Castle

Hi Ray, That is some fantastic work there - really inspirational! I shall hit that follow button up there. All the best, Castle

Hi All, My Mighty Mikado Monster - Part 1 No. 7202 is the third member of the 72XX Class. As with all these machines, they were rebuilt from 2-8-0 locomotives of the 42XX type. Their origins are an interesting combination of social history and economic necessity. The first batch were rebuilt from their original form as a result of the Great Depression making their intended work on Welsh coal traffic seriously contract. The 42XXs were masters of their work but they were only expected to travel relatively short distances between refuelling. Their power was therefore tempered by the limited range in the form of their small coal bunkers. Now, the GWR were a commercial concern at a time of financial hardship and having brand new assets like locomotives sitting around unused as there was no work for them is not a good idea. The obvious thing was to increase the capacity of the locomotive's to enable them to take on more wide ranging heavy freight duties and to begin to replace the by now well worn 26XX 'Aberdare' class machines. To this end No. 5277, which had been built in 1926, been run in and then placed in store, re-entered Swindon works. The fuel capacity was enlarged by extending the length of the frames at the rear by over 4ft, then adding a large coal bunker and a pair of trailing wheels. Re-numbered No. 7202, she entered service in 1934. This modification proved very successful and altogether 54 engines were eventually converted in this manner. Luckily, No. 7202's last shed was Barry so it was convenient to shunt the now unwanted and unloved machine into the local scrapyard... After about not quite a decade's seaside holiday, the GWS bought her and in 1974 she found her way to Didcot. Her restoration has been ongoing in one form or another, for about 30 years but when you take into account the fact that the 'Heavy Freight Mob' have rebuilt No. 3822 from scrapyard condition and overhauled her subsequently as well as building and running the DRC pub 'The Black Python' (which funds a lot of their activities) in that time, it's not quite as bad as it seems! The group has vowed to finish No. 7202 before thinking about doing No. 3822 again so the race between them and the group restoring No. 7200 at Quainton Road to run the only type preserved at Barry Scrapyard not to run in preservation is on... For updates on Nos. 7202 & 3822, the Mob have a website that can be found here: http://www.baldric.plus.com Just a mere musing that ran through my mind when writing the title for this post - why is it that some wheel arrangements are referred to as such in both tank and tender engine form (for example, prairie) and some are not? The Adams radial tank is surely an Atlantic (an 'Atlantank'?!?) and the 72XXs are Mikados? The LMS and BR standard 4MT 2-6-4 tanks are possibly reverse Pacifitanks(!) or more accurately Adriatic tanks and the 42XX series machines are technically Consolidations but as the terms are little used in the UK, this is more understandable I suppose. Still, interesting how we willingly use some terms and not others... I'll shut up now... On to the model. In a stunning work of blooming typical, I asked for the PDK kit of the 72XX class with raised running plate for Christmas thinking that nobody will bring out one of those, the very month that Hornby made an announcement... The challenge of doing the kit though was too great to resist and I decided that I was going to do it anyway. The chassis etch includes the rods and the cylinders and is well designed to just fold up. It would actually be pretty difficult to get this wrong! Here I have reamed out the bearing mounts to size, folded up the frames and soldered them together. I then had a go at adding the wheels. It has taken a great deal of filling of thrust faces in order to get the requisite clearance to allow the loco to go round corners. Perhaps the frames could have been made a tiny bit narrower? Adding the coupling rods was simple enough although I did manage to ruin one of the etches by slipping with the drill but thankfully it was a rear one so I soldered the outer etch to a piece of scrap and drilled and cut it out with no ill effects. It all went round and round and didn't bind at all so I called that bit a win on points. I then folded up the Markits gearbox and added the Mashima motor. This again was really simple and just fell together. I ran it off the loco and the. Added it to the chassis to see how that went. Also fine - who would have thought it? I haven't screwed it up! The cylinders were a bit more of a pain but it was only the external wrapper that caused outbreaks of mildly abrasive Anglo-Saxon terms. A final round of fettling and fiddling resulted in a smoothly running chassis - well done PDK for making it easy! Well, there is a load of activity and progress has been made that will require a lie down in a dark room to get over! That will do for now. All the best, Castle

Hi All, Now, I happen to know where there is a Dreadnought coach, sitting, patiently awaiting a few tens of thousands of pounds and a team of skilled carpenters... http://www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/coaches/3299/3299.html Very long lived though - this one entered departmental use after its service life and went from construction in 1905 to final preservation in 1964! Over 60 years. It does mean real measurements can be taken however so it's not a paper and photographs only project to bring them back to life in model form. All the best, Castle

Hi All, You know all those ones you have marked up as preserved by the GWS? Them - those are the ones I want! In other, less selfish for comedy effect type comments, how about the first slip coach with a DCC operable coupling? It should be possible to have the coupling detatch and some sort of friction device as a brake. In a quest for making operation more interactive and realistic, it would be a great move. Only the cost would be a barrier but it would be fun... All the best, Castle

Hi All, It would be silly not to let her tour - the 72XXs are the last class of loco from Barry scrapyard to have not performed in preservation so she will be popular for the bigger lines. It's not without precedent either, No. 3822 spent a season at the Nene Valley many moons ago which is where she 'danced' on film with a certain Freddie Mercury and friends, but that's another story... With all of the fleet, you can expect at least her first season to be Didcot based. As to power output, the cylinders on No. 7202 are machined close to the limit where the books say you have to fit liners which means she has oversize pistons. So she won't be a short of tractive effort - especially for the sort of running she will get in preservation... All the best, Castle

Hi David, Have a look at a copy of the excellent book Great Western Eight Coupled Heavy Freight Locomotive's by David Maidment. Well worth the money! There is a picture on page 72 (coincidence?!) of No. 7225 on the 13:15hrs Canton to Birmingham Snow Hill in about 1960. The caption says that, on a summer Saturday, when the amount of available motive power at Canton was getting thin on the ground, that 8Fs and 28XXs were common passenger train performers but occasional bottom of barrel scraping manoeuvres would result in things such as 72XXs appearing. Whilst not common, it probably wasn't unheard of for these great old beasts to perform on passenger trains. As to what it was like on the footplate of a powerful monster like that at any speed above their normal Freight train repatoire, I think that with two massive pistons pounding fore and aft and 33,170lbs tractive effort, it would be exciting in all the wrong ways... The 72XXs were used as bankers at Abergavenny for many years with great success. They were also trialled on the Licky but according to Maidment, clearance issues were experienced with the platforms at Bromsgrove. I hope this helps! All the best, Castle

Hi MIB, I think we might have our wires crossed somewhere here as Berkley Castle is numbered 4085. This means it was from the same batch as Nos. 4073 and 4079. This means that the only Hornby loco you can use to represent this loco would be the No. 4073 release (sorry Rich!) Berkley Castle had the narrow front end and thus the narrow inside valve cover. Tintagel Castle has the wide version of this, making it unsuitable too. Engines that you can represent from Earl Cairns that had a H/W tender comfortably in the WWII - 1948 period are as follows: 5016, 5022, 5023 & 5038 There are a few that had H/W tenders in 1948 but as this is a bit of a grey area for your collection, I left them off the list. The Earl Cairns model will need the valve cover rounding off as it has the later modified square top front edge to the inside valve cover. As to unlined green - that I don't know, I'm not one for the liveries! I hope this helps. All the best, Castle Edit: I have just seen the second PM MIB sent me that had the same topic title so this misunderstanding might be my fault - sorry!

Hi Dave, All the best for the new year and I look forward to my preordered king completing the Little Didcot express passenger fleet later in the year! All the best, Castle Edit: and my second No.1363 to go with my etched kit too!

Nice work on the tender there! Very good. Have you thought about looking for the bell from an American source. They are a requirement for US steam locomotives so they must be available I would have thought? All the best, Castle

Hi Mark, You are right - it just 'clicks' together in the most part although the huge detail overlays look like being a mild pain... I had noticed the top lamp refuge not being in the book of words included in the kit. Thanks for the heads up none the less! I have ordered the Brassmasters chassis kit and a set of Comet 28XX cylinders too to augment the detail further and to correct the brake gear which is wrong as supplied in both the PDK kit and the Hornby RTR example. There are a number of overlays and other bits and pieces in that little lot that should make it look pretty authentic. I'm thinking that a Gibson smokebox dart and steam lance cock will be on the shopping list. All the best, Castle

Hi All, What - is the world not ready for my heavy frieght 8 coupled diesel railcar Jeff? I have the base model for No. 22 Horsetan. I have the Colin Judge book. I even have some figures for the interior and a fresh set of non traction tyre fitted wheels for the bogie. Have I started it yet? Hmmmmmmmmmm..... No! All the best, Castle

Hi Polly and Ray, Good to hear from you too - I have had a lot on recently so posting here became a little bit neglected unfortunately but I missed everyone on here a great deal so I thought I had better get back into it! Hope your Christmas was peaceful and fun and your new year will be equally so. Perhaps you could coincided our 81E visit with the RMWEB tour this year? It will be on Sunday 30th July so we can show a certain Mr On The Branch Line around and do an international RMWEB meet up! All the best, Castle

Hi All, Well done Rich! In my first post to RMWEB I mentioned that I got the PDK kit for the 72XX the very same month that Hornby announced their effort. I figured it was about time that I got round to sorting it out! Another one of those probably futile New Years resolution to dig into the Little Didcot kit mountain. This one has been on the 'want to sort list' for a while and the fact that two of the volunteers who work on the real No. 7202 asked me to do a renumber job on their Hornby models kind of made the decision that this was next in my sights. The big irony is that post Christmas, I am now the proud owner of a Hornby 2-8-0 so I can start an occasional series on RMWEB of models based on the locos that were dismantled as part of the Barry 10 related and Saint projects. The fact that this will give the Little Didcot fleet two more heavy Frieght machines another two mixed traffic locos and another large prairie will not hurt matters and give me plenty of operational choices. It also enables us to display a kind of before and after type deal in our shows. It does mean another 5 locos to add to the mix* No. 5227 seemed the logical place to start as it is intended to remain at Didcot on display, recognisably as a locomotive, albeit in scrap condition. All the best, Castle *I suppose I could, or rather, should add a 6th in the form of an 8F as well? Castle might have to do an LMS designed engine, built at Doncaster? Yikes!

Hi Horse, Nice try but no, wrong on both counts! All the best, Castle

Hi Nelson, Just enjoyed a great catch up with your thread. Excellent work as always! Superb quality work. All the best, Castle

Hi All, An early New Years greeting to all on RMWEB and a sneak preview of the first project for 2017... All the best, Castle

Hi All, Perhaps this is thought because some were built post nationalisation? It doesn't mean that none were built in GWR times. It a bit like the way that some people think that all locomotive's went to the works on the day the new livery was introduced and they all got repainted there and then. It's too easy to look at facts in a book... All the best, Castle

I quite agree... 4 are even better! All the best, Castle

Hi Rob, I have just realised I haven't congratulated you on the great article in BRM - richly deserved. Well done! My best wishes for the new year to you and all your Nod to Brent followers! All the best, Castle

Hi Dave, Really enjoyed catching up with the layout - fantastic job sir! I have hit the follow button and I shall enjoy seeing it develop further. All the best, Castle

Hi All, I've just noticed that my starring role has been repeated! You guys will have to come back in the next couple of years to see how things have progressed perhaps? Happy Christmas to all at BRM! All the best, Castle

Hi All, Just to help out, according to David Maidment in his booK "Great Western Eight Coupled Heavy Frieght Locomotive's" only No. 4702 ever received the lined black mixed traffic BR livery. All the others went from plain black to lined green. I hope this helps! All the best, Castle

Same to you and Ray from myself and the gang at 81E! Happy Christmas, Castle

Happy Christmas Tinker!

Thanks Tinker, Happy Christmas to you and your colleagues out where you are and stay safe. There is lots to be done on North Cranford when you get home my friend! All the best, Castle