Tag Archives: Z Class

Workbench Witterings#19 Building a Maunsell 350HP ‘trip’ locomotive

In my Talking Stock#15 post here I discuss the background to the three Maunsell 350HHp diesel ‘trip’ locomotives. In 1937 Maunsell ordered three six coupled 350hp diesel electric locos, built by the SR at Ashford with English Electric power units, to compare against the Z class 0-8-0 tanks.  They were numbered 1,2 an d 3. These along with later revised versions ordered by Bulleid, were the ancestors of the British Railways large class of 350hp shunters that became the 08/09 class.

Finished as SR No.2 the Maunsell 350hp makes an appearance on Canute Road Quay

Many years ago I built an example of the SR 350hp shunter utilising a Golden Arrow Productions resin body mounted on a Lima chassis. The Lima chassis was the best chassis option at the time. Golden Arrow Productions have since revised the resin body to fit the far superior Bachmann Class 08 chassis, so I thought I would build another before stripping down and updating my original version.
Although 3D Printing is becoming more and more popular,  I believe there is still a place for such resin kits, that are simple to handle and clean up and give a smoother finish straight from the mould.

The modified Bachmann 08 chassis

The kit nicely captures the SR shunters including their distinctive feature of the Ashford body, when compared with the later Class 08/09,  the overhang at the rear of the cab with two angled lower windows, as well as the more normal two vertical windows, giving clear visibility of the buffers and coupling area.

Following the kit instructions, the Bachmann 08 chassis requires a little modification to take account for drop in the running plate at the cab end. I also increased the width of the running plate edge with the addition of some plastic section.

The body with its handrails and bonnet catches etc. added

The resin parts were carefully (the resin material is much softer than other plastic / £SD print materials) cleaned up to remove any flash and the windows opened up. The main body parts comprising of the body, bonnet top, radiator and radiator cowl were assembled simply using superglue.  I then pre drilled the locations for the four cab door and multiple bonnet door hand rails and handles, these were then added using 0.45mm NS wire and for the bonnet door catches I used some etched brass T handles from a coach detailing fret in the spares box.
Lamp irons at each end were added using as usual Bambi staples cut and bent to shape.

A 3/4 front end view the front air tank can be seen either aside of the coupling mount

Although a bonnet ladder is included within the kit, I felt this was a like coarse so I used a finer signal ladder etching.

The kit includes white metal front bottom steps which I added to the chassis and folded up some spare brass etch fret to make the middle and top steps. The two handrails for each of the front steps were again made from the NS wire.

The Bachmann 08 has two small air tanks mounted at the front of the chassis either side of the NEM coupling pocket, the SR shunters had in reality a single air tank mounted across the front. Rather than keep the 08 arrangement, to better represent the SR shunter arrangement, I cut a suitably sized white metal coach vacuum tank, again from the spares box, to fit around the coupling pocket.

The 3.4 rear view showing the characteristic rear overhang with lower windows

If you are not using the coupling pocket then the tank can be fitted as one piece across the front.

The chassis was brush painted, whilst the body was given a dusting of the reliable rattle can Halford Plastic Primer before a top coat of their matt black. The usual HMRS transfers finish the model, she just awaits some weathering (and replacing one of the bonnet door catches that I now notice is missing). After painting I added the window glazing by cutting 20 thou clear plasticard to shape and glued in place using Deluxe Materials Glue and Glaze.

Overall this is a quick and simple project using the Golden Arrow Productions resin kit to build one of these distinctive SR three shunters, and will although a bit far from Norwood their usual stomping ground make an occasional appearance on Canute Road Quay.

 

Southern Big Tanks, new books from The Irwell Press

Hot of the press from my friends at the Irwell Press are four new excellent paperback books all about the Southern Big Tanks. The four books cover the London Southern Western Railway Urie G16 class 4-8-0Ts and H16 4-6-2Ts Z class and the later Maunsell Z class 0-8-0Ts and W class 2-6-4Ts. These follow in the style of their more usual hardback “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 £13.95 each. As they say available from all good bookstores, and probably some not so good ones too! 

Southern Big Tanks:1 G16 class

 Southern Big Tanks:2 H16 class


Southern Big Tanks:3 Z class


Southern Big Tanks:4 W class


Further information about my models of members of the four class shown above can be read on my Talking Stock posts as follows:

A post about my W class model will follow soon. In the meantime I can recommend these book to any Southern Railway historian or modeller alike.

PS have you entered my little competition yet to win a brand new Hornby R2620 Urie N15 King Arthur Class number 746 ‘ Pendragon’ in Bulleid post war malachite green livery? The closing date is this coming Thursday 28th July, full details can be found here.

 

Talking Stock #33 The five Urie H16 large 4-6-2 tanks

As I mentioned in my Talking Stock #26 post here about the four Urie G16 class 4-8-0T locomotives, I do indeed have a soft spot for large tanks and therefore this post is about Urie’s other large tanks the five H16 4-6-2Ts. The later Maunsell Z class 0-8-0T locomotives  were the subject of Talking Stock #19 post here, whilst Maunsell’s W class 2-6-4 tanks will soon also feature on this blog.

The ex London and Southern Western (LSWR) Urie H16 class of 4-6-2 tanks were introduced in 1921, and if you have read my Talking Stock #26 post, you will know already that this was the same year as their slightly smaller sisters the G16 4-8-0T class. The two classes sharing many common parts such as motion, bogies, boilers and fireboxes.

Urie H16 4-6-2T number 519 built from a Jedenco etched brass kit.

Both classes were built in association with the new hump marshalling yard at Feltham. Rather than the four G16s which were designed for working in the confines of Feltham yard the five  H16s were intended for cross regional goods traffic between Feltham and the North London yards of Brent (Midland) and Willesden (London North Western). For this duty they had  5’7″  driving wheels, larger than the G16s, larger water capacity and the extra large bunker was carried by a radial truck.   As they were also used occasionally on empty carriage stock working between Waterloo and Clapham Junction and on special passenger trains, such as during Ascot Race Week,  the H16s were initially given the standard Southern passenger livery of lined olive green unlike the black livery of the G16s, giving rise to their nickname amongst operating staff as ‘Green Tanks’. This changed to a plain black livery, in common with all Southern locomotives from 1940 due to watime constraints, and was retained during BR days until their withdrawal in 1962.

H16 number 519 viewed from the other side and shows off the powerfull looking nature of these tanks that appeals so much.

My model was built, with much effort, from a Jidenco etched brass kit; that owing to the quality of the kit design, thin etches and limited instructions, took a number of years of starting, doing a bit, getting frustrated and putting down again before finally getting round to finishing.  Certainly not a kit for the feint hearted. She is powered using a Portescap coreless motor along with quite a bit of lead weight added to provide adequate traction due to the lightweight thin etched brass construction of the kit with only the small dome, safety valves and chimney being white metal castings.

My usual excuse for an occasional appearance on Fisherton Sarum of an H16, as they were only allocated to Feltham, is on a running in turn from Eastleigh although that does not really explain her weathered condition, so perhaps she was borrowed for a freight trip down the West of England line?

Picture of the Month – April 2015

This months picture…

Bulleid Light Pacific 34011 ‘Tavistock’ in early British Railways experimental Apple Green livery head the Up Devon Belle past Fisherton Shed where a WD class 2-8-0 can just be seen at the coaling stage, while Z Class number 957 pushes loaded coal wagons up the coal stage ramp.

Talking Stock #19 The quiet but powerful Maunsell Z class tanks.

Firstly a quick Happy New Year to all the readers of this blog as this is the first post of 2013, I wish you all a peaceful and prosperous year ahead with hopefully plenty of time of modelling all things Southern!

Z Class 0-8-0T 957 on the coald stage road at Fisherton Sarum

One of the regular sights on Fisherton Sarum is my Z class pushing loaded loco coal wagons up the incline to the coal stage. Maunsell Z Class 0-8-0T number 957 was allocated to Salisbury primarily for shunting the East yard, this was due in part to the fact that the yard was shunted 24 hours a day and being three cylinder locomotives the Z class had a much softer exhaust beat than for example the ‘bark’ of a traditional 2 cylinder locomotive such as the G6 Class. It was reported that on the days when the Z Class was on shed for routine maintenance such as boiler wash out etc. the locals would complain about the additional noise of its replacement in the yard!

Another view of Z Class No. 957 borrowed from East yard to shunt the loco coal wagons

The eight Maunsell Z class 0-8-0 tanks, numbered 950 to 957, were designed specifically for the role of heavy shunting in hump and marshalling yards that was capable of negotiating tight curves often found in yards, be able to deliver lot of power after lengthy periods of idling, whilst reducing the tendency for locomotives employed on such work to often lift safety valves and therefore wasting steam etc.
Maunsell built on the experience of gained from the Urie G16 class 4-8-0T (a post on this class and other SR heavy tanks will follow in due course) which had been produced for the same purpose and utilised a number of standard components including an existing Brighton boiler design and cyclinders from the U1/N1 class.
The wheels were of 4ft 8in diameter and the leading and trailing pair had sufficient sideplay so that curves of 4½ chains could be negotiated providing that they were not in confined spaces due to the large 11ft overhang at each end.

Whilst mainly used for yard shunting, such as at Salisbury and the ‘hump’ yard at Feltham they were also known for their use later in life as banking engines between Exeter St David’s and Exeter Central.

Z Class 0-8-0T No. 957 built from a Milholme white metal

My model of number 957 is built from an old Milholme white metal kit powered by a Portescap motor that ensures that like the prototype she is quiet, very powerful and does not slip. She may well at some time be pensioned off to be replaced by the excellent DMR etched brass kit that is in my pile of kits to build but that is likely to be some time off yet.