From The Penhydd Archive....The story of 1455

This is the first of the edited and updated 'Chronicles of Penhydd' posts to be transferred here, it covers the conversion and upgrade of my old Airfix 14XX tank engine into something a little different.  I wanted to model an example of the class without top feed and during my research I came across some photos of 1455 in such condition at Kington, New Radnor and at Titley Junction.  I also came across the Rail UK website where I learned that she was built at Swindon in 1935 and from 1948 her home shed was 85C Hereford.  She was later moved to 85B Gloucester and gained a top feed, withdrawn from the same shed on the 31/05/1964 she returned home to Swindon being scrapped two months later.  She also hauled the last passenger train over the Kington Branch which had been organised by the Stephenson Locomotive Society ( SLS ) .  A photo showing the special at Kington accompanied my article in the Railway Modeller August 2013 issue...........

The caption for the above photo reads...  " No.1455 taking water at Kington whilst working the SLS Leominster - Kington Centenary tour on Saturday 27th July 1957.  The train comprised auto trailers W243W and W242W ".   Photo by Hugh Ballantyne www.railphotoprints.co.uk

I used a Comet chassis and the Mainly Trains detailing kit to convert my model, sadly the latter is no longer available but alternative components can be sourced from  247 Developments , Craftsman Models. and others.  Recently a new RTR model of the 14XX tank has been announced but when or if it will appear remains to seen ?  In the meantime if you prefer to do a little hands on modelling rather than just open a box and have an old model tucked away read on............

Just before the axe fell on Penhydd 1455 was seen leaving for Titley Junction with a late evening passenger train conveying full milk tanks bound for Leominster and points East. The old baseboard frames, the signal and rolling stock all found a new home on Llangunllo where 1455 continues to give a good account of herself today.

If you are looking for a good book which explains everything you could possibly want to know about building and maintaining model loco chassis then look no further, for the one above by Iain Rice is the definite work on the subject.  Though its currently out of print used copies can often be found on the net and from specialist booksellers.  I use both 15w and 25w Antex soldering irons, 145 degree solder and 12% Phosphoric acid flux to assemble etched kits, other tools include a selection of files, cutting and smoothing broaches, a fibreglass brush and a 1/8th parallel reamer.  A set of Comets frame assembly jigs are a must if, like me you don't have a fancy chassis assembly jig.

This is the Comet chassis fret, brass wire, top hat bearings and trailing axle box castings make up the rest of the kit.  If you want something more detailed and fancy modelling the inside motion then the High Level chassis kit will be just the thing for you.

I started off by cleaning the complete chassis etch and then opened up the holes for the brake hanger wires with a broach until the wire provided was a firm fit within them.  Though I was using the sub chassis (item 4 on the etch) I still opened up the bearing holes so that the top hat bearings would fit, the reason for doing this will become clear once the frame assembly jigs are used.  I removed each frame from the fret by cutting through their tabs with a Stanley Knife, filing any remains flat.  Referring to Comets instructions three spacers were prepared and soldered in place on one frame only.  Spacers for '00' are supplied as standard but will be exchanged free of charge if you model in EM or P4.  The trailing axle is held in place with wire retainers which locate in tabs, the latter were folded to shape and strengthened with a fillet of solder as can be seen on the lower frame in the photo above.

The next job involved assembling the frames and this is where the frame assembly jigs came into play.  The jigs comprise of three turnings one of which you can see between the frames in the photo, three lengths of threaded rod and six nuts are also included.  The top hat axle bearings are inserted into the frames and jig then the threaded rod is passed through them both, two nuts are threaded onto the rod and tightened up thus pushing the bearings into both the frame and jig.  The second jig is set up in exactly the same way leaving you with a pair of accurately aligned frames but do check that they are level and square before soldering them together, the jigs are available for '00', EM, and P4 and well worth their modest cost.  Once the frames have been assembled the jigs and bearings are removed.

Here we have the assembled frames, the rear chassis extension has been formed and its folds reinforced with solder. The latter has two slots etched into its rear face which are designed to locate in the end of the chassis frames, this is fine for '00' gauge but for EM or P4 a little measuring, cutting and filing is required due to the extra width of the chassis. The  Comet GB4 gearbox is in the course of being assembled, its top hat bearings have been inserted from the inside of the box so the sub chassis can clip over them, the front plate of the gearbox will be fitted later as will the motor which is a Mashima 1020.  The sub chassis has been folded up and bearings fitted for the front driving wheels.

The basic chassis with rear extension, motor, gearbox and sub chassis fitted in place.  Jig axles are supporting the sub chassis which pivots on the brake hanger wire between them. The same jig axles are used to check the accuracy of the coupling rods, in my experience Comets are always spot on but its always worth making sure.  The axles are supported and revolve in the sub chassis and gearbox bearings so none are fitted into the chassis frames, thus allowing the sub chassis to rise and fall by a small amount.

I glued the axlebox castings in place with epoxy after first sweating the etched hornblock detailing strips in place below them. I then filed a flat on the drive axle before fitting it and its drive gear temporarily in place, this serves two purposes as not only does it provide a firm securing point for the gears grubscrew but also stops the latter forcing the gear out of true as it is tightened up.  All moving surfaces were lightly lubricated with clock oil, power was applied and everything checked for smooth and quiet running.  Once happy the motor and gearbox together with the drive axle were removed, the chassis was cleaned up and prepared for painting.  I used an old pair of axles to protect the bearings from paint, masked the trailing axle and wheels and gave the whole chassis a couple of light coats of black primer from an aerosol can.

Once the chassis had been sprayed I carried out a little weathering, adding touches of rust around the ash pan, guard irons and the trailing axlebox castings.  All the bearing surfaces were checked for any stray paint, their surfaces lubricated and the motor, gearbox and driving wheels refitted.  I've always used Gibson wheels and prepare them by rubbing their backs on some wet and dry paper to remove any moulding pips, the latter can catch on the pick up wires causing an annoying clicking sound.  The crankpin holes were countersunk to receive the pins before carefully screwing them home and securing them with a touch of screwlock.  Axles were prepared by filing a slight chamfer on their ends so they start to enter the wheel centres easily.  Years ago I invested in a GW Wheelpress which makes light work of mounting the wheels, ensuring that they go on their axles both true and accurately quartered.  With the chassis wheeled up the guard irons were gently bent to shape and touched up with paint as required.

Each axle will require a certain amount of side play, just how much depends on the radius of the curves that you expect your chassis to negotiate. The drive axle needs just a running clearance whereas the others will need more, the curves on Penhydd were around 6ft radius and those on Llangunllo slightly larger so 1455 needed only 1 mm of side play on the leading and trailing axles.  Rather than take measurements I cheat by mounting some old wheels and axles in the chassis, adding or removing spacing washers until I get things just right.  The pick up pads will be bolted to the frame spacer just forward of the trailing axle and beneath the sub chassis, notice the flat which has been filed on the drive axle for the gear retaining screw.

Each coupling rod was made next by sweating its two sections together, both were cleaned and one was tinned, more flux was applied, then they were held in alignment with a couple of sharpened cocktail sticks.  A hot iron was then wiped along the rods working from their centres outwards and around the edges, they were then cleaned up, filed to shape and the holes gently opened up, first with a cutting broach and then with a smoothing broach until they fitted nicely over the crank pin bushes.  The second coupling rod was made up in the same way then both were fitted to the wheels and the chassis pushed along to check for any binding.

The brake gear has now been fitted as close to the wheels as possible, the pick ups have also been fitted and the motor wired.  The chassis is now ready for testing and running in, all being well the motor shaft will be cut down afterwards with a triangular diamond coated file.  Whatever you do don't use a slitting disc as the heat generated will damage the motor.  Pick up pads were made from gapped copperclad strip and bolt onto the frame spacer and sub chassis as previously described, lengths of 0.33 brass wire were then soldered.to the pads  The wires were cut to length and the ends bent into a 'Z' shape to bear lightly on the back of each driving wheel, taking great care to avoid the spring and brake detail thus preventing any short circuits.  The pick ups for the trailing wheels are straight and bear lightly on the wheel flanges to reduce drag.

Very rarely will a chassis run well from the word go, more often than not a few adjustments will be needed. If you have used a wheelpress which accurately quarters the wheels then any problems will be down to the gears or coupling rods, the latter might need easing a touch or a crank pin might not be true.  If the gearbox and motor mounting are true then it might be a simple case of adjusting the position of the gear on the drive axle.  Pick ups can also cause problems if they are too stiff or incorrectly adjusted.  To begin with its a case of trial and error but as your experience grows fault finding and adjustment become easier.


So much for the chassis lets take a look at the body......................

The old Airfix body breaks down into several parts and I assume the later Dapol and Hornby models do the same.  I started off by removing the smokebox door by gently filing it away a little at a time, taking care to keep the file square to the job.  The chimney was cut off and the surface made good by using a combination of craft knife, nail boards and wet and dry papers.  One advantage of fitting a replacement chassis is that the boiler can be modelled in full by fitting a plug underneath it,  I made mine by wrapping an oversized piece of 20 thou styrene sheet around some brass tubing of slightly less diameter than the boiler and then plunging it into some boiling water.  Once it had cooled down the styrene was removed from the tubing, trimmed to size and cemented in place, you can see the plug in the bottom left corner of the photo, along with a new brass chimney of the correct profile and a new door casting of the correct size.

I next removed the cab roof and using a new curved craft knife blade carefully carved away all the moulded handrails and lamp irons  The toolboxes on 1455 were fitted further forward than those on the Airfix model so they were removed and styrene replacements made.  The top feed was cut off the boiler and the surface made good in the same manner as the chimney, a new boiler band was made from microstrip and once set hard it was trimmed and sanded to shape to match the others.

This cruel enlargement shows the boiler plug and replacement boiler band, the latter has yet to be sanded down hence its less than perfect appearance.  At this stage of the conversion everything is looking a right mess especially around the splasher but it will all come good in the end.

Its all starting to come together now, all the hand and grab rails have been carved away and wire replacements fitted, Gibson handrail knobs being used to mount them.  Replacement and additional lamp irons are from brass strip, the buffer beam overlays, water tank fillers, vents and wheel balance weights were all salvaged from a part built Perseverance 14XX kit that I purchased cheaply for spares off Ebay.  The sandboxes also came from the same source, though with care, it is possible to salvage the old ones from the original Airfix chassis, or if you prefer new castings can be purchased from the dealers mentioned in the post introduction.

1455 was auto fitted so part of the control linkage was fitted under the front buffer beam and behind the screw link coupling and new pipework.  Other improvements and additions include a new safety valve casting, some turned whistles and an etched whistle shield.  The front cab windows are a little on the small side, so I thinned the heavy roof down which made them a touch taller and I also ran a file along their edges to make them wider.  Work was still in progress when this photo was taken hence the ill fitting roof and cab handrail.

One advantage of using an etched chassis is that you can detail the cab interior,  I removed the load of moulded coal and replaced it with a piece of styrene onto which some real crushed coal was glued.  The hooks on the rear of the bunker were made by forming some brass strip around a suitably sized drill shank, lamp irons were also made from the same material.  Rather than buy a casting for the battery box I made one from styrene sheet which was a simple enough job.

1455 is looking less like the old Airfix model now, I spent a little time cleaning up the pipework which runs along the model by gently scraping a knife blade along its edges.  Then out came the aerosol can and the body was sprayed in matt black primer, checking for and correcting any blemishes once dry.  As usual I made my own number plates from the excellent Martin Finney etches, though Martin is retiring the number plate kit, Ref E1 is still listed as being available.  Finally a new wire grab rail between the cab roof and left hand bunker side was added.

With number plates in place a yellow route marker, a BR emblem, smokebox number and shed plate from the Modelmaster range were applied and given a coat of matt varnish.  Next I picked out various areas of the model in rust coloured shades of enamel, rather than purchase the so called 'rust' paint which looks anything but to me I mix up my own shades, using light and dark earth with a little dirty black.  Once the rust patches had dried I applied light washes of dirty black over them and the entire model followed by a dusting of talc to blend everything together.  1455 was a little light on her feet when initially tested but once some weight had been added to the inside of the tanks and boiler she was more than capable of lifting a rake of four six wheeled milk tanks up the slight gradient leading out of Penhydd Creamery.  She can just manage the same load and two passenger coaches on the level which is more than adequate for my modest needs.

Its over three years since 1455 was completed and today she performs the same duties as she did on Penhydd.  In this view she is busy shunting milk tanks at Llangunllo and to this day remains my favourite model locomotive.