number of garratts, your effectively building three locomotives. It is nice to have a challenge though. It didn’t help that I’ve lost the smokebox door casting. You can gather from the background to my photos my workbench is anything but organised. John R points out I shall probably find it months from now whilst engaged in another project. I have in the meantime made by own, brass rim with rivet detail and fortunately a correct sized LNER smokebox door from my spares.

My interpretation of the top of the oil tank, boiler again posed for effect