Crewe North

Very nice build......but.....point of order........it is a Ramsbottom Special tank as updated (new frames,chimney,rods, safety valve, overall cab ,splashers and wheels) by 'our Frankie'. John

Perhaps, just perhaps when it was raining cats and dogs the cowls kept the windows clear to a degree rather than leaning out over the side to get a sighting....just an idea John

Very colourful Pete......much better than the somewhat dowdy LMS red John

The kit is essentially a George Vth which just happens to have splasher parts parts to 'convert' it into a superheated Precursor . The Georges did have, in some cases, the sandbox fitted below the footplate but later batches had them moved above i.e. within the extended splasher, the Precursors however always had them below footplate level with the filler and operating linkage above on the footplate. As said before the spashers on the Precursors/Superheated P's were fitted much further in than on the George, more like a Jumbo 2-4-0, resulting in a much wider footplate step in front of them.

Crikey!!....must be a 'collectior's' item then the kit I had was just marked up as a standard Andrews kit though.as ever, he's done the artwork for both.

Hi Ken, I'm not sure if this is an ex-Javelin kit though I could be wrong. I say this as I built one (as 'Sirocco') for a customer two years back ,the kit then was a 'new' in the Dave Andrews range . As a 'heads up' when you get to the body ....watch out for the splashers, they are the correct shape for a 'Precursor' but are set too far out like a George V i.e.flush with the cabside. On a Precursor they are set further in and to get the correct effect it required some tricky infilling of the footplate to fill the gap. This might have been corrected by now but check

It is indeed, IIRC correctly the Hall etches should still have Dave Ennis's signature on them somewhere...........

Ah! yes I remember now about the sandpipes ....I did leave them off as, with the front step being cranked inwards towards the front bogie wheel I thought the clearance would be tight, also left off the rear bogie splasher for same reason plus the possibility of shorting The guy I built it for wanted a running model so was not a problem ......

Sandy, I think that the draincocks etc are on there under the black paint.....as to the cab front I honestly can't remember having a problem with it.....in fact the whole kit went together really well with no problems......unlike others I've built :-)

Cracking kit....here's a shot of 'one I built earlier' i.e. 'Kings Canterbury'.......and painted by John Cockcroft

Get a move on Mike.....our show in Shepshed is on the 12th October.....plenty of time to get it done....any chance? :-) Hope all's well, John

For details of the inside valve gear 'gubbins' the Wild Swan LMS profile No.4 is a MUST for Lizzie builders....also pretty darn good for the rest of the loco too......

Which is of course exactly what the Americans had..........

Whilst not visually appealing the sand domes on the boiler top are really quite practical........filled from above thus no heaving buckets of sand onto the footplate and pouring down small fillers between the frames........and the heat of the boiler keeps the sand dry too

Ken, check out the top lamp bracket that's fitted just above the radiator, the photos I've seen show its presence but there again some may not have had it. Just thought I'd mention this before you primed it

Very impressive Ken.. may well have a crack at one of these myself, they make a nice change from the usual 08 and can remember seeing them in action at Gresty sidings, Crewe.

Must learn to read text, not just look at photos , mind you why put the half etch marks on the strapping in the first place.......odd

This is coming on quite nicely but have they not made a pig's ear in the design when it comes to the door strapping, shouldn'y those half etched marks be on the inside so that the rivets can be formed to appear on the outside. Looking at the photos of the real thing these rivets are very low relief , but they are there. I'll get me coat .......

Very nice , may well do something similar with my boxcab and agree with you on the low sound level Cheers John

Acme bought the College Models range along with others.........I built their Ivatt 2MT 2-6-0 and 'Lizzie' both ex-CM.......and both hard slogs

Surely they are an improvement on the ones supplied in his old College Models kits ?, as ' inherited' by Acme Models, most of which were blobs of brass that had to be filed/bent to shape to fit properly........

According to the 'news' section of David Andrew's website he's considering doing a re-run of the two Severn & Wye Rly locos in 7mm scale that have not been available for a while.......but only IF there is sufficient interest. Cracking layout Pete

As a thought Michael, which Lenz chip did you fit in the loco? ....and was it relatively straightforward? I ask 'cos I have a spare Lenz gold which may fit in mine, perhaps with a P1 USP module.

If the project went ahead Michael it would'nt exactly be a kit as such more just a sheet of etched body parts and a parts list with no instructions. That said, anybody with a knowledge of the boxcabs probably would'nt have a problem putting it together and it fits the 44 ton chassis a treat......