The latest books hot of the press from my good friends at the Irwell Press are firstly two new publications in the excellent hardback “Book of the” series to cover the Southen Railway Moguls. The two volumes cover the initially ex South Eastern and Chatham and later Southern Railway, Richard Maunsell designed and produced 2-6-0 Moguls, the N and N1 Classes in Part One and U and U1 classes in Part Two. The third is a paperback version the Southern Workhorses No.1 Q Class 0-6-0s. Number two in the series of Southern Workhorses, still to be published, will be the Bullied Q1 class.
These three publications all follow the usual brilliant Irwell Press “The Book of Series” with historical background information about each class, their design, liveries and spheres of operation, photographs along, with particular details and photographs of each individual locomotive taken from their works records. the books are of the usual high standard of detail, information and photograph reproduction that we have come to expect from the Irwell Press at a reasonable price of £29.95 for the Mogul hardback versions and £15.95 for the paper Q class publication. As they say available from all good bookstores, and probably some not so good ones too!
Book of the Southern Moguls Part Two N and N1 classes
Book of the Southern Moguls Part Two U and U1 classes
Southern Workhorses No. 1 Q Class 0-6-0s
As with all the Irwell Press‘The Book of the” series they are invaluable for Southern Railway historians and modellers alike and well worth a read.
Further information about my N1 model, converted from a Bachman N class, illustrated above can be read on my Talking Stock posts #12 here. My U Class model is built from a DJH kit, whilst the Q Class was built from a then Wills now South Eastern Finecast kit, sometime ago when I was in my early teens, and is now running on its third chassis but still makes the occasional appearance on Fisherton Sarum!
Today Bachmann Europe Plc. announced their plans for the next 18 months, or so for both the Bachmann Branchlines (00) and Graham Farish (N) brands. They also provided updates on the current work in progress. I outline below the items of Southern / Southern Region interest.
The headline new tooling for Southern Railway and Southern Region modellers is the much requested Bulleid 64ft coaches. The original Bulleid 64ft coaching produced by Bachamnn are now a bit long in the tooth and these completely new toolled versions will be most welcome especially as the range will incorporate both the SR and later BR(s) built versions with both 10″ and 15″ window vents and also the later bodyside strengthening rib within tooling options.
Five body toolings will include: Semi Open Brake Third (BTK), Corridor Composite (CK), Brake Composite (BCK), Corridor Third (TK) and Open Third (T).
This will allow number of possible correct set combination and the initial releases are as follows:
Bulleid Corridor Composite image courtesy and copyright Bachmann / M King
3 coach ‘L’ set 790 (BTK-CK-BTK) from range 770-793 with 10″ window vents in Southern Malachite introduced 1946
5 coach ‘H’ set (BTK-TK-CK-TK-BTK) 847 from range 830 -849 with 15″ window vents in BR Crimson and Cream introduced in 1950. These sets often also ran as 3 coach ‘L’ sets (often a winter formation) minus the two TKs’
2 coach ‘R’ set (BTK-BCK) 69 from range 63 – 75 with 10″ window vents in BR Green livery with side strengthening ribs
Initial release as follows:
34-725 Bulleid Semi-Open Brake Third Dia 2123 (10″ Vents) in Southern Railway Malachite Green No. 4341
34-725A Bulleid Semi-Open Brake Third Dia 2123 (10″ Vents) in Southern Railway Malachite Green No. 4342
34-750 Bulleid Corridor Composite (10″ Vents) in Southern Railway Malachite Green No. 5771
New Tooling, 34-725/725A/750 will make set 790
34-775 Bulleid Corridor Third Dia 2019 (10″ Vents) in Malachite Green but with BR “S” prefixes as delivered in late 1948, this coach is a ‘loose’ coach that would be added to strengthen sets. No. TBC from range s1932 to s1936
34-726 Bulleid Semi-Open Brake Third Dia 2123 (10″ Vents) in BR (SR) Green No. S4377S
34-800 Bulleid Brake Composite Dia 2405 (10″ Vents) in BR (SR) Green No.S6706S
New Tooling, 34-726/800 will make set 69
34-727 Bulleid Semi-Open Brake Third Dia 2123 (15″ Vents) in BR Crimson & Cream No. S4005S
34-727A Bulleid Semi-Open Brake Third Dia 2123 (15″ Vents) in BR Crimson & Cream No. S4006S
34-751 Bulleid Corridor Composite Dia 2318 (15″ Vents) in BR Crimson & Cream No. S5865S
34-776 Bulleid Corridor Third Dia 2019 (15″ Vents) in BR Crimson & Cream No. S75S
34-776A Bulleid Corridor Third Dia 2019 (15″ Vents) in BR Crimson & Cream No. S76S
New Tooling, 34-727/727A/751/776/776A will make set 847
LBSCR H1 Class Atlantic 4-4-2
The H1 in LBSC Livery Image courtesy and copyright Bachmann
Five H1 Class locomotives were built for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway by Kitson & Co. between December 1905 and February 1906 to the design of D.E.Marsh. The first was withdrawn in January 1944 and the last in July 1951. This is new tooling specific to the H1 Class. Differences from the H2 Class currently in production include the curved running plate, early cab and boiler fittings. It has been developed alongside the H2 and will available for delivery later this year. Initially only the LBSC livery is being released but others will be in the pipeline for future years.
31-910 H1 Class Atlantic No. 39 ‘La France’ in LBSCR livery
Class 171 DMU
9 x two-car and 6 x four-car units were built between 2003 and 2005 for Porterbrook Leasing Company for use on Southern’s Uckfield branch which is not electrified. This model is based on new tooling also being developed for the Class 170 DMU.
35-580 Class 171 2-Car DMU No. 171722 in Southern livery
Class 159 DMU
22 x three-car units were originally built as Class 158 units by British Rail Engineering Ltd in 1992 for Regional Railways, by the time construction had been completed they were no longer required. Rosyth Dockyard converted them in 1992 and 1993 to a new specification for the Network SouthEast sector of British Rail. These units were to replace locomotive hauled trains on the London Waterloo – Salisbury – Exeter route. All saw service post privatisation with South West Trains and more recently with South Western Railway (since 20th August 2017).
31-520 Class 159 3-Car DMU No. 159013 in Network South East livery
New liveries from existing tooling
32-510 – BR Standard Class 5MT No. 73118 ‘King Leodegrance’ BR lined black early emblem and large tender
39-623 – SECR 60′ Birdcage Brake 3rd Southern Railway Malachite Green No.3455
Items 39-603/13/23 will correctly make set 622
38-083A – 12 Ton Southern 2+2 Planked Ventilated Van GWR Grey
38-080C – 12 Ton Southern 2+2 Planked Ventilated Van LMS Grey
Graham Farish N gauge
Graham Farish N Class with revised tooling and DCC speaker fitted
Southern steam modellers in N Gauge get revised tooling for the N class model that has seen revisions to the tender tooling to provide a Next 18 DCC decoder socket and space for Digital Sound to be fitted. This year sees the much requested southern livery fitted with smoke deflectors for the first time.
372-934DS N Class No. 1823 in Southern Railway Lined Maunsell Green (DCC Sound)
372-935 N Class No. 31810 in weathered BR Black (Late Crest) livery
The Class 450 is a member of the Siemens Desiro family for which Graham Farish already produce the Class 350 variants. The Class 450 EMUs were built by Siemens for South West Trains. A total of 127 four-car units are currently in traffic on South Western Railway long distance routes in and out of London Waterloo (since 20th August 2017).
371-725 Class 450 4-Car EMU No. 450073 in South West Trains livery
Work in Progress
From a work in progress perspective, in 00: the ex LBSC 4-4-2 H2 Class ‘Atlantics’ and the newly announced H1 are now at the artwork / livery samples stage. As reported from Warley the the 45 ton Ransomes and Rapier steam crane is now at the Engineering prototype stage. and both should along with the H1 be delivered during 2018. The Class 159 DMU is already in the tool room, whilst the Class 414 2HAP and 4 BEP are still in the drawing office.
In N: the Class 319 EMU is now in the drawing office. The SECR C Class 0-6-0 is at the Engineering Prototype stage and the Birdcage coaches are at the livery sample stage, both of which should be delivered during 2018
T14 No. 30461 is turned on the turntable as Merchant Navy 21C14 heads East.
Unfortunately towards the very end of the weekend at Worthing the turntable operating mechanism failed, which upon further inspection was due to a fairly catastrophic failure of the plastic boss that connects to the operating shaft on the underside of the Peco deck itself. This has now been drilled out and replaced with a new turned steel boss and refitted. Limited time available has meant that it will have to be tested and the MERG indexing system reprogrammed for the first time tomorrow evening once set up at the GETS show, so fingers crossed it all works properly again!
1848 catches late evening sunlight as she rounds the curve leaving the station on Rob’s South Brent
Hopefully on Sunday a guest engine will be making an appearance on Fisherton Sarum, in the form of the Bachmann N Class No.1848 that I repainted and numbered into post war SR black livery for friend and fellow post war period modeller Robin Sweet (Gwrrob on RMweb) for use on his excellent, albeit GWR, layout‘Brent’ based on South Brent in Devon. 1848 will in a way be coming home as she was in fact a Salisbury allocated locomotive during this period.
This is the third year that Hornby Magazine have organised this show which already has a reputation for being a quality show with a great line up of layouts and traders, with the added bonus of visitors also being able to also wonder around the Heritage Motor Centre (Banbury Road, Gaydon, Warwickshire, CV35 0BJ). The show is open to the public between 9.30am and 5pm on the Saturday and 9.30am and 4pm on the Sunday.
Once again I will be kindly and ably supported by fellow members of the High Wycombe and District MRS to operate the layout over the weekend and on the Sunday there will be four generations of my family involved (if you count the model of my Grandfather as a Ganger on the layout) as my Dad and teenage Nephew will also be helping!
I hope some you are able to attend and I look forward to seeing you there.
Today’s post is an update / catch up on the status of a few Southern Railway / Region related models that are in progress with a number of the Ready to Run manufacturers / commissioners from N to 0 gauge.
Kernow Model Centre
Regular readers of my blog will know that I have been assisting the Kernow Model Centre with their Southern related commissions and I pleased to be able to report progress on a number of fronts.
Latest livery sample of the Kernow Models Centre O2 K2105 in SR post war black livery as No. 225
Firstly: livery samples of the mainland version of the Adams O2 have now been received, a number of corrections made and already second livery samples returned in the last week or so. Once all the variations are finally signed off then production can start, along with the Isle of Wight versions that were fully signed off a while ago now. Further information on the Kernow model Centre O2’s can be found here.
ex LSWR Gate Stock parts hot off of the injection moulding machines, can you guess what each part is?
Secondly: It had been kept reasonably quiet, that the although the CADs for the ex LSWR Gate Stock Pull Push sets were previously signed off, tooling has actually commenced and The Kernow Model Centre have now received photographs of the first off components from the tooling. These now require assembly and shipping to the UK for inspection. Further information on the Kernow Model Centre ex LSWR Gate Stock can be found here.
The first livery samples for the Bachmann four wheel luggage vans PLV/PMV and CCT’s first announced in March 2012 have now been received and all can be seen here on the Bachmann website. They are producing the following:
39-525 Southern PLV Passenger Luggage Van Southern Railway Green
39-526 Ex-Southern PMV Parcels & Miscellaneous Van BR Crimson
39-527 Ex-Southern PMV Parcels & Miscellaneous Van BR Green
39-528 Ex-Southern CCT Covered Carriage Truck BR Blue – Weathered
Graham Farish
The first of the original Merchant Navy Pacific models that I reviewed in my post here have now actually started to appear with the retailers.
Graham Farish N Class No. 31844
The N Class Mogul 2-6-0 first announced in March 2013 is now on its way, with the review samples having been received by the model media so they should start to appear with retailers during July and August. Just like the Merchant Navy, I can vouch for the fact that it is an impressive looking model, especially for its size, and continues the increase in levels of detail for N Gauge Ready to Run models. A video of these models, but sadly not actually running, can be viewed on their website here.
The following four initial variations are being produced:
372-930 No. 868 in SR Olive Green
372-931 No. 31844 in BR Black Early Emblem
372-932 No. 31811 in BR Black Late Crest
372-933 No. 810 in SECR Grey
The livery samples for the Bogie Van B model have been signed off and the expected delivery of the of these models is currently due the end of August / September.
Dapol
Dapol cad of the 4mm ex LSWR style lattice post working signal
At the start of last month they also announced a delay to the O Gauge Terrier due to the the level of electromagnetic emissions. A slight modification is now required to the production which will result in delay in the shipment of the initial SR green and LBSC versions towards the end of July, however the BR and Bodiam variants are now due to be delivered three to four weeks later.
I have also been informed that the CAD work on the first variants of the N Gauge Schools class first announced in July 2012 have been completed, I had already provided some corrections and information to Dapol for these a while back so it is good to hear that they are progressing, but no news as yet when tooling might actually commence.
[Edit:] I have also been reminded that BR green liveried versions of the N gauge Maunsell coaches are due out next month and that Dapol have also now committed to bringing out a brake composite and four compartment brake third by Quarter 4 2015 and these are currently at CAD/CAM stage. This will make possible several prototypical set formations.
Hornby
[Further Edit 12/06/15] Hornby have today released a video via their Engine Shed blog post here from their development team that shows the first running sample of the Adams Radial. Keen eyes should also check out the coaches that the sample is hauling as I think the cat might have been let out of the bag on some other appropriate items they have planned for release in 2016, that I was previously made aware of, but I wont say anymore until more formal information is released…so watch this space…
The American phenomenon of Black Friday really hit our UK shores in anger this year and not only included retailers cutting prices on the Friday itself but many online retailers making offers for the week before. Traditionally in the USA it was the amount of trading the day after their Thanksgiving, which signified the start of the run up to Christmas, that was when traders got themselves back into the black financially , hence the name. Special offers than started to appear and so on. Last year a number of mainly US owned stores got in on the act here and its now spread like wildfire across many stores and mediums, all without having to have eaten turkey the day before…
The Hornby Bogie Van B changes from blue to green over the weekend. Now to replace glazing, decal and re-affix chassis
I took advantage of one of the deals and purchased direct from Hornby a BR blue version of the ex SR Bogie Van B, a fine model but one they have not yet produced in malachite so I though it would make a better candidate for repainting than their nicely done olive green version.
Once stripped of removable details and decals the N class changes from green Friday to grey Saturday with a coat of Halfords plastic primer
In addition to the Van B repainting I have also been working this weekend, in parallel, on the repainting of a Bachmann N class for a friend who is modelling the South Devon GWR line around Brent, whom wanted to recreate a photograph of an N class on one the turns used to ensure SR drivers were familiar with the line for diversion purposes (GWR drivers also did turns on the SR line round the North of Dartmoor too).
The N Class turns into a black Sunday and now awaits Sunshine decals and light weathering
She, as per the photograph, will be become number 1848, and at this post war time, was in fact a Salisbury based engine so it provides a nice link to Fisherton Sarum whilst infiltrating a GWR layout!
Once complete I will pose a photograph on Fisherton Sarum before she heads off to her new home running in GWR metals.
My repainting process for both follows the same basic process with the bodies removed from the chassis:
Remove the existing decals (with Bachman locos I used good quality enamel thinners on a cotton bud)
Remove factory fitted such as smoke deflectors, pipework, valve fittings, glazing etc.
Mask any areas such the buffer beams or roof on the Van B
Give a dusting of the excellent Halfords plastic primer, this gives a key for the top coat and prevents any reaction between the factory paint and the top coat of Halfords Satin black or Railmatch malachite for the Van B
Brush paint matt black the smokebox and cab roof and ends of the Van B, repaint the buffer beams if required
Back in March 2013 Graham Farish announced its intention to produce the N Class 2-6-0 mogul in N gauge. I am pleased to show below the first pictures (copyright and courtesy of A York) of the Engineering Prototype (EP). Being an EP there are still a couple of things that need to be put right, but that is the purpose of producing an EP in the first place.
Clicking the images will open a larger version. Remember these are 2mm scale, N Gauge!
As seen in my last talking stock post on the my 40T Ballast Hoppers, I often run that rake with my Maunsell N1 as part of one Fisherton Sarum’s signature trains. To create the N1 i converted a Bachmann N class model to the 3 Cylinder N1.
N1 No. 1822 heads west past the shed at Fisherton Sarum
The Southern Maunsell N1 class, comprising of six engines, was a 3 cylinder version of the N class with the most notable differences being the straight running plate in front of the cylinders, the extended vertical face above the front buffer beam and shallower smoke deflectors.
The N1 conversion finished prior to painting clearly showing the areas modified
The less obvious difference are the front cab windows where the N1 class has a single curved window on each side of the boiler whereas the N class has a smaller main curved window and a second small circular window above the firebox on each side. Also what I think are lubrication oil reservoirs are located on each side of the running plate just behind the smoke deflectors. The cylinders and motion are also different. The outside cylinders on the N1 are slightly smaller along with much smaller valve chests resulting in sloping slides when compared to the vertical sides on the N class. Also the motion bracket is supported off the frames on the N1 class and not the cylinder block as per the N class.
The completed N class to N1 conversion number 1822
One of the reasons that I contemplated this conversion was the fact that I had some spare N1 etchings, which were surplus to requirements from a DJH N class kit I built a while back. These etchings included Buffer beam / running plate front and smoke deflectors. These items could however be made from scratch using brass / plastic and adapting the N class smoke deflectors.
I reshaped the cylinder block using a file and Milliput New motion brackets were made from scrap brass flat suitably bent and soldered then glued with epoxy resin to the front edge of the plastic cylinder block bracket
I modified the buffer beams and running plate using a mix of brass sheet and the DJH etchings, brass sprung buffers , cast white metal steam heat and vacuum pipes, lamp irons (my usual cut down Bambi staples) and small grab handles were fitted to the buffer beam.
The characteristic tall front steps of the N1 class were made up from the spare brass DJH N1 step etchings that I had in stock. However these could easily be made from brass sheet or plasticard. I also had spare etched N1 smoke deflectors courtesy of DJH but in fact the Bachmann N class deflectors could simply be cut down to the correct size.
I removed the cab glazing then carefully filed flush the front moulded window surround of all the cab windows. The two circular holes were then filled with Milliput and the front face cleaned off level with the cab front, DJH window frames then completed the look.
A more detailed step by step guide to this conversion appeared in the August 2004 issue of Railway Modeller and an online version can be read on the SeMG website here.
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The model railway world and mainly Southern Railway meanderings of Graham 'Muz' Muspratt
