1970s era diesel weathering projects - Class 37 and 44

[andyman7]

I have recently finished 3 projects from my almost endless junk pile projects. I am loathe to take a knife and paintbrush to expensive superdetail RTR but have developed a very satisfying sideline in basically resurrecting 'junk' that most people leave to the juniors and casual model railway operators. In many ways I am channelling the spirit of 1980s modelling, when RTR was cheap and cheerful but if you wanted fidelity you needed to do some actual modelling.
The second aspect of this is using the enormous online resources we have today to find specific subjects to model - basically if I find one or more really good colour views of a loco that appeals to me and I can find enough bits in my bits graveyard - then a project is born!

The first model is a pre-eminent example of this. I'm fascinated by TOPS green locos, not least because I have only the vaguest memory of them because they were so grimy by the mid 70s to be not that obvious to the untrained eye. Only a few class 37s retained green long enough to get TOPS numbers and this fabulous image of a Cardiff loco in 1974 became my inspiration:

 

[andyman7]

RTR models of the Class 37 include 2 generations of Bachmann models, the upcoming Accurascale model and the Lima/Hornby Railroad offering, but the granddaddy of them all is the Triang-Hornby offering first launched in 1966. Virtually no-one considers this for any sort of project now due to the wrong bogies, iffy cab windows and terrible nose ends. However the basic shape and moulding is actually not bad - the only reason it is ignored is why on earth would anyone bother when there are so many alternatives? Well now, there's a challenge...

 

A recent toyfair produced a body that had been lumpily brush repainted, with some attempt at flush glazing, some nose end detailing but with a broken off buffer stock. It was £2. I thought that it would work for a heavily weathered example such as 37230. I found a spare chassis, and a pair of Lima Class 37 bogies in the spares box.

 

The start involved improving and correcting the ends and rebuild the missing bufferstock, although I left the handrails that had been fitted in place - they were a bit overscale but hey, that was one less job to do.

 

[andyman7]

For some reason, one end had been flushglazed in each individual window, whilst the other end had had the dividing frames removed and a single glazing piece added. Both options were workable, and as you can't see both ends at the same time I left the arrangement 'as is'.

Normally I would strip back a loco, but as this was going to have such a rough finish I just brush painted matt BR green over the blue, the  gloss varnished areas for transfer application.

At the same time I had begun hacking around with the underframe to get the bogies to fit.

[andyman7]

The transfers were either Fox or Railtec from my rather large pile of numbers and bits. When working from a real loco you can't really use prespaced numbers as there was so much variety in the actual application so the numbers are made up in situ.

The main issue with the chassis was getting enough clearance for the Lima Ringfield motor, the frame needed quite a bit of work. The motor bogie was hung from the top as per the original Triang one, but the locating frame is a good few mm higher now.

Once the basic structure and underframe was done, the fun started with weathering powders, dry brushing and layering - lots of colours including white and pink as well as soot, brake dust, rust etc. 

The result won't equal the mega-close up superdetail models but as layout dressing I'm really happy with it, and whilst slow speed fine control is never going to be a Lima Ringfield motor's forte it can romp around quite happily.

 

[andyman7]

The class 44 Toton stablemates and late survivors 44004 and 44007 also beckoned as projects. The first one wasn't really a scrapbox challenge as it was a Bachmann model of 44004 that I picked up for a good price having been 'weathered'. The weathering wasn't terrible, but No.4 (Great Gable) was photographed constantly in the 1970s and up to withdrawal in 1980 so here was a chance not to guess at weathering but to be able to replicate a point in time from excellent source material.

As supplied the model had one etched nameplate fitted. It seems to have retained one plate until about 1975 when it lost that and for the period I wanted was 'nameless'. All I needed to do on this one was sort the missing/broken discs on the end, clean off some of the excess weathering and then set to with powders and colours to bring out the white streaks, rust spots, oil streaks etc. I find that a photo or two makes it easier to be brave! This is how it turned out:

 

Edited April 17, 2022 by andyman7

[andyman7]

For comparison here is a link to an great Flickr image (by 'Crewcastrian', who also took the image of 37230 above) where the whiteish streaking on the main grille can easily be seen.

 

 

[andyman7]

Both 44004 and 44008 made it into preservation, but the third final survivor, 44007 (originally names 'Ingleborough') did not. The photos of this locomotive show it becoming increasingly shabby towards the end; in particular the main grilles on each side had become damaged and at some point, gaps in it were crudely plated over - just the sort of feature that is never going to appear on an RTR model.
At the last Sandown Park toy fair, I was doing my usual rummaging and came upon a 'peak' body covered in thick green paint. I assumed it was a Mainline shell but a quick look revealed that it was a Bachmann Class 44 shell, and originally blue. Cost? £1. 

A soak in bleach took off the green paint and left the blue pretty much intact, with the bonus that the roof area was left with a very effective base coat of weathered grime. A rummage in my 'Peak' graveyard yielded enough bits to build a working Mainline chassis, plus I had a spare pair of 3D printed bufferbeams.

I went to work carefully 'plating' over bits of 44007s grilles and lettering and weathering it. 44007 had numbers in all four corners until the end but on one side one of the '4's came off at some point and this was faithfully replicated. Here's a great Flickr image of the loco in the period concerned, photographed on 27 September 1979 by Gordon Edgar:

 

[andyman7]

And here is my model of 44007, built from junk box parts (with photo of the pair, channelling Toton on a sunny day some time in 1979):

 

[Halvarras]

On 17/04/2022 at 12:19, andyman7 said:

A rummage in my 'Peak' graveyard yielded enough bits to build a working Mainline chassis, plus I had a spare pair of 3D printed bufferbeams.

I went to work carefully 'plating' over bits of 44007s grilles and lettering and weathering it. 44007 had numbers in all four corners until the end but on one side one of the '4's came off at some point and this was faithfully replicated. Here's a great Flickr image of the loco in the period concerned, photographed on 27 September 1979 by Gordon Edgar:

 

 

I travelled on a Class 44 special from St Pancras to Manchester and back in mid-October 1977, we had 44002/4/7 in that order during the day and I recall '007 making rapid progress back to London for a freight loco but perhaps it only seemed that way in the dark......

I have also spent much of the past 12 months on models which have used up most of a long-standing pile of bits which has been immensely satisfying, as I'm sure you'll agree. It has been an unplanned distraction which has pushed back other projects but I enjoyed the modelling so much in no way can I regard it as time wasted!

I have a couple of older Peaks - one Replica, one Bachmann (D181 in blue) - which need bogie-mounted bufferbeams - can I ask you where you obtained your 3D printed items from? I've searched for such a thing but no luck. I've made my own out of plasticard in the past and will again if necessary, but I'm getting lazy in my old age.....😉

Edited May 15, 2022 by Halvarras
Omitted a word...

[andyman7]

2 hours ago, Halvarras said:

 

I travelled on a Class 44 special from St Pancras to Manchester and back in mid-October 1977, we had 44002/4/7 in that order during the day and I recall '007 making rapid progress back to London for a freight loco but perhaps it only seemed that way in the dark......

I have also spent much of the past 12 months on models which have used up most of a long-standing pile of bits which has been immensely satisfying, as I'm sure you'll agree. It has been an unplanned distraction which has pushed back other projects but I enjoyed the modelling so much in no way can I regard it as time wasted!

I have a couple of older Peaks - one Replica, one Bachmann (D181 in blue) - which need bogie-mounted bufferbeams - can I ask you where you obtained your 3D printed items from? I've searched for such a thing but no luck. I've made my own out of plasticard in the past and will again if necessary, but I'm getting lazy in my old age.....😉

There's a seller on ebay that does them - you can choose from different version for steam/multiple working fitted/ETH fitted too. Here's the link: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/193411819999?hash=item2d083e29df%3Ag%3A4JMAAOSwAHViFjPO&LH_BIN=1

[Phil Bullock]

D4 had always been my favourite! Are you aware of the unique features on Great Gable? 

My photo, today at Kidderminster 

 

Phil

[andyman7]

7 minutes ago, Phil Bullock said:

D4 had always been my favourite! Are you aware of the unique features on Great Gable? 

My photo, today at Kidderminster 

 

Phil

No, the 44004 is basically the Bachmann model with weathering but I would be interested in any specific characteristics it sported in the late 70s (I already know about the dented nose it acquired in the last few months of service...)

[Phil Bullock]

4 minutes ago, andyman7 said:

No, the 44004 is basically the Bachmann model with weathering but I would be interested in any specific characteristics it sported in the late 70s (I already know about the dented nose it acquired in the last few months of service...)

Righto! As per the photo from the 60s she carried that additional foot step under the nose, small hand rail on top and additional OHLE flash next to the BR arrows…

 

Took that photo today to illustrate them.  A bit of extra modelling gives a unique model….

 

Hope that helps 

 

Phil

[andyman7]

5 minutes ago, Phil Bullock said:

Righto! As per the photo from the 60s she carried that additional foot step under the nose, small hand rail on top and additional OHLE flash next to the BR arrows…

 

Took that photo today to illustrate them.  A bit of extra modelling gives a unique model….

 

Hope that helps 

 

Phil

Thanks Phil - I've gone to check my photo archive - none of them show the extra OHLE flash in that location in the period 1977-78ish so I'm pretty sure I'm OK there. You're quite right about the nose top handrails - a nice detail that is relatively easy to add. The nose step is there in a 1975 photo in my file but is plated or plugged in later 70s photos - these are good clear side on-views but it does seem to have been covered over for at least some of that period. 

 

[Phil Bullock]

3 minutes ago, andyman7 said:

Thanks Phil - I've gone to check my photo archive - none of them show the extra OHLE flash in that location in the period 1977-78ish so I'm pretty sure I'm OK there. You're quite right about the nose top handrails - a nice detail that is relatively easy to add. The nose step is there in a 1975 photo in my file but is plated or plugged in later 70s photos - these are good clear side on-views but it does seem to have been covered over for at least some of that period. 

 

Only goes to prove that I have focused on my period of interest and ignored her once she got 5 digits! Thanks for pointing that out , must have been reinstated during preservation.

 

Phil

[Halvarras]

16 hours ago, andyman7 said:

There's a seller on ebay that does them - you can choose from different version for steam/multiple working fitted/ETH fitted too. Here's the link: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/193411819999?hash=item2d083e29df%3Ag%3A4JMAAOSwAHViFjPO&LH_BIN=1

 

Many thanks @andyman7, that's very useful.  It would take some fiddly work to make something which looks this good out of plasticard, and I don't want to spend the time on making four of them when I have so many other things to be getting on with. These will considerably speed up work on my two models - most grateful for the link/info!

[Blackthorn]

Those buffer beams look really good. I have a Mainline 45 that could use the visual improvement, the body mounted buffers drive me nuts. Now there seems to be an easy solution.  It's a shame the seller doesn't ship outside the UK, I might have to ask a friend of mine over there for a favour.

 

Can I ask how easy (or fiddly) they were to fit?

 

Many thanks!

 

MJ

[andyman7]

19 minutes ago, Blackthorn said:

Those buffer beams look really good. I have a Mainline 45 that could use the visual improvement, the body mounted buffers drive me nuts. Now there seems to be an easy solution.  It's a shame the seller doesn't ship outside the UK, I might have to ask a friend of mine over there for a favour.

 

Can I ask how easy (or fiddly) they were to fit?

 

Many thanks!

 

MJ

I have found them very straightforward to fettle - there's a version with a slot in it that is designed to fit over the Mainline/Replica bogie but for 44007 I cut a narrow slot in the front and fitted a NEM pocket behind so it could take a modern narrow coupling - it was quite straightforward to secure with superglue.

[ess1uk]

Some nice work here

[Blackthorn]

Thank you, @andyman7. 

[Tortuga]

I’m liking this topic. I’m not hugely into diesel locomotives, but I do have a fondness for the so called “heritage diesels”. What you’re doing harks back to the late ‘90s / early 2000s when the modelling magazines always seemed to have at least one article devoted to super detailing and repainting a Lima / Hornby / Mainline model.

 

Following a recent trip on the NYMR when the trains were diesel hauled due to the fire risk from the extreme heat, my eldest (4) decided she preferred the “O engine” (Class 47 North Star) because “it wasn’t loud like the other one” (80080 on the Ecclesbourne Valley, which whistled VERY loudly right next to her).

 

I’ve got an old Hornby 47 that I’d started to modify, in the loft at my parents, so I was toying with the idea of “old school super detailing” that, but I can’t find anything online that isn’t “super detailing” (ie sticking on the supplied buffer beam details) the latest offering from Bachmann / ViTrains / Helijan / Hornby, whereas I was thinking of substituting a Lima chassis, replacing moulded details and adding etched grills. I’m sure I remember a Model Rail article doing something similar years ago…