Model Railway Forum

Thank you for your kind comments cheshire lines.

The BR standard class 3 prairie tank was among the first British outline loco I bought when I started to dabble in modelling the British scene.
The model ran quite well straight out of the box on my test track. Unfortunately after a short while the Walschaerts valve gear decided to part company from the chassis on the fireman’s side of the loco. I’m pleased to say it was easily fixed with a few careful applications of super glue and has worked perfectly ever since.
In reality 45 of these locomotives were built at Swindon between 1952 and 1955. The first ten and the last fifteen were allocated to the Western Region. The had a similar power output to a small prairie, although physically much larger. The locos were fitted with a pipe mounted just under the roof at the back of the cab that sprayed water over the coal to lay the dust.
Back to fiction we find 82020 running bunker first arriving at Broadoak with a couple of cement wagons. They are then shunted into the Medusa Cement Company’s silo were the cement is loaded into the huge silos. Some is used locally and some is bagged and later distributed on pallets by lorries or in railway vans.
This set up gives an excuse for more wagon movements thus increasing the operating potential.







This last picture shows the coal watering pipe quite well.



Peter M

We are going back into the early fifties to feature the Oxford Rail Dean 0-6-0.
I have always found these small locomotives most attractive as I rather like their old fashioned look with their tall chimney and large dome.
Because the cab is very small and open crew figures are a must.
54 locos remained in service in 1948 and were absorbed into the newly nationalized
British Railways. These 54 locos these 54 locos remained in service for several years afterwards but by December 1957 all the remaining locos had been withdrawn from service.
Only one of the class has survived into preservation, that locomotive being No 2516 and is now part of the national collection.
The model is rather light but despite that runs very well as all wheels on both the loco and tender collect current. She a little noisy going forwards but very quiet in reverse, she probably needs more running.
She is seen arriving at Broadoak with a toad brake van to perform a little shunting.



This photo taken on my test track to show the small cab and crew.

Peter M

Nice pictures - must have been grim in the winter in a small open cab - even with the fire well stoked.

Thanks BB for your comments.

The 43xx class mogul was a most useful locomotive being at home on both passenger and freight trains. Introduced in 1911 and very powerful for their size,(more powerful than a Stanier Black Five) they could be found all over the system.
They proved to be reliable in service so a few more were built with detail modifications in 1925.
Some 217 were built in total.
6384 is an early Bachmann example which I bought second hand. I have painted the cab details and added a canvas sheet to the back of the cab roof and added a couple of crew figures.
She is seen leaving Broadoak with an un-fitted train of wooden wagons filled with crushed stone heading for the main line connection.









Peter M

A couple of shots of the mogul being prepared for a days work.





Peter M

A couple of shots of a loco I was given in a rather poor state, it had been dropped on the floor so some parts were cracked or missing. I repaired the broken parts as best I could and gave it a service and lubrication. Then a wash of weathering colours over the body to give a well used look and added some crew figures.
The model is an early Mainline version but runs remarkably well. I also made a weather sheet and glued it to the back of the cab roof.
She is seen here shunting in the yard having filled up with water first.







Peter M

A few details of the engine shed and water tower. The shed is really a sub shed where minimum servicing and repairs are carried out. The area behind the water tower has become a repository for junk over a period of time. There is obviously more junk hidden inside the old van body as well. This area is ripe for an addition of a little more junk to added from time to time, an enjoyable part of modelling.

In the last picture a small prairie is seen lurking, I must admit I find these little locos most attractive.







Peter M

A few more close ups of some of the details that I think make any layout that bit more interesting. The ash pit is were the fire is dropped and ash from the smoke box is removed from the loco being serviced. The coal loading stage is an excellent excuse for more traffic, coal in and ash wagons out.
Operating the layout becomes more interesting when every train you run has a definite purpose.




This picture shows the area behind Medusa Cement unloading facility where the cement is put into bags for the smaller user. These are later either put onto pallets and loaded into rail vans, or supplied in individual bags to local users who can collect them with their own transport.

Peter M

A great set of photos!

Thanks Mick your comment is very much appreciated.
I have a small inexpensive (under £100 ) compact Canon camera.
Taking pictures is half the fun I think.

Kind regards Peter M