When TT3 was the next Big Thing

[Golden Fleece 30]

That Q1 is rather cute, isn’t it?

Here are 3 of mine.  At the moment I have misplaced the kit and I think possibly a 4th one.  The recent one requires a slight modification to the loco/tender coupling as it is too tight to go around Tri-ang curves as yet.

 

Looking at the finishes I may leave this last one as it is so there will be 3 different styles.

 

Garry

Edited August 18, 2018 by Golden Fleece 30

[PatB]

That Q1 is rather cute, isn’t it?

 

Possibly the only occasion, in 75 years, that "cute" and "Q1" have been used in the same sentence .

[NCB]

Possibly the only occasion, in 75 years, that "cute" and "Q1" have been used in the same sentence .

 

Can remember a very long time ago someone described scratch building one of these. He was driven to it by his wife, who had an affection for them and called them Charlies. Turned out she had been a secretary to Bulleid.

[sagaguy]

Can remember a very long time ago someone described scratch building one of these. He was driven to it by his wife, who had an affection for them and called them Charlies. Turned out she had been a secretary to Bulleid.

Wasn`t this John Charman of "Charford" fame who being told by his wife that he should build this loco said it would have to go to the back of the Q so to speak,no pun was intended.

 

                     Ray.

[NCB]

Wasn`t this John Charman of "Charford" fame who being told by his wife that he should build this loco said it would have to go to the back of the Q so to speak,no pun was intended.

 

                     Ray.

 

It may well have been. It was about that sort of era, and John was writing various articles for RM.

 

Unfortunately I drastically thinned my collection of RMs when I was tight for space, a move I now regret

Edited August 20, 2018 by NCB

[Il Grifone]

omis

 

Unfortunately I drastically thinned my collection of RMs when I was tight for space, a move I now regret

 

Downsizing meant that my library of magazines had to go.....

[Wolseley]

Downsizing meant that my library of magazines had to go.....

 

 

Me too.  I didn't want to part with them but it was rather hard to justify the need for a whole cupboard full of old magazines.  If only the back copies of each of the major periodicals, right back to issue number 1 were scanned and made available on DVD, memory stick, for download or whatever.....

[sagaguy]

You can download a few from here,a great pity the project wasn`t carried on.

 

                https://archive.org/details/railwaymodeller

 

                  Ray.

[kevinlms]

You can download a few from here,a great pity the project wasn`t carried on.

 

https://archive.org/details/railwaymodeller

 

Ray.

Probably at least one of the copyright holders complained. Not necessarily Peco.

[sagaguy]

Peco probably missed a trick here,folk would pay a fee to download copies from the web.It is an American based library so i don`t know if British copyright issues would  extend to them.

 

                        Ray.

Edited August 21, 2018 by sagaguy

[Golden Fleece 30]

 A start was made on a 3mm society Stanier 2-6-4 whitemetal kit. The gap around the saddle is due to a poor positioned fitting, or made, side as the footplate is part of the tank side casting for which the boiler top cannot go further down. The other side is closer but still not down to footplate level. There are no spectacle plates although I did write back when I got the kit but I never received them or an answer so I will have to make some in brass or nickel. The smokebox is not quite round but if I tried to rectify the saddle gap would be greater. Other than that it is not too bad. The black lines/shading is actually very slight scratches and not cracks.

 

Another larger issue has now surfaced regarding this Stanier tank. Although an etched chassis is included it is stated to fit a Castle chassis but as you can see there is no way it will fit. One photo shows the chassis lug below its slot in the casting yet above there is no way the motor will fit inside the firebox. It looks like I will have to remotor a chassis with an XT60 again unless I can modify the pole pieces which I will try later today.

 

Garry

[Robert Shrives]

The 4MT tank was Brit based so perhaps that would give a better fit ? 

 

The model so far looks the part and I hope to enjoy the progress. 

 

Robert 

[Golden Fleece 30]

The 4MT tank was Brit based so perhaps that would give a better fit ?

 

The model so far looks the part and I hope to enjoy the progress.

 

Robert

This was specified as for the Castle chassis and the tank/cab sides have a small slot cast in for the lugs on the rear casting to fit into. I did try a brit but it would need a lot of work the other way with packing front and rear, plus, the Brit has a smaller wheelbase which is too short for the tank. The Castle is better suited wheel base wise. I have now got a Castle chassis to fit, photos later.

 

Garry

[Golden Fleece 30]

I have managed to fit the Castle chassis to the Stanier tank but had to use one with an XT60 motor fitted. No way was the standard one going to fit even after all the metal removal of the pole pieces. Next on the cards will be to make the spectacle plates.  The slide bars have been bent from the original position but may get bent a little more.  Hopefully it should not take too long AFTER the spectacle plates are made which I am not looking forward to.

 

The chassis is the one I re-motored in the 70's and has Romford wheels fitted which look slightly smaller than the Castle ones which is a good thing. I will replace Pendennis Castle with a 5 pole open spoked chassis which I managed to obtain a while ago with the vision of using its chassis on something like this.

 

Garry

[Il Grifone]

Hi Garry,

 

I'll have to get a 4mm model*. I live right next to their old stamping ground (the three cylinder ones anyway). (Don't tell SWMBO!  )

 

I would have thought a Jinty chassis with larger wheels would have been the best bet, as these engines had the standard Midland coupled wheelbase of 8' + 8' 6" (I know Tri-ang got it wrong (in both 00 and TT!), but at least it would be consistent. They also had rather steeply inclined cylinders (Sir William had obviously not been listening closely enough to his mentor GJC, who didn't believe in either inclined cylinders or having three of them!). Since it basically has the same motor as the Castle, it probably wouldn't fit either though.

 

* I have several (lost count) of their Dublo stablemates (two of which I intend to renumber as 80072 and 80079, both Tilbury engines), but lack a Stanier example The Wills/SEF kit is probably the answer, but the Dublo chassis it was intended to fit has the later and shorter Riddles wheelbase (Why redesign when you have a perfectly adequate design already?). A Tri-ang Jinty chassis fitted with Dublo 4MT wheels*? There is a risk such a device would take off.... 

 

David

Edited September 8, 2018 by Il Grifone

[Golden Fleece 30]

Hi David,

 

The main part of the Jinty and Castle chassis is exactly the same, wheel spacing, motor position and fixing so it would not work just fitting larger wheels. In fact larger wheels do not fit the rear slot on the Jinty as it had a different spacer casting due to it needing a buffer beam and coupling.

 

The Castle slide bars are usually lower but I bent them up and might need to go further, also I want to angle them but have to be careful as due to their make up I have had them snap before.

 

I will have to make up some more Castle chassis's with XT60's as I have Kitmaster Royal Scots, Corgi Hall (Hogwarts Castle), resin B1, brass B1 etc to do.  I am getting a resin A5 too and hope the large size will take the Castle chassis although the wheelbase may be too long and the M/N would have to be used. I say M/N as it is cheaper and common compared to the Britannia and with my spoked overlays the Boxpoks dont show.  There is also a BR standard 3 tank on its way which I would like to use the Jinty chassis but again it may need an XT60 fitted.

 

I have a couple of the Dublo/Wrenn Staniers which always looked fine until you just mentioned the wheelbase lol. They will stay as built now as life is too short with everything planned.

 

Garry

[Il Grifone]

Hi David,

 

The main part of the Jinty and Castle chassis is exactly the same, wheel spacing, motor position and fixing so it would not work just fitting larger wheels. In fact larger wheels do not fit the rear slot on the Jinty as it had a different spacer casting due to it needing a buffer beam and coupling.

 

The Castle slide bars are usually lower but I bent them up and might need to go further, also I want to angle them but have to be careful as due to their make up I have had them snap before.

 

I will have to make up some more Castle chassis's with XT60's as I have Kitmaster Royal Scots, Corgi Hall (Hogwarts Castle), resin B1, brass B1 etc to do.  I am getting a resin A5 too and hope the large size will take the Castle chassis although the wheelbase may be too long and the M/N would have to be used. I say M/N as it is cheaper and common compared to the Britannia and with my spoked overlays the Boxpoks dont show.  There is also a BR standard 3 tank on its way which I would like to use the Jinty chassis but again it may need an XT60 fitted.

 

I have a couple of the Dublo/Wrenn Staniers which always looked fine until you just mentioned the wheelbase lol. They will stay as built now as life is too short with everything planned.

 

Garry

 

Hi again Garry,

 

I bow to your superior knowledge of Triang TT (I only have a couple of Jinty and parts of another). Being Tri-ang, I should have known they would have used the same parts....

 

The difference in wheelbase is not great, but unfortunately enough to show. I will probably use a set of Dublo cylinders/valvegear and might even try to modify one so that it's not in reverse gear. I won't go to the extreme of having the gear actually operate as was done in an S scale model many years ago (in MRN IIRC).

Yet another reason for modelling the Great Western 

 

David

[Golden Fleece 30]

Thanks David,

 

I know a bit about Tri-ang but not the whole lot.

 

They only made two steam loco chassis. Long wheel base brass frames with "integral motor" identical for Jinty, 08, Castle, Prarie, continental 0-6-0. The spacer castings were different. Then a short wheel base using the XT60 for the Britannia, M/N and French pacific. Only two sized drivers made, small for Jinty etc and larger for Castle etc. The Britannia centre wheels were the only sets to be fitted with a pin for a return crank.

 

A1A motor bogie with same casting for the trailing bogie and lastly the DMU one completes the 4 TT chassis's made.

 

The DMU was unique in not using any pick-ups. The wheels were steel with an axle either side of which the center part went into a nylon axle and cog, the outer ends went into a cast frame which was used for current collection to the motor. This sometimes can give erratic running and I have put pick-ups on a couple of front bogies after replacing with Jackson wheels.

 

Garry

[Golden Fleece 30]

Not one of my better efforts but the Autocoach based on a DMU centre car is coming along. The problem was when I put the lining on, new pressfix transfers, I saw it was poorly made with an extra black line on, yellow-black-yellow-black which was terrible. By now it would not come off and I did not want to try to strip it so used a black lining pen and plain yellow DMU line. The black did not cover as I hoped but will have to do. I dare not try to varnish it now as in the past the black solvent from the pen can start to spread all over so it will have to stay like this. Needs glazing and a gong making but still looks the part for me.

 

At the speed the 14xx can travel it wont be noticed much :-)

 

Garry

ps, I know blood and custard liveried coaches only had a yellow and black line (which was on the transfer sheet) but at times the edge between the colours is not always as neat as it should be when door fittings etc get in the way so I have used the maroon 3 coloured style in some situations.

Edited September 11, 2018 by Golden Fleece 30

[NCB]

14XXs travelled pretty fast in real life. I knew them from the local service on the Golden Valley line through Stroud, where there were fairly closely spaced halts between Chalford, through Stroud, to Stonehouse. Wheel-spin was the order of the day in starting off, pretty remarkable considering there was just a single autocoach being used, and they skidded to a stop. Being a passenger was a bit unnerving; I caught the evening service around 5 pm from Stroud a few times, which was packed with most people standing, hanging onto the straps as best they could.

[Golden Fleece 30]

Here is a nice 3D printed model of a BR standard 3 tank. Hopefully a Tri-ang chassis will be fitted. At the moment it looks promising resting on a Jinty chassis. I want to use the Castle one but fitted with Jinty wheels. This wil be in BR lined green and if all goes well I could be tempted to get another to do in lined black. The green is standard BR but my phone flash has made it very light.

 

Garry

[John Isherwood]

Here is a nice 3D printed model of a BR standard 3 tank. Hopefully a Tri-ang chassis will be fitted. At the moment it looks promising resting on a Jinty chassis. I want to use the Castle one but fitted with Jinty wheels. This wil be in BR lined green and if all goes well I could be tempted to get another to do in lined black. The green is standard BR but my phone flash has made it very light.

 

Garry

 

It certainly has potential, but the chimney proportions look like something off the 'Rocket' !

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

[Golden Fleece 30]

It certainly has potential, but the chimney proportions look like something off the 'Rocket' !

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

There is also the "shoulder/flare" at the chimney base missing but for the price it saves a lot of building, and does look something like. I guess the chimney could get cut down but I dont have a drawing to go by. It will take a while to finish fitting it in with all the other projects so if I do get something to go by I may reduce it.

 

Garry

[Il Grifone]

It's rather small and dimension free. I've got a better one somewhere....

 

https://preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com/3mt-82000-82044-2-6-2t-br-standard-class-3-tank/

 

The price quoted of £1500 seems like a bargain to me. It was the price of a Ford Mk IV Zodiac Executive, but you were getting a lot more machine for your money.

 

(About £30,000 in today's devalued currency.)

 

http://www.classicandperformancecar.com/ford/zephyr-zodiac-mkiv/3552/1966-1972-ford-zephyr-zodiac-mkiv

 

I think you'd be lucky to get 24m.p.g.  (Downhill with the wind behind it?) We could only get 25 out of an 1100 c.c. Escort

[Golden Fleece 30]

It's rather small and dimension free. I've got a better one somewhere....

 

https://preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com/3mt-82000-82044-2-6-2t-br-standard-class-3-tank/

 

 

Thanks David,

 

Even though it is dimension free it does show the chimney very slightly higher than the cab roof which is what all locomotives were like I think.  I have a feeling I once read that 13' 2" was about the maximum height.  The chimney on this loco is at most 2mm higher so rather than cut it I may just leave it. As you know I am not into full scale dimensional accuracy as everything is based around Tri-ang lol.  Once painted up it may look different.

 

I don't know what drawing the chap used but he might have made the smokebox a little small which would show the chimney higher.  While looking on Google images I saw a couple with a tall chimney like this then realised they were standard class 2 tanks amongst the 3 and 4's so maybe the chap had mixed up drawings?

 

At least someone is making a reasonable body at a reasonable price.  The A5 I got looks promising too.

 

Garry