de Selby

Thanks, Nelson.

Yet more pictures! I had in my custody the Cambridge Club's small MPD layout "Sporle Shed" (EM Gauge) for a few days and this concided with a glorious sunny afternoon. So I set it up in the back garden and posed a couple of NCC engines on it for photos. The sunlight brought out the richness of the crimson lake livery very well, I think. Slightly different to the shed's usual GER blue occupants. Please note - those of a nervous disposition are advised not to pay too much attention to where some of the rails appear to be heading in some of the photos. I understand that this may be an optical illusion caused by lack of "The Black Stuff" There's also the small question of how the Mogul made it on shed (it doesn't fit on the turntable).

Funny you should mention that..... (looks furtively at at cardboard box with Ennis postmark) Thank you for the complimentary comments! I don't have a copy of that particular book, but have (I think) other illustrations of the engines you refer to (G class & H class?) They were being withdrawn around the time the Whippets were being built although there seems to have been some overlap. I believe they had all gone before WW2. There may be Beyer Peacock GA drawings in existence as a couple were built there. I don't know if any Sharp Stewart archives still exist? I certainly agree that it would make a fascinating subject for a model. I realise I may have got Just a little bit ahead of myself as the obvious candidate to work on next is the GN S Class (173) which I've got about 75% finished. This is the TMD - more recently Studio Scale Models - kit. I will post a few pictures sometime soon. After that's finished, however....... Alan

Many thanks for your kind comments. There's a few details which I might yet add to the model (for example the runs of lubrication pipes along the boiler) but otherwise it's pretty much finished. I'm toying with the idea of a few more photos, but with the loco posed in a layout environment rather than just on its own. I'll put copies on here if I do. Other than that, it's a case of what to start next ............ Alan

Thanks Leslie. It took rather longer to complete the painting than envisaged, but I thought it better not to rush it. I can send some copies of the photos in the original higher resolution in your direction if that's any help. Alan

I just used Halford's grey primer aerosol. It usually gives excellent results. Alan

Thanks Nelson. The paint is Railmatch LMS Crimson Lake. Alan

Some pictures of 24, now (more or less) complete. Firstly some bits that it is normally not that easy to see. The footplate is a sub-assembly which is fixed to the running plate with a couple of screws, so it is easily removed. I might add a few extra details some time such as pressure and vacuum gauges, and the steam manifold on top of the firebox casing. Here's the underside of the loco, revealing a multitude of sins! The various pick ups are visible as is some of the springing for the front bogie (this uses Masobits parts). You can also see the High Level gearbox driving the rear loco axle. The rest of the pictures are general views of the loco....... Alan

I've had NCC Saga for many years but only recently twigged that the cover illustration (from a painting by Joe Magill) is of the particular engine that I was modelling. Perhaps there was some kind of subconscious influence at work! It seems to be some sort of universal law of railway modelling that whenever you complete a model along comes additional information indicating you have done something incorrectly! If the original motion parts were reused in these rebuilds, then (for future reference) the general arrangement drawings of the unrebuilt engines may provide the relevant details. The B Class locos were supplied by Beyer Peacock, and the BP drawing archive is now held by the Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester. Unfortunately the NCC's own drawings were destroyed when York Road was bombed by the Luftwaffe during the Blitz. I now have some further pictures of the model which I will post shortly. Alan

Thanks again for all the kind comments. That's certainly the idea. Somewhere for it to run would be nice as well! Yes, I'd first fitted this on the S class referred to above. It is fairly close, if not completely identical, to what was fitted to 170 - 174 (190 - 192 were slightly different). I know this first hand from past experience crawling around 171's innards to oil it up. I don't know the precise details of what was actually fitted to a "Whippet" but it seems reasonable to assume that York Road used standard parts supplied by Derby (the boilers, for example were a superheated version of the Derby G6) when the engines were rebuilt. The originals had been 2 cylinder compounds, so presumably new cylinder blocks, motion and crank axles were needed. 4F gear may not be too far out, therefore; at least that's my story! So I bought a second set of 4F motion and set about modifying it to fit - I had to remove 2mm from the length of the connecting and eccentric rods. That was a fascinating experience - people kept turning up at the stand with Irish rolling stock of one sort or another. Alan

Nearly there ..........

That is looking good. I see that like me you find the General Purpose Lubricant to be an invaluable component of the toolkit. . I'll post some pictures of my "S" after I've got the Whippet finished.

Thank you, Nelson I can't think of one that's close (assume you mean OO gauge RTR) I suppose it comes down to is there anything that can be converted with major surgery or would it actually be easier to build from scratch? I have made a Mogul, based on the Worsley Works etchings. Outside of the NCC I have a GN U Class and there's an S Class well on the way. I can certainly recommend them. Phil has run a number of very useful workshops in addition to the scratchbuilding one. (Usual disclaimer of no connection other than as a satisfied customer). That's the plan. I certainly would like to build more Irish stuff, and I have a number of boxes containing things waiting to be built. They are mostly of either NCC or GNR persuasion. Alan

Many thanks for all your kind comments. If people are interested I will take some further pictures of the final stages. The current plan is to spray on the crimson lake this weekend. Fingers crossed! In response to some points raised: - No problem although some photos may have to wait until the loco is reassembled after painting. - Now I'd love to see a photo of that! Many years ago I attempted to convert a GEM Midland 4-4-0 into an NCC "Castle" after seeing 74 in the old Witham Street Museum. - Painting is now well under way so I'll stick with the Markits ones this time. However you've reminded me that Ian Rice did a piece on this in one of his books, making vacuum bags by the method you describe. I must look it out and maybe give it a go on the next model. I soldered a backing plate to the top of the front splasher, so it should be reasonably robust. Gary Wells (247 developments) is producing a set of name and numberplates for me. The five members of the class were all named after counties in the North of Ireland. Alan

I've been working on this little loco for a while. It is in 4mm scale, 21mm gauge. It all started off with a weekend scratchbuilding workshop at Phil Atkinson's Hobby Holidays with Ian Middleditch (who normally models Glasgow & South Western in 7mm) as tutor. I just happened to have a copy of the NCC loco diagram which I was given years ago, and it seemed like a good idea at the time.... The weekend produced the curly footplate (probably the most difficult bit), main frames, a boiler and firebox, and sundry other parts. Since then a little bit more time(!) has gone in to the project but I am pleased to say it has now reached the stage of painting. The subject of the model is no. 24 "County Londonderry" - there are some differences between the five members of the class in terms of boilers, tenders and detail fittings. I thought I'd take a few photos of the completed model in "the metal", so here's a few, below. (Some small parts will be added after painting is finished). Alan

Oh dear, My credit card has just gone into hiding.... Don't think I will be able to resist the temptation of one of these, however. Maybe not as crazy as it sounds, Colin! The fabled Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway "seriously considered a Garratt type locomotive" before deciding instead to order its last two 0-6-4Ts (Lough Melvin and Lough Erne) from Beyer Peacock in 1949. (See N.W. Sprinks history of the line). These two survived the Sligo Leitrim closure in 1957, and were bought by the UTA in 1959, working initially from Adelaide shed, Belfast. So if you really want justification to run an Irish Garratt, you just need to rewrite history very slightly............ Alan

There have been a few, such as "Donegal" by Alan Gee which was in Railway Modeller a while ago. There was also a model of Letterkenny which was at Warley exhibition a few years back. I am sure there are others as well. One possible reason for the scarcity is that there is less rolling stock available than (for example) for the Welsh narrow gauge. Worsley Works and Backwoods Miniatures do produce (4mm scale) kits for Donegal & Swilly stock, however. Incidentally there's an Irish Narrow Gauge group on Yahoo which might be of interest: http://groups.yahoo....rish_three_foot Regards, Alan

Always been a favourite of mine, this loco. I built the DJH version a few years back, so your build will be an interesting comparison. Looks impressive already! Alan

Hello, I will watch your build with interest. A while back I had a go at DJH's fairly similar A2/3. It mostly went according to plan, though I did encounter issues with crankpins and with the brake gear. The build is descrbed on the old forum hereabouts Maybe some time I will tackle a DJH A2/2, although I do have a Crown Line (now PDK) kit in my possession. This is a slightly different kettle of fish, having a bend-up etched brass footplate and a cast resin boiler. Anyway, good luck with your loco, I'll look forward to seeing it progressing. Regards, Alan

Looks absolutely magnificent. What a good reason to try to make it along to Member's Day (not that any excuse is really needed.....). I recently happened to be reading about loco working on the Somerset and Dorset (Footplate over the Mendips). It occurred to me while looking at the photos above that these engines would have been ideal for the S&D in many ways.

Thanks for the compliment Ian, I am glad to play a small part in what is a fascinating project. From what you have done so far this is not going to be a problem....... Will wait for the next developments with great interest. Regards, Alan