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JimC

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  1. JimC
    No, sorry, I haven't made a drawing of these. I'm thinking I should, but there's not a lot of material about. There are some drawings at the NRM, but the catalogue descriptions don't give me immense confidence I want to go ordering half a dozen up at getting on 30 quid a time. Soon adds up! The GWS doesn't seem to have anything useful. Does anyone know of any other sources?
  2. JimC

    Barry Railway F Class

    By JimC,


    Barry Railway Locomotive Sketches
    The F class was very similar to the A class except for the saddle tank. The F class is one of the trickier ones to sketch out, because there were several different batches from builders, and variations between the batches, front overhang for example, definitely existed. There are two styles of foot plate valance too.  The first five at least had a straight valance, the remainder curved as drawn. 
     

     
    This second sketch shows a lightly swindonised version of the F class, still with the Barry boiler and bunker, but GWR safety valves and cover and several other standard Swindon fittings.
     

     
  3. JimC

    GWR 9 and 10 Dean Experimental Single Wheelers

    By JimC,


    GWR Locomotive Sketches
    These were Dean prototypes. Superficially rather ordinary looking 2-2-2s by the time they went out of service, they are perhaps more interesting and influential than sometimes given credit to. I don't think I really said enough about them in the printed version of the book. I shall try and produce a series of sketches, although material can be rather sparse.

    No. 9 started life in 1881 as a rather absurd express 4-2-4 tank engine with 7ft 8in driving wheels and was so prone to derailment it probably never went into service at all: at times the GWR denied it had ever existed. There is a long piece about No 9 in the original form in Les Summers' book "Swindon Steam", where he draws rather different conclusions about its design than those found in RCTS. I find his arguments rather persuasive. 

    In 1884 substantial parts of this locomotive were included in a renewed no. 9, which was a more conventional 2-2-2, still with the 7ft 8in driving wheels. Both iterations of no 9 had Stephenson's valve gear outside the frames with valves and cylinders inside the frames.

    No. 10 followed in 1886 and was externally similar to No. 9, but had rather different internals, with the slide valves located under the cylinders. This is generally called the Stroudley layout, having been devised by Stroudley of the LBSCR.   This layout was clearly successful since it was repeated on the 3001 (Dean Single) class and all the larger inside cylinder 4-4-0s.

    Both 9 and 10 were reconstructed in 1890 with 7ft driving wheels and a conventional layout, generally similar to the Queen Class. The external valve gear on No 9 disappeared, and I think that new cylinders with the valves underneath were fitted.   In 1890, or perhaps 1893 they were named Victoria and Royal Albert respectively. No 9 received a belpaire firebox boiler in 1901, together with a larger cab. They were scrapped in 1905 and 1906.

    There are a few photos about of the pair in their later days - see, for example, the June 3 entry in the GWS Blog here: https://didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/article.php/515/going-loco-june-2022. They're all a bit muddy in the shadows below the footplate though.
     
     
  4. JimC

    Rhymney Railway L Class

    By JimC,


    Rhymney Railway Locomotive Sketches
    These were saddle tanks with double frames. Five were built in 1891 by the Vulcan Foundry. They had started life with a polished brass safety valve cover as well as the dome, not to mention elaborate lining out. As shown here the lining is omitted completely and its intended to be a post WW1 configuration.   The frames are rather different to the general run of 19thC RR saddle tanks.  By GWR days three had been converted to L1 Class 0-6-2ST, one of which had already been withdrawn.


     
    The two remaining 2-4-2s were numbered 1324/5 and acquired GWR safety valves (and cover) and other minor features, and the air brakes were removed. They were scrapped in 1928. So there's really not much difference between the RR and GWR configuration. From the few photos I've seen they didn't have any GWR lettering on the tanks, which wasn't unusual for saddle tanks, not that these sketches are intended to portray accurate liveries. 
     

     
    The sketch looks very bare between the leading and driving wheels to me. I think in real life the connecting rods and valve gear would be filling that gap. I noted with some amusement - if I interpret the drawings I have correctly - that the leading wheels appear to have bearings in the outside frames only, the driving wheels bearings in both sets of frames, the second set of drivers just the outside, and the radial trailing truck only frames inside the wheels. 
  5. JimC

    GWR 1741 (655) Class

    By JimC,


    GWR Locomotive Sketches
    Enthusiasts often refer to this Wolverhampton built class as the 655 class, but the GWR usually described them as 1741s. Thirty-two were built from 1892. They were essentially similar to the earlier 645 and 1501 classes, but were just a little larger with longer overhangs front and rear. The bunker was actually the same size as the 1501 bunker, so the extra three inches of overhang presumably provided more room in the cab. Again they were built with T class boilers. They were numbered rather eccentrically: the first two, 655 and 767, were given numbers previously used by 645s that had been sold. The rest were numbered 1741-1750 and 1771-1790.
    Almost a subclass were the last 'large' Wolverhampton engines, 2701 to 2720, built 1896/7. The boilers were T class, but had small dimensional variations. Otherwise they were very similar to the 1741s.
    The 655/1741/2701s tended to merge with the earlier 645 and 1501 classes as time went on. They were fitted with the larger P class Belpaire boilers and pannier tanks. The majority were given enlarged bunkers. Around half were superheated at one stage in their lives and a number gained enclosed cabs.
    By the 1930s all four classes/sub classes were being treated as a single class.
    Some were scrapped in the 1930s, but most survived the war. Some twenty-one made it onto the BR books and the last were scrapped in 1950.
     
    There were five diagrams for the 1741s and 2701s, covering the variations in boilers and tanks. The last diagram, B65, covered 645, 1501, 1741 and 2701 classes, demonstrating how the classes had merged as they were updated.
     
     

     
    This first sketch is rather loosely based on diagram M, but the cab in particular has been amended from photos. A cab entrance with a single large radius as shown seemed to be something of a Wolverhampton thing. Swindon cabs usually had a larger radius on the bottom of the cutout than the top. This is the T class boiler, which was pitched appreciably lower than the later P class. Oddly the precise combination of dome position , firebox and T class boiler on the GWR diagram is not known to have actually been fitted to the class. Fortunately for my sketch the firebox top is hidden anyway.
     

    This is more closely based on diagram A18, the first diagram with the P class boiler The odd stumpy chimney was by no means universal on this variation.
     
     

     
    This sketch is based on diagram A42, which is an earlier pannier tank fitment with the P class boiler.
     

     
    And finally this is based on diagram B65, with a full length cab roof and a much extended bunker.  The resemblance to the 57s is getting quite marked, but pre group Wolverhampton locomotives could always be recognised by the footplate valance and the shape of the front step.

    Its important to note that the sketches show just a few of a considerable number of variations. The Wolverhampton pre group classes are something of a modeller's nightmare, since Wolverhampton had their own style, but Swindon tended to put Swindon design features on locomotives that came into their hands. So photos, photos.
     
     
     
  6. JimC

    Rhymney Railway L1 Class

    By JimC,


    Rhymney Railway Locomotive Sketches
    The L1 class were built as L class 2-4-2 saddle tanks with double frames. By GWR days two of them had been converted to 0-6-2T, given new design boilers based on those of the K class, and called class L1. A third conversion had been scrapped in 1921. The rebuilds presented an odd appearance, since the 2-4-2s had a small rise in the footplate over each crank on the drivers, but this was not repeated over the new leading driving wheel. The 0-6-2s, allocated diagram J, were scrapped in 1922 and 1923, and never carried their allocated GWR numbers, 1324 and 1325.

     
    This is an updated version of the sketch, and hopefully further updates will follow. The sketch attempts to represent RR No 64 between 1911, when it was converted to 0-6-2ST, and 1917. At this stage it was still carrying a modified L class boiler. Some time after 1917 it received a new boiler, documented as being a K class boiler, and photographs show it to have been considerably higher pitched. At the moment I am uncertain as to whether 62 and 63 had the higher pitched boiler as I have yet to find any photographs. Published information states all three had low pitched boilers as per the sketch, but the K class boilers were a few inches longer.
     
    This is one of the least well founded drawings. The material I have found for the L1s so far consists of drawings and photographs of the L class 2-4-2ST, a single rather indistinct photograph in WRR Vol 1No 64 in this form, two photos of 64 in post 1917 configuration and a particularly sketchy - in more than one sense - GWR weight diagram which includes a rise in the footplate over the leading wheel which didn't actually exist. So this was created by taking my drawing of the L and truncating the frames in what seemed to be a reasonable manner and hoping for the best. If anyone can urn up some good photos of the L1s I'd be grateful. More than most drawings this one suffers from not having found any kind of source for the inside rods and motion, which I think should be particularly prominent between the leading and driving wheels. I would like to thank contributors to this blog for comments that predate this drawing, which have been extremely useful in making improvements.
     
  7. JimC

    GWR 1813 Class

    By JimC,


    GWR Locomotive Sketches
    The 1813 Class is intriguing. They started off as side tanks, and ended up as pannier tanks with saddle tanks fitted in between. The side tanks didn't last very long, and this was a period where there were any number of experiments with boilers. Consequently there is extraordinary variety, and it seems as if not only were there no two the same, but none of them stayed the same for very long either. These sketches are the fruits of a small joint research exercise with @Mikkel.
    Beware of thinking either of these sketches is representative of any locomotive at any date! They are all features that existed (along with quite a few others) but I haven't attempted to align these versions of the sketches to any particular one of the photographs and drawings we found.
     
     


     
    There is a sketch of this class in the published volume, but it was rather basic. I wasn't satisfied with it (are we ever completely satisfied with any model, whether in electrons or in brass?), but I felt it was a vital one to include, since these side tanks were the direct ancestors of the 57xx and 94xx classes.
     
  8. JimC

    GWR Nos 93 & 94

    By JimC,


    GWR Locomotive Sketches
    Another early bird this one. These two were the first GWR built 0-6-0T, and belong to the Gooch era - built in 1860. They were quite small engines with 4ft 2in (or possibly 4ft) wheels. They were fairly typical Gooch designs with domeless boilers, raised fireboxes and Gooch valve gear. They had inside frames, small side tanks and a well tank under the bunker. When renewed in the 1870s, they were turned out as members of the 850/1901 classes, so it is probable that no significant parts were reused. They don't really seem to feature in the general GWR 0-6-0T evolution. 

    I rather fancied doing this one, but the only source I could find was the E L Ahrons drawing which has been reproduced in several places, notably Holcroft and RCTS. I haven't found any photograph, which isn't really surprising given their early demise and probable low profile. Curiously Ahrons and Holcroft (the latter following Ahrons I imagine) refer to the 'class' as being 91 & 92, but as seen elsewhere in these pages 91 and 92 were 0-4-2T built for the GWR by Beyers.
    The valve gear was a particular issue. I didn't think I could leave it put completely, so I tried to make some sense out of the lines in Ahrons drawing against a copy of Stephenson's gear from another locomotive and altered it for what I figured were the visible differences in Gooch gear. I call these drawing sketches since although intended to be scale I can't guarantee accuracy, but this one is perhaps more sketchy than most.
    Which brings me on to livery and lining. I omit lining. It's shed loads of work, and scale lining at this sort of size disappears into anti-aliasing anyway. Plus it tends to obscure the underlying shape. But this one does look a bit bald without it. As for livery, well according to GWW dark holly green, so I picked a dark holly green from a number of choices available on the net. But like most colour names its a broad church. Who knows!

     

  9. JimC

    Rhymney Railway K Class 0-6-2ST/0-6-2PT

    By JimC,


    Rhymney Railway Locomotive Sketches
    These were a version of the J class with a larger bunker, but I found more subtle differences than I expected. Again its very heavily indebted to the excellent WRRC volume on the Rhymney. This sketch represents a locomotive rather earlier in its career than the J class sketch, with the rather unusual long brass number plate.

     
    Note that this one has Ramsbottom safety valves rather than the pop valves on the J. There was a horrific accident with one of these locomotives where a fitter reassembled the Ramsbottom valves incorrectly and locked them tight so they could not release. The boiler exploded whilst shed workers were attempting to drop the fire and three men were killed and the locomotive destroyed. Subsequently the Rhymney had pop valves fitted to all new boilers.
     
    Working from photographs in the WRRC book and in RCTS, here's an attempt at sketching out the pannier tank version of the K class. Curiously these shared a diagram with a version of the saddle tank with a GWR modified boiler, which would explain why I have no volume containing a weights drawing of this variation. There seems little point in sketching out the GWR saddle tank version, which externally had only a different dome and the safety valve cover to distinguish it from the Rhymney days. I think I'm right in saying this was the only 0-6-2 Pannier tank, certainly the only one with outside frames. 
     

     
  10. JimC

    ex P&M Brush built 0-4-0s 795 and 921

    By JimC,


    Smaller Absorbed Line Sketches
    Powlesland and Mason were not really a railway as such. They provided cartage and locomotive haulage on the trackwork of the Swansea Harbour Trust, which also owned its own locomotives. At the grouping they had nine 0-4-0ST from five different manufacturers. These two, built in 1903 and 1906, were among the last steam locomotives built by the Brush Electrical Engineering Co. This is the same Brush company, give or take a few mergers and acquisitions, that was and is a significant builder of diesel electric locomotives. They had taken over the the Falcon Engine & Car Works Ltd in 1889, which had built steam locomotives for P&M amongst others.
    Powlesland & Mason locomotives came to the GWR in January 1924, late in the grouping, and were given a rather random collection of numbers – and number plates – reused from locomotives absorbed earlier that had already been withdrawn. 795 was given a considerable rebuild in 1926. This included a new boiler to a different design, and, uniquely for an 0-4-0T, pannier tanks. These were short tanks and didn't cover the firebox. 921 didn't receive such dramatic changes but did receive a GWR combined dome/safety valve cover. Both were sold on to industry in 1928/9. 795 was scrapped in the early 1960s, but 921 survives and is preserved, although has not run in preservation.
     
     
     

     

     
    An earlier version of this page included the following request for assistance, which explains the earlier part of the discussion.
     
    These - well, perhaps just 795 in its extra cute pannier tank form - are going to be my next sketch. What I could do with, though, is a really square side on photograph to get the rods and cylinders right. I have a GW weight diagram, but it has no detail. All the photos I've found on line of 921 are at something of an angle. This one isn't bad, but squarer would be better. Any offers? 
     
  11. JimC

    Rhymney Railway M Class

    By JimC,


    Rhymney Railway Locomotive Sketches
    The last of the outside framed classes had been delivered to the Rhymney in 1900, and from then on the locomotives took on a much more modern appearance. The first were what was later to be called the M class, and the  detailed design is usually credited to Robert Stephenson & Co. All subsequent locomotives for the Rhymney, other than a pair of locomotives which started life as railmotor units, bore a distinct family resemblance. These locomotives form a complicated and rather incestuous group, since around 17 variations on the 0-6-2 theme can be identified, all sharing a common 7ft 3in + 8ft 0in + 6ft 0in wheelbase which was also seen on similar locomotives for other lines and even the GWR's 56xx class. Within that there are three basic themes: 4'6 wheels with larger boilers (M, R), 5ft wheel with a smaller firebox (P), and 4'4.5 in wheel also with the smaller boiler (A). There were subclasses with round top and belpaire firebox boilers, and some experiments were made with boilers swapped between classes. When the GWR introduced their own boilers the Ms and Rs received Std 2s, and the Ps and As Std 10. It's also helpful to consider the S and S1 class 0-6-0T when looking at the RR locomotive development. The actual construction order was M, R, S, P, A, A1, P1, S1, AR/AP, and its helpful to keep this in mind tracing the development between classes.
     
    The original boilers on the Ms, which had Belpaire fireboxes, were considered unsatisfactory, and by the grouping all were running boilers of the design first used by the R class. The GWR tended to treat the Ms as one class with the later Rs, albeit with subclasses represented with different diagrams. They were numbered 33 and 47-51.
     
     

    This first sketch represents what was temporarily known as the Mr Class, being the M class fitted with the R class boiler. Once all had been converted the r disappeared again.
     

     
     
    The Ms received R class cylinders in the 1930s. One was rebuilt with a Standard 2 boiler and GWR style cab, but otherwise they had few changes beyond safety valves and larger bunkers. The second sketch is intended to show the one M, no 47, that received a GWR boiler - a standard 2. The resemblance to the GWR 56s is surely no coincidence, but in point of fact the conversion wasn't carried out until after the 56s had been in service a few years.

     
     
    Two Ms were withdrawn in the 1930s, but the rest survived the war, three getting to British Railways and the last going in 1951.

    The dark Brunswick green I've chosen to approximate (with lining missing) RR paint tends to hide detail doesn't it. I shall have to think about that.
  13. JimC

    Dean's Larger Tank Engines

    By JimC,


    GWR Locomotive Sketches
    This is something of a followup from discussion in another Blog entry,  https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/entry/24891-gwr-no-34-1890/ and is also relevant to this one. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/entry/24922-gwr-3521-0-4-2t-and-0-4-4t/. As I said, I'm beginning to further appreciate what a weird and largely unsuccessful bunch Dean's larger tank engines were, and what a contrast in style they were from the smaller 6 wheeled engines, conventional, successful and very long lived, and heavily based on Armstrong originals. So this is a sort of brain dump/request for comments.
    What struck me in the previous thread is that there does seem to be something of a common style to the larger Dean tanks, quite separate to the Armstrong derived Metros and Metro derivatives, very conventional and with six or eight reasonably evenly spaced wheels. 
    It seems to me that I can categorise the larger ones as:
    1880, No 1, 4-4-0T. Rebuilt 1882 as a more conventional 2-4-0 and in that form survived until 1924.
    1881, No 9, 4-2-4T. Never went into service, and has attracted a good amount of writing and speculation.
    1885, 3501 Class 2-4-0T. Broad gauge convertible versions of the Stella Tank.
    1885, 3511 Class 2-4-0T. 'Stella tank'. A tank engine version of the Stella 2-4-0 and part of a group of closely related locomotives that also included the 1661 Class 0-6-0ST and 2361 class 0-6-0.
    1886, No 13, 2-4-2WT. Rebuilt 1897 as a 4-4-0ST and in that form survived until1926.
    1887, 3521 Class, 0-4-2T. Converted to 0-4-4T 1891/2 and rebuilt as 4-4-0 tender engines from 1899.
    1888, 3541 Class, 0-4-2ST. Broad Gauge half sisters of the 3521s, converted to 0-4-4 1890/1, narrow gauge 1891/2 and rebuilt as 4-4-0 tender engines from 1899.
    1890, 34 Class, 0-4-2ST, converted to 0-4-4ST in 1895 and as such ran until 1906/8.
    1891, 1345 Class. 0-4-4S/WT. Rebuilt from ex Monmouthshire Railway 0-6-0ST absorbed in 1880. Withdrawn between 1908 and 1913.
    1898, No 1490. 4-4-0PT sold 1907.

    I don't think I'll consider the Stella family much in this exercise, it seems to me that they are a separate line of development. What I'm particularly interested in for this is the Swindon built 0-4-2/0-4-4T locomotives which seem to me to embody a common style.
     
  14. JimC

    Rhymney Railway S Class

    By JimC,


    Rhymney Railway Locomotive Sketches
    The S class were four powerful and heavy shunting engines, delivered by Hudswell Clarke in 1908. They bore a definite family resemblance to the R class 0-6-2T, with the same coupled wheelbase but a shorter boiler, a round topped firebox and smaller driving wheels. Their original boilers were replaced with A class boilers by the grouping. They joined the GWR as 608-611.
    In 1930, all were rebuilt with superheated Standard 10 tapered boilers and new GWR style larger bunkers. They were renumbered 93-96 in the 1946 renumbering and all survived to British Railways to be withdrawn in 1953/4.

    The first sketch is intended to show the class as delivered, with the round top firebox and the short lived oval number plate. This sketch should be treated with caution, since I didn't have a good drawing to work from, just a particularly rudimentary weight diagram, although I did have a good official photograph. There was particular difficulty in reconciling the proportions of cab and tank between the photograph, the weight diagram, and drawings of the class after reboilering with a GWR boiler, and I just crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.
    The reboilered version of the S class is covered in this entry. 
     
  15. JimC

    Rhymney Railway R Class (AR)

    By JimC,


    Rhymney Railway Locomotive Sketches
    The last new locomotives for the Rhymney were ordered in February 1920, about the time when serious planning for the grouping started in the Cabinet (https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7735748). Four were delivered by Hudswell Clarke in July and September 1921, and six from Beyer Peacock in December. They were slightly different in detail from the pre war R class. The classification AR doesn't seem to have ever been used in practice or officially but was certainly present on a Beyer Peacock drawing which is still in existence and available from HMRS (https://hmrs.org.uk/hmrs-22702--0-6-2t-class-r--12ft-6ins-driving-wheels.html).
    Seven of these ten never received GWR boilers and kept Rhymney boilers to the end. The sketch is based mainly on the Beyer drawing, with reference also to WRRC drawings and to photographs. Very unusually I had enough information to sketch the inside valve gear: its a shame its almost completely obscured!
  16. JimC

    Rhymney Railway A and A1 Classes

    By JimC,


    Rhymney Railway Locomotive Sketches
    The A class could be considered an enlarged S class 0-6-0T, and the S class a smaller R class 0-6-2T. The As had a smaller boiler than the Ms and Rs.They had 4ft 4½in driving wheels like the S class, the Rs having 4ft 6in. Stephenson’s delivered 10 As in 1910, and Hudswell Clarke 6 more in 1911.

    The A1s were essentially the same as the As except that the boiler was pitched higher, had a Belpaire firebox and was fitted with top feed. There were also small differences to the frames. Three came from Hudswell Clarke in 1914, two more in 1916, and three from Stephenson’s in 1918.

    Several of the A class were given A1 boilers, which put them in the A1 class. By the time of the grouping the A class was reduced to ten and the A1 class increased to fourteen. They were allocated numbers 52-75 by the GWR. The sub class complications continued under the GWR and some A1s received A boilers and vice versa as boilers were exchanged at heavy repairs.

    From 1929 standard 10 boilers were introduced and these were fitted to about half the class. GWR bunkers appeared on most, and GWR cabs on some. Withdrawals started in 1948 with some of the earlier locomotives, and the majority went between 1953 and 1955. 
     
    The GWR created the same boiler fitting drawing for both variations. The Std 10 boiler sketch above shows 1914 (A1) frames, but the differences are small. I also idly wonder whether the frames from the three different builders of A1s were identical. There seems little point in drawing both. As usual with the RR classes I owe a substantial debt to the Welsh Railway Research Circle's excellent publication on the Rhymney,   Welsh Railway Records Volume 1, but a GWR drawing reproduced in Russell was also very important, especially in sorting out the differences between the frame types. 

    Sandboxes... You'll see the A has the front sandbox above the frame, and the A1 below. Some As definitely had the sandboxes changed to under the footplate. Another in life change was that the front suspension springs were moved to under the frames on a couple of the locomotives in the early 1950s.
     
  17. JimC

    Rhymney Railway R Class

    By JimC,


    Rhymney Railway Locomotive Sketches
    Stephenson’s built the first three locomotives of the R class in 1907. Although based on the design of the Ms, they had quite different boilers with a slightly larger barrel and a Belpaire firebox, and cylinders with the valves between the cylinders rather than above as in the Ms. Two more Rs followed in 1909. The last batch of Rs, known semi officially as the AR class, were delivered in 1921 and will follow in another entry.
    The Rs are commonly held to be the major influence on the GWR 56xx, although to be honest the family style was so strong between all the Rhymney inside frame types that making a distinction seems futile.
    The most obvious difference between the Rhymney locomotives and the 56s is that the GWR design had piston valves above the cylinders, whilst the Rs had slide valves mounted between them. This is not, of course, evident in the sketches.

    This sketch is based on a 1908 Stephenson's drawing of the 1909 batch. Later in their Rhymney lives there were safety valve and front suspension changes. The GWR changed safety valves again, and in several cases installed Std 2 boilers. I have a drawing in preparation for the Std 2 boiler, but I am uncertain of several details. That may have to wait until the AR article.
    The earlier R conversions were, as might be expected, all of the pre war engines, yet the GWR drawings I have, although prepared before the first conversions were made, shows AR frames and I am not clear whether the converted Rs received the suspension and frame changes which would be needed to exactly match the drawings. 
  18. JimC

    Port Talbot Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST - GWR 808 Class

    By JimC,


    Port Talbot Railway Locomotive Sketches
    These Hudswell-Clarke built locomotives were delivered to the Port Talbot in 1900/01.
    They weren't given any major rebuilds under the GWR but were lightly westernised. They were withdrawn in the late 1920s/early 1930s, with some sold into industry, .
    One has survived and is a popular and successful locomotive in preservation. In spite of being basically an industrial shunter type she works heritage line trains very capably.

  19. JimC

    GWR Large Prairie Bunkers and Rear Tanks

    By JimC,


    GWR Locomotive Sketches
    I've sketched out the obvious principal variations in Large Prairie bunkers visible in Russell, both drawings and photos. I'm making the assumption that the lines of close spaced rivets on the bunker side did indeed follow the top seam of the water tank. It sees to me there must have been variations in coal and water capacity. I shall have to take a closer look at the RCTS volume.
     

     
  20. JimC

    Cardiff Railway 33 Class

    By JimC,


    Cardiff Railway Locomotive Sketches
    These large 0-6-2Ts were built by Kitsons in 1908, and, according to RCTS, with the obvious exception of tanks and bunker, were virtually identical to Taff Vale O4s. Its not immediately obvious to me why this should be, as the O4s were never built by Kitsons. I shall be interested when I get to the Taff Vale classes. The obvious feature of the class of 3, in common with some other Cardiff classes, was the long tanks, heavily sloped at the front. I can't make my mind up whether I like this or not aesthetically! Anyway this is the sole GWR reboilering of the 33 class, which lasted until 1953. One of its sisters was withdrawn in 1930 and cut up in 1934 after failing to find a buyer, and the other, withdrawn in 1934, was soon sold into industry, and survived into 1960, just a few years too early to have a chance of preservation.
     
  21. JimC

    Rhymney Railway J Class

    By JimC,


    Rhymney Railway Locomotive Sketches
    This one might be the last for a while, because I get a little weary of doing too many of these sketches at a time.  This one owes a huge debt to the Welsh Railway Research Circle's excellent publication on the Rhymney,  Welsh Railway Records Volume 1, which was the source not only for the drawing I used as a foundation, but also provided some excellent photos. The sharp eyed who have the book might be able to see a number of (minor) areas where my interpretation of the photographs differed from my understanding of the drawing.


    This was a tricky one to shade. Dark Brunswick Green, apparently, was the chosen colour of the Rhymney, so I found a "Dark Brunswick Green" reference on line and constructed a shading palette from that, but together with the thickish outline I use for these sketches the result is perhaps not as clear as it might be. I may have to think about that, but if I go paler it would be getting closer to GWR middle chrome green than I would really like.

    I've always found these idiosyncratic outside frame locomotives rather appealing, and wish I had the skills to model one. It will be fun when I get on to the GWR rebuilt 0-6-2Ts with similar frames and pannier tanks.
     
  22. JimC

    Rhymney Railway S1 Class

    By JimC,


    Rhymney Railway Locomotive Sketches
    These were essentially updates of the S class (qv), slightly longer and with larger bunkers, and based on A1 class 0-6-2T design features. They also had a slightly larger boiler with a Belpaire firebox. They were delivered in 1920 by Hudswell Clarke. They were numbered 604-606. Plans to reboiler them with Standard 10 boilers were never acted on, although one did receive an enlarged GWR style bunker. They did acquire GWR safety valves and covers and some additional tank fittings. They were renumbered 90-92 in the 1946 renumbering and were all withdrawn in 1954.
    The S and even more the S1s were large and heavy for 0-6-0Ts. At 56 tons 8cwt and with 19tons 10cwt - the GWR red route limit - on two pairs of driving wheels they were heavier than their eventual successors, the GWR 94xx class. One may compare 46 tons 10cwt for the USATC tanks and 48tons 5cwt for the Riddles Austerities. 

  23. JimC

    GWR 3511 Class

    By JimC,


    GWR Locomotive Sketches
    Not to be confused with the 0-4-2T 3521s that ended up as 4-4-0s, these were 2-4-0Ts that ended up as 2-4-0s.  Built in 1885, the ten double framed 3511 2-4-0Ts were a tank engine version of the Stella class 2-4-0s, a part of a Dean standardisation exercise that also included the 2361 outside frame version of the Dean Goods and the 1661 0-6-0ST. All had major components in common. They were a much larger engine than the Metros with 17in by 26in cylinders and class P (Dean Goods) boilers. Originally (as shown) they carried condensing apparatus for use in the Severn Tunnel. 3501-10 were similar, but built as convertibles for the broad gauge.  The 3511 series lost tanks and gained tenders to become additional members of the Stella class in 1894/5.
     
    This sketch was quite a challenge. I started it because I was given a couple of blueprints of weight diagrams of the class, but when I came to trace the blueprints the frames just didn't look right to me against photographs. I've decided, on *very* limited evidence, that the running plate on the drawings is a little too low, and so I lifted it and now I think it better matches photographs. 
     
    Sketch updated 1st Feb
     
  24. JimC

    GWR 322 Class Tank Engines

    By JimC,


    GWR Locomotive Sketches
    I'm not sure how I came to omit a sketch of this class from my book, but I certainly did. I included the tender version. Perhaps I was unsure how many drawings of similar looking pre-group pannier tanks should be included. 
     
    They have one of the more complex histories. The 322 class tale started in 1864. They were thirty 0-6-0 tender engines,  entirely of Beyer Peacock design, twenty ordered under the Gooch regime (322-341) and the rest (350-359) by Joseph Armstrong. They had plate (not sandwich) double frames with the running plate rising over each wheel to clear the cranks. They were rebuilt quite heavily from 1878, but not officially renewed. In six cases these rebuilds consisted of a conversion to saddle tank, and some numbers were swapped between locomotives so the tank locomotives took numbers 322-327, and the remaining locos 328 on.
    So from 1878-1885 the six 322 tank engines were created at  Wolverhampton as conversions from tender engines. They had open cabs and full length saddle tanks as was conventional at this period.
    They received a variety of boilers in the late nineteenth century, receiving the Sir Daniel type in various configurations. After 1918, they mostly received pannier tanks, and those that survived into the 1930s had all received superheated P class boilers. Only one received an enclosed cab. One was scrapped in 1921, and the rest between 1928 and 1932. So this sketch represents the last gasp of what were by then sixty year old locomotives, albeit only a very limited amount of the locomotive would actually have been of that age. I can see no GW lettering on a photo of 322 in the last days, so I've left it off.
     


    The Sketch is based on the GWR weight diagram B31, but there are a few small changes based on a photo of 322, notably brakes, sanding  and axle guards.
     
    And for interest, this sketch from the book is the original form of the class. Frames, motion components and maybe wheel centres are probably about all that was common to both! Tractive effort had increased from around 13,000lbs to over 18,000lbs.
     

  25. JimC

    GWR 248 and 253 Class 0-6-0s

    By JimC,


    GWR Locomotive Sketches
    Bit of a veteran this time. These are  technically absorbed locomotives. 248 (upper sketch) is one of a class of five delivered to the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway in 1854/5. They were an E.B. Wilson standard design. 253 (lower sketch) is one of seven more, with differences to the frames, were bought by the the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway. These lines merged into the West Midland Railway, which in turn was taken over by the GWR to form a significant part of the narrow (=standard) gauge Northern Division. They were much rebuilt over their lives, acquiring larger cylinders and other changes – even in some cases new frames – but don’t seem to have been officially renewed. In RCTS the 253 frames are described as G.N.R. pattern, and the 248s as being N.E.R. pattern. In the E.L. Ahrons sketches I've used as the chief basis for these drawings I also seem to see some differences in the inside motion arrangements and some other more obvious variations.


    Although the first was withdrawn as early as 1877, and all the 253s by 1881, the last survivor of the 248s was withdrawn in 1907, but not bearing too much resemblance to this sketch by then. Livery is a complete minefield for something as early as this. I've just chosen an approximation of Wolverhampton colours with the lining left off. 
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