Locos for Tyneside in the BR era. Kerr Stuart Victory.

[rowanj]

Here are the "test photos" for the J24 - the first scratchbuild loco I have ever attempted. Just to summarise, the cab is from the LRM J21/J25 kit- and the boiler fittings are a mix of ArthurK and Markits. Buffers are Slaters. The tender is a kit, but I may still have a go at sctchbuilding one. The chassis, footplate, boiler and smokebox were built from 10 thou brass sheet. Motor and gearbox from Highlevel. Wheels from Markits..

 

I cannot see an RTR J24 arriving any time soon. ArthurK is taking expressions of interest for a re-run of his kit,

 

 

Edited June 24 by rowanj

[rowanj]

I always take photos to check how a model looks as, even with a camera-phone, they will reveal details missed by the naked eye, I seem to have a "blind spot" about seeing issues but quite how I missed the fact that the front buffer beam had been pushed upwards, I really don't know, Before anyone suggests I should have gone to Specsavers, my 74yo eyes were tested only a couple of weeks ago, and got a clean bill of health.

 

Anyway, remedial work has been done, and here is the LH shot of the loco, ready to enter service.

 

Edited June 25 by rowanj

[rowanj]

I picked up a Planets Industrials Kerr Stuart Victory in the recent Rails Sale, It;s a lovely model, crawls along, and will pull a really heavy load. I had done a bit of research, and noted that Planet had thought about producing a "Lambton Cab" conversion kit, which has not, as yet, appeared. I have an RT Models etch, which I considered using, but, once, the model had arrived, quickly discounted the idea as being beyond me.

 

The model has a metal body, and is a "one-piece" casting, which is great for adhesion and pulling power, but provides more of a challenge to "cut and shut", at least to me. I'd hoped the cab might be a separate part, but no such luck.  Wanting, if possible, a local NE based engine, I settled on the only other option to the Lambton one- No 21, which went to Ashington, This one was withdrawn in 1951, a bit early in my timeframe, but I can live with that, However, this particular loco was "Great Westernified"  before going to Ashington, and, so far, I havent found a suitable photo to check how it looked by the time it was withdrawn, I have a couple of "helps" out there on some Facebook Groups, and any help would be appreciated. Did it, for example, have dumb buffers fitted?

 

So far, all I have done is remove the safety valve casing, with a Dremel, and replace it with a GWR one, I suspect the dome may need altering, but I'll see if I can get away with the one there, as it will take some removing, and I don;t have a suitable replacement, I noted during my research that at least one modeller wasnt happy with the dome he used, and wished he had left well alone,

 

One change I am confident about is the replacement tank sides, which should be the rivitted GWR pattern. These are supplied as an etch by Planet, The sides are pretty thin, so take more care than I did in getting them off the etch. I used Evostick to attach them, though others have suggested epoxy,

 

So the major work is done, and I;ll see what else might be usefully added to get 21 up and running, and will let you know.

 

Cheers

 

John

[rowanj]

Oh Lord, what have I done?

 

Well, I managed to find a photo of No 21 at Ashington,-I actually paid for a copy fron Transport Treasury, The version posted here is a low-quality one, but please respect the copyright. The one I bought, for £0.99p, is much better quality.

 

It showed that I really should replace the dome, and. to my surprise, revealed that the safety valves were not the GWR bonnet, but resembled early ex-LNER Ross Pop on a base. Searching through my spares produced a better dome, and I have several safety valve castings, Removal of the dome on the model was pretty hairy, but the trusty Dremel worked its' magic.

From what I can see, I need to add handrails to the tank fronts, sandboxxes, and some pipework,  The other significant addition, which I fear I'll have to try and tackle, are the hinged flaps at the top/front of the cab doors.

 

I've started, so I'll finish.

Edited July 14 by rowanj

[rowanj]

This has been a bit mre interesting than I anticipated, and I'm not there yet, A look at the photo of the prototype showed, amongst other things, that this particular loco  did not get the rivitted tank frames when it passed into GWR ownership. That was a bit of a bu***ger, as I had paid good money and stuck them using Evostik. But off they had to go, and I managed to get the residual glue off the model with a combination of thumgnail, scraper and sandpaper. The rest of the mods needed were straightforward enough- new safety valve and dome, handrails on the rear bunker sides and tank fronts as well as small steps in that same area. I was referred to a photo of the loco, which I havent actually seen yet, taken in 1949 in NCB livery, by which time that cab flap had been removed. The front sandboxes come with the model, and though they are a bit different to the photo, they look OK. This loco also had front steps when with the GWR and  when it came to Ashington, but lost them at some point. These are also in the models' detail pack.

 

I gave it  a light spray of Halfords Red Primer, then an equally thin spray of Matt Black. This has allowed the Primer to show through here and there, to give a rust/careworn patina which I'll develop with powders down the line.  I really need to track down the photo in NCB days to see where the letters and numbers were applied, and in what style and colour. I thought they would be white, but yellow has also been suggested.

 

 

[rowanj]

Here is a photo of 2161/21 shortly after arriving at Ashington. Still In GWR livery, I suspect very little has been done by the ACC workshops, By the time the photo I posted earlier had been taken, the front steps had gone,

 

Edited July 29 by rowanj

[rowanj]

This is how No 21 looked in NCB days at Ashington, before withdrawal at the end of 1951. By then , it had been fitted with slall steps at the front beside the cylider block, and a lubricator driven from the crosshead. To get the this point, from receipt of the RTR basic model .i ...

1- added handrails to the tank fronts and to the rear bunkers sides, and replaced the safety valves and dome

2-fitted small steps to the tank fronts.

3- added sandboxes and pipework to the footplate ahead of the tank sides.

4- fitted a casting for the lubricator, but chickened out of the drive from the crosshead.

5.-commisioned transfers from Railtec- excellent service as usual.

6- Weathered the loco, and added coal/

Edited August 22 by rowanj