CXW1

Hello Tony One of these is somewhere on my 'to do' list, but I would build it as the ex-H&BR version - was that a LNER N11? I've got plenty of other part-built things to finish off first though including a nearly done Y8, H&BR G1 and a diesel shunter of all things. Which layout is it? Cheers Chris

I understand that Twizell was at Morrison Busty pit in the 70s, so I assume the thief would have been some wrong'un from Stanley. Before anyone takes offence at that suggestion I can confirm that I am originally from Stanley and could probably even suggest a few likely names.....

Apologies to anyone who has already seen this over on my main workbench thread, but here is my recently completed scratchbuilt model of R&W Hawthorn 'Enterprise'. The real one is preserved at Tanfield but not restored. I guess this is my interpretation of what it might look like if it ever were to be restored. It is EM gauge with a nice High Level gearbox and motor, Gibson wheels and nothing particularly ground breaking. The name and works plates are from Narrow planet. Cheers Chris

I think this one is more or less finished (until I spot something I haven't done).

Managed to find enough time over the past week to make a couple of gearboxes for the Y8 and Enterprise, so both of them now run. Enterprise has had some correct-size Gibson wheels fitted and now looks more in proportion compared to the old oversize Romfords that I had used to set-up the chassis. The cylinder covers aren't fixed in place yet and need straightening up - they also need one or two more coats of paint and will be lined the same way as the tank etc, but hopefully this shows the general idea. I have used a high ratio Lo Loader gearbox (I think 90:1) with one of the cheaper High Level 1015 motors which gives nice slow running. I also need to make some brake hangers. I have used a Road Runner Compact Plus gearbox with a 1015 motor in the Y8 - this has a 60:1 ratio which actually works fine with the small wheels. This just needs some brakes making, Gibson crankpins finishing off and some cab glazing, then I think it is more or less done. Cheers Chris

Hi Corbs, Thanks for the picture - I haven't seen that one before. I agree with you that the brown livery would have probably lasted during the period you have suggested. But I think brown is a nasty colour. It might look OK on an Austin Allegro or some other 1970s British Leyland offering but I'm not sure about a steam engine and, as I mentioned before, I had a can of green paint in the garage and was too tight to buy a different colour. Here is the current state of play complete with name and works plates, awaiting motor, gearbox and the correct wheels. In my parallel universe the loco was sold by R Y Pickering to another industrial user who painted it a proper colour and gave it some TLC (and, it would appear, a slightly different shaped dome and a chimney that doesn't look like a flower pot). Rule one and all that..... Hopefully it won't be too long until it moves under its own power, then I can sort out the cylinders. Cheers Chris

Not much progress to report on in the last few months for several reasons. Firstly this has always been a bit of a 'winter' hobby for me as I can usually find other stuff to keep me occupied during the summer - I guess last summer was more productive than usual from a model-making point of view as there wasn't much else to do for obvious reasons. Secondly, I had got a few locos to the stage of needing gearboxes and motors at the same time as High Level was forced to close, so they have just been sat at the back of my workbench waiting patiently for Chris to re-open. And, thirdly, I've been lacking motivation after probably doing too much last year. So, with the excellent news that Chris appears to be ready to recommence trading I have spent the last week tidying up my workbench in anticipation for things to get moving once more. I haven't been completely idle. The Y8 which last appeared a few pages ago had some paint and transfers applied last month and just needs a suitable motor and gearbox installing. The coupling rods have been made up and I have some new Gibson wheels to replace the old set in the picture that I have used for setting the ride-height of the frames. I have ran out of 'LNER' transfers so this one has been done in 'NER' period. The model of 'Enterprise' has had some excellent Narrow Planet nameplates and works plates fitted but is essentially at the same stage of waiting for a motor and gearbox to arrive, then we should see some progress. I think my main winter project might be having a go at making a H&BRly Class A (LNER Q10) but that will be a fairly major undertaking and probably won't be started for a couple of months yet. In order to get me back into the swing of things I am going to build a H&BRly Class G1 - these were basic 0-6-0 tanks which didn't make it to grouping. I've spent a couple of evenings building the frames and cutting out the footplate and I might even have time to get soldering at some point this week. This will have my usual set-up of driving off a rigid rear axle with beam-compensated hornblocks on the front and middle axles. Cheers Chris

Spent the last few evenings painting the D22 and swearing at Fox lining transfers. I've tried to go for a 'worn' look without it looking too scruffy. The real '1542' was withdrawn during the middle of 1933 and I've been working from a picture in the RCTS book that was taken that year. I assume it wouldn't have been in pristine condition by then.

It has been nice to finally have a weekend which didn't involve DIY jobs and gardening. This, coupled with barmy temperatures of more than 10 degrees, meant I've been able to get some painting done. I've been thinking about a livery for the R&W Hawthorn 'Enterprise' loco for some time. The only picture I can find of Enterprise during its working life is the brown 'R&Y Pickering' livery on the previous page. Can't say I'm too keen on brown. It is currently painted a shade of maroon at Tanfield but I'm not sure if this is anywhere near genuine or not. In the end I've used a can of Halfords Rover Brooklands Green (mainly because I have a can of it in the garage). I read somewhere that it is a close match to BR diesel green but I reckon it is too bright for that. Still some way to go, but it is getting there. The daylight above the footplate will be hidden when I get the motor, gearbox and a boiler bottom fitted, and I'll be using some Gibson wheels to replace the oversize Romfords. The cylinders (which are bolted to the frames and can be removed) will be the last job once the Gibson wheels are pressed on. Usually I wouldn't paint the body until I was happy that the model worked and ran OK. However, as it may be a while until the motor and gearbox arrive from High Level, I've ended up doing this one the 'wrong way round'. And, to get back on topic with some ex-NER stuff, here is some progress with the F8. There is still some lining to finish off, and then the usual final jobs of fitting cab glazing, whistles, crew, coal, fire irons etc. Cheers Chris

Lintz No. 2 nameplates and works plates arrived in the post today from Light Railway Stores/Narrow Planet and have been attached to the Chapman & Furneaux loco. That's about my only modelling output for March. The works photo that I have of Lintz No. 2 (from 1900) shows the name painted on the tank in what looks like gold leaf. In my parallel universe it has acquired some cast nameplates which I think look OK. In reality I can't imagine the fancy gold leaf lettering lasting for too long in daily service at the pit so I'm assuming that it was subject to an overhaul and repaint at some point. Fire irons, oil cans and a couple of employees of South Garesfield Colliery Co. Ltd have been fitted, but it still needs a whistle and some weathering before I can call it finished. With all this talk of Lintz No. 2 what, I hear everyone ask, did Lintz No. 1 look like? My understanding, although I could be wrong and often am, is that the John Fowler loco in the picture below is Lintz No. 1. It's a knackered-looking old thing and I won't be making a model of it just yet. I think the best way to achieve the shape of the footplate and steps would be to drop a finished model of it on the floor. I recall my grandfather saying that it was used as a stationary boiler during his time at Lintz Colliery (mid to late 1920s). Cheers Chris

More progress with the very small layout, although not as originally intended. My original thoughts were to make the scenic area exactly the maximum size permitted by the DJLC rules and have everything presented with a proscenium arch and some lighting. Then I figured that apart from the delayed 2mm Association diamond jubilee meeting, the layout is just something for my own amusement and will probably never leave my house again, and therefore the whole proscenium arch presentation is probably not necessary. I have made a start on painting a backscene. I think this is needed to give some depth when the layout is only around 9 inches deep. For a non-artist who probably last painted a picture at school 30 years ago I think it looks OK but with room for improvement. There will be a layer of scenery (trees, bushes etc) in between the goods yard and the backscene to hopefully give a nice progression. The new plan of not having a proscenium arch has given some food for thought about how to finish off the right edge of the layout. The black line on the picture below shows the boundary of the competition size limits and where the arch would have gone. The new solution to fit within the competition rules is to have a small stone wall at the scenic limits, and if the layout ever makes it to the Diamond Jubilee I will just place a temporary backscene behind the wall. Then, when the layout is at home (as it will be most of the time) I will remove the temporary backscene and have a few houses and a pub. The white bit of card behind the houses won't be a permanent feature - it is just there to hide the mess on my workbench. The houses are based on those at the pit village at Beamish Museum and I think the pub is a product of my imagination. These buildings and the tree were made a few years ago for an aborted 2mm layout and have been in a box ever since. I will probably make the street as a separate removable module which can be taken off the board rather than something permanent which is hidden on Diamond Jubilee day. Whether this is in-keeping with the competition rules is open to debate but, to be honest, I'm not that bothered. Cheers Chris

No progress with locos as I am waiting for motors and gearboxes to arrive. However, this has allowed some progress with my little 2mm Finescale layout. I have mentioned previously that the layout was being built for the 2mm Association diamond jubilee layout challenge and its size is limited by the competition rules. The track plan was (and still is) a classic inglenook but the back corner of the layout behind the house lent itself to something else being there. Several ideas were kicked around - a street of houses, a farm/stables, and a loading dock. I liked the idea of the loading dock with a separate stretch of track as it would potentially add a tiny bit more operational interest to a layout which is never going to be very interesting to operate. To cut a long story short, the loading dock has turned into the end of a station platform which gives me an excuse to use my DMU which has been in its box for the past few years. The new station means that the DMU gets to travel a foot in one direction and then exit stage left in the opposite direction. Exciting stuff!! The waiting shelter is based on the one at Broomielaw, which was on the Darlington to Tebay line. It is important to stress the words 'based on' as it isn't an exact replica. Here is a rather cruel close up of the station building and, because it is 2mm scale, it is of course pictured with the obligatory coin. Weathering will tone down the colours. The windows are made from plastic strip and they look a bit rough in the photo. But, the model is only a few centimeters long and it will be viewed from several feet away - it looks OK at normal viewing distance. And here it is in situ with the DMU Next jobs are to make a backscene and to add some greenery. I said above that the layout doesn't hold much operational interest but, to be fair, it is quite relaxing to shunt a few wagons for half-an-hour or so. Cheers Chris

Looks good Mick. I recall you telling me a while ago that you were building a gauge one Class K so it is good to see some pictures. I look forward to seeing how you do the Kitson patent valve gear.... Cheers Chris

That's only about 5% of what they have rusting away there....

Thanks for the information - I think that accurately describes what we are looking at. The only picture I can find is the one above when it was owned by R Y Pickering and probably out of use judging by the holes in the smokebox door. The other pictures were taken by my Dad who is one of regular volunteers at Tanfield. Looking at the condition of the loco I don't think it will be in traffic anytime soon. The figure of eight blanking plate is in a 'side by side' arrangement rather than the more familiar 'in line' arrangement.

I think that's agreed then, unless anyone knows any different.

I assumed that the raised thing in front of the cab was where you would put water in the tank. To my eyes the dome looks like the obvious place for the safety valves to be located.

Hello All, I'm asking for a bit of help here. I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I had started building a model of 'Enterprise', which is a R&W Hawthorn loco based at the Tanfield Railway. I am struggling to work out what to do in respect of safety valves and where they would be located. Here is a picture of the loco in its current rather sorry state. On the top of the tank there is a chimney, dome, and the water filler just in front of the cab. The next picture (which I found openly on Google Images but I can remove if copyright rules suggest I should) shows the loco at the end of its working life - it clearly has a dome where you would expect to see one. So, where are the safety valves located? Here is a picture of the top of the dome. Are the two circular plates in the middle of the dome something to do with safety valves (i.e. do we think the dome and the safety valves were somehow combined like on an Adams Radial etc)? The top of the dome in the above picture looks like it has a flat spot on the top rather than being the usual rounded shape. Alternatively, here is a picture of the backhead, which clearly has some studs on the top. Could this be something to do with safety valves mounted in the cab or would this just be for the usual gauges, pipework etc? Hopefully there are some knowledgeable RMWebbers who can shed some light on the mystery. What is clear is that there are definitely no other obvious fixing points on the top of the tank or anywhere else for safety valves. At the end of the day I'm more than happy to just have an educated guess and make something that looks reasonably plausible. If nobody can provide a definitive answer at least there are some nice pictures to look at. Thanks Chris

I might change the title of this thread to 'Geordie Industrials' or something along those lines because there isn't one of these at Tanfield, but it is a model of a loco that was very much built in the North East. This is a scratchbuilt Chapman & Furneaux in EM gauge and it has just trundled off my workbench this evening. The full details of the build are over on my workbench thread but I thought I would post a picture in the industrial section for the record. Chapman & Furneaux took over the better-known Black Hawthorn of Gateshead in the 1890s - they existed for a short time before themselves being taken over by R&W Hawthorn & Leslie of Newcastle. Records suggest that Chapman & Furneaux only built 70 locomotives in their short existence and I'm not aware of any preserved examples. The model is of 'Lintz No. 2' which was built by Chapman & Furneaux in 1900. My late grandfather used to drive the real loco when he worked at Lintz Colliery near Burnopfield in the 1920s. I just need a little industrial layout for it run on now..... Cheers Chris Edit - to point out that the loco is a model of the one that I use in my name picture/avatar whatsit.

I've managed to do some painting over the last couple of days after leaving the heater on in the garage - still needs touching up in places. I'll let the paint harden for a few days and then make a start on the lining. Then again I think it looks OK as it is, so I might not bother. Or I could paint a big number 6 on the side of the cab and stick a face on the front. It definitely has a look of Percy about it..... Works plates are on order from Narrow Planet and I still need to have a think about getting a 'Lintz No. 2' decal made up for the tank sides. Also been messing around with the picture filters to try and re-create something along the lines of the old photograph that I posted at the start of the build... Cheers Chris

The Chapman & Furneaux is more or less finished and it joins the queue of things that need a clean-up and some paint. The weather forecast doesn't suggest that this will be anytime soon though. I still need to do some work to the pipes below the tank but that's a 5 minute job that I can do after painting. The sandboxes and the larger toolbox aren't stuck down yet and I will leave doing this until I've painted the springs etc behind them. The loco will end up the same green as the wheels and cylinders. This is Railmatch LNER 'Doncaster' green and was chosen because it is the only green paint I have, and I'm not buying anymore!! I've really enjoyed building this loco. It is something completely different to what I usually do and it presented some new challenges to overcome. I've even started to make another industrial loco out of bits left over from the Chapman & Furneaux, but this time it is a R&W Hawthorn (not a Hawthorn Leslie). This is 'Enterprise' which was built by R&W Hawthorn in 1884. It is currently gently rusting away at the Tanfield Railway. A splendid looking old thing. Here is the progress to date - no front hornblocks yet so it is propped up with blue tack. The springs are just balanced in place and ideally need replacing with something of a more prototypical shape, but you get the general idea.... I have deviated slightly from my usual construction method and made the sides of the saddle tank from 5 or 6 strips of plasticard that were laminated together and filed to shape. The top of the tank is brass and was glued in place. The reason for doing this was to get the sharp edge where the sides of the tank meet the top (i.e. just under the handrails) and I didn't think that I would be able to get the edge to be as sharp and straight by forming a single piece of brass. I suppose it would also work by making individual brass tank sides and soldering them to the brass top, but I figured that the plasticard route would be easier. It looks a bit odd at the moment due to the contrast in the colour of the plastic and the brass, but I reckon it will be OK when it is painted. Clearly the chimney on the model is wrong. The chimney on the real Enterprise is an odd-looking thing and is really something that would probably need to be made for the model on a lathe. I don't have a lathe and I'm not allowed to visit anyone who might have one, so the casting will have to do for now. I will probably attack it with a file to try and make it look more like the real thing. I think the casting is a spare part from an old J27 kit. There appears to be a National shortage of Markits double crossheads so I have ended up using some lost wax castings from Wizard/Comet. I think the bottom line is that they aren't as good as the Markits version and took a fair amount of fettling, but they will have to do for now. They had just been dipped in Birchwood Casey when the picture was taken and have been cleaned up a bit since then. The cylinder units are made in the same way as on the Chapman & Furneaux - no point in re-inventing the wheel. Cheers Chris

I have spent this evening fitting some Alan Gibson wheels and attaching the cylinder units back onto the frames. It was necessary to pack out the cylinders from the frames ever-so-slightly just to give enough clearance between the front crankpin and the crosshead. I've mentioned on here before that I don't get on very well with Alan Gibson crankpins, so I have used old-style Romford crankpins in the Gibson wheels. This is easy to do by tapping out the hole in the wheel to 10BA, but you have to be pretty quick in and out with the soldering iron when fitting the retaining washers. I have ended up substituting the clunky Romford washers with some 1mm inside diameter tube and then filing it as thin as possible to get the required clearance behind the crosshead. The sandboxes, toolbox and the safety valve are just plonked on for now and require a little more work. The main thing is that it works, so in theory it is plain sailing from here. The loco is very light and needs some weight adding. An obvious problem is that there isn't much available space to add weight. A few whitemetal castings plus a driver and fireman will help in that respect. Cheers Chris

The front axle is now in hornblocks and the motor/gearbox has been test-fitted. The loco has been for a short run along my test track with the motor wired directly to the controller and everything seems to run freely without any tight spots. Next job with the chassis is to paint it and fit slightly smaller Alan Gibson wheels when they arrive. The picture below also shows the separate cylinder units that I mentioned in the previous post. These can be screwed back onto the frames at a later stage and after the final fitting of the wheels. The footplate is currently sitting about 1mm too high. This is necessary at the moment to accommodate the oversize wheels and their even more-oversize flanges.

A bit more progress with the Chapman & Furneaux. This is the first time I've attempted a small 0-4-0 with outside cylinders so there is a fair amount of making it up as I go along. Despite some careful measuring I really won't know if there is enough clearance between the crossheads and the front crankpins until the hornblocks arrive and the front wheels are fitted. With that in mind I have made the cylinder units removeable by fixing them to the frames with a 10BA nut and bolt (the nuts are soldered to the inside of the frames). The bolt head is just visible at the back of the cylinder box in the picture below. It is accessible (but only just) with a very small jeweler's screwdriver. A representation of the motion bracket is attached to the slidebars on each side but is not attached to the frames. Therefore the whole cylinder/slidebar/crosshead/motion bracket unit is separate and can be removed on each side - I think this will be useful in the event that there isn't enough clearance as the whole unit can just be removed and packed out. It also means that I can now build the chassis as a basic 0-4-0 and then fit the cylinders and fix them in place after I'm satisfied with how the chassis runs. I have also started to make up some pipework and I've found some spring castings in my spares box. These are just balanced in place for now but they seem to do the job of making the small gap at the bottom of the boiler less obvious. Sandboxes and a tool box will hide the gap further. The tool box will sit in front of the front spring, so the front spring probably won't be visible. Here is the current state of play - propped up with blue tac in the absence of a front axle. I've also knocked up some outer covers for the cylinders. These are springy and can be popped on and off for now. They will be glued or soldered on eventually and I will make some fronts and backs, but not until I'm satisfied that the cylinder units won't need taking off anymore. Cheers Chris

Chapman & Furneaux Lintz No. 2 I was in two minds whether or not to post this build on here as it is really just more of the same thing. It also isn’t anything to do with the North Eastern or Hull & Barnsley Railways, but it is still a locomotive that was built and worked in the North East, and it has a personal connection. Chapman & Furneaux took over the better-known Black Hawthorn & Co of Gateshead at the end of the 19th Century and built around 70 locomotives before being taken over by Hawthorn & Leslie of Newcastle in 1902. One of the locomotives built by Chapman & Furneaux was ‘Lintz No. 2’ of 1900. My grandfather worked as an engineer at several pits in the North East. He started off at Lintz Colliery (near Burnopfield) before moving on to other local collieries after the Lintz pit closed some time in the 1920s. I’m not sure if he was the regular loco driver but he did drive the engine on occasion including a well-documented (at least by him) daredevil trip down the rope incline when it was transferred to South Garesfield pit. Here is a poor quality ‘photo of a photo’ with my grandfather on the footplate of Lintz No.2. We’re not sure who the people standing on the ground are – we have always assumed they were colliery managers. This is also the picture I use in my avatar/name thingy on RMWeb. My grandfather was always interested in the railway (especially local colliery railways) and I can remember him having the official works photograph of Lintz No. 2 hanging in a frame on his wall. There is a copy of the works photo and other information on the Industrial Railway Society website – I haven’t posted the picture on here just in case it is covered by copyright. I’ve been thinking about making a model of Lintz No. 2 for some time. Some of the Chapman & Furneaux locos had similarities to those of Black Hawthorn and I figured there were 2 options – use a High Level Black Hawthorn kit as a starting point and adapt/butcher it, or start from scratch. I figured a scratch build would be more fun (and also avoid ruining a perfectly good kit) so here we go….. First picture shows the frames and footplate. As usual (for me) it will drive off a fixed rear axle with the front axle in hornblocks and a pivot beam. Trial fit of the cab.... Starting (I hope) to look like a Chapman & Furneaux loco..... The cylinders have been made using the same method as my A7 by soldering the slidebars into a '3-sided box' for strength. The slidebars are 0.8mm square nickel silver and the crossheads are from Markits. A cosmetic cylinder cover will be fabricated in due course. The next job will be to remove the cylinders and fit the front hornblocks - hopefully a delivery from High Level will turn up this week. The wheels in the picture are slightly too big (not to mention pretty awful) and new ones are required. I have cut out the bottom of the boiler to accommodate the motor and gearbox and the hole still might need enlarging further. The gap will either be 'filled' with a false bottom if I can get the motor up into the boiler and tank, or the more likely solution will be to just hide the gap behind various sand boxes, tool boxes, springs and pipework. As usual I'll make it up as I go along. Finally a question. The loco never carried nameplates and instead had LINTZ No. 2. painted on the side of the tank. I don't fancy farting about with individual letters so does anyone know where I can get custom made transfers from? I think that Narrow Planet do a Chapman & Furneaux works plate which I will need for the cab sides. Lintz No. 2 ended up being transferred to the Cowpen Coal Company before being taken over by the National Coal Board. I think this is pronounced 'Coupon' but as a Co. Durham lad I'm happy to be corrected by any Northumbrians out there. The loco was long-lived and was scrapped in the early 1960s. A cop-out would therefore be to paint it in black NCB livery, but it will look better in its original lined green livery with LINTZ No. 2 on the tank sides. Cheers Chris