2217

My first encounter with a Collett Goods engine in model form took place in George Mellors (GEM) factory / showroom at Rhos-on-Sea in North Wales in the early sixties.  By rights I should have been participating in my school sports day but having been volunteered for numerous field events by my sadistic Housemaster, I felt the day would be better spent on the platforms of Chester General.  At the time I was modelling in 3mm scale and with a couple of weeks paper round money burning a hole in my pocket I decided on impulse to jump on the next train for the Welsh coast and blow the lot on some model railway equipment and that is how I ended up purchasing a BEC cast kit for a 3mm scale Collett Goods engine together with a Tri-ang 0-6-0 chassis to suit.  A few years later I traded my 3mm collection in and returned to 4mm scale, high on my list of wants was a K's Dean Goods kit which I was advised to avoid by the owner of my local model shop who told me the K's chassis were the very devil to build.  So I took his advice and bought a Will's Collett Goods body kit which would fit onto a Tri-ang 0-6-0 chassis, the model was a huge success and gave good service, then Mainline introduced their version of the model just as I was dipping my toes into the world of EM gauge modelling.

3218 was based on the aforementioned Mainline model and is seen here at Penhydd on its Comet compensated chassis, the tender also ran on a compensated Comet chassis  The body was very poor indeed, like the Mainline Mogul and Manor it suffered from a ragged moulding line which ran all along the top of the model including the safety valve and chimney.  I removed both fittings and made good the resulting mess then cleaned up the moulding line before fitting a replacement safety valve casting and a turned chimney, the original being pure fiction rather than Swindon.  One advantage of fitting an etched chassis was that it allowed the cab to be fully detailed because the motor no longer protruded into it so I fitted a Gibson backhead.  I also added a turned smokebox dart along with a full complement of lamp irons and sandbox operating linkages which I made up from brass strip.  The  shallow front buffer beam was modified by adding a strip of 60 thou styrene along its lower edge which allowed some new sprung buffers to be fitted in the correct position unlike the originals which were mounted way too high, the usual pipework and a screwlink coupling completed the detailing on the engine.  Turning my attention to the tender I carved away the original axle boxes which were a little lacking in both depth and detail, replacements from Gibson made a huge difference as did the addition of some styrene gussets between the tender body and chassis along with some styrene cube rivets for the frame.  New grab and handrails were made up from wire and held in place with Gibson handrail knobs, final touches in the way of sprung buffers, lamp irons, pipework and a scale coupling completed the build and I ended up with what a I considered to be a decent 'layout engine'.

During 2009 I came across a pre owned Bachmann Blue Riband version of the model in my then local model shop.  The price asked was very reasonable indeed so I snapped 2217 up with a view to fitting it on the Comet chassis belonging to 3218.  However when I got home I found the running qualities of the new improved chassis were superb, in those days there was no six month wait for Ultrascale wheels and the prices were reasonable so I bought a full EM conversion set.  Fitting the new wheels was a simple job, the two body screws were removed followed by the one securing the keeper plate. The old wheels were dropped out and the new ones dropped in with only the slightest of brake block trimming required, pickups were gently eased outwards, the coupling rods transferred from old to new wheels, the model was reassembled and away she went. 

Penhydd again with 2217 on running trials after the Ultrascale EM wheel conversion.  Notice how the buffer shanks are level with the top of the buffer beam whereas they should in fact be level with its lower edge.  One of my friends Richard Ough told me about a discussion on a well known forum concerning the incorrect small sized Bachmann driving wheels, no wonder the buffers were mounted higher than they should be!  I was unaware of the wheel issue as I had used the correct size wheels from Gibson and Ultrascale on both my models, so I checked the Bachmann originals and found that they were indeed on the small side, even accounting for limits of wear.

Anyway having converted the model to EM it ended up in store whilst I modelled Penhydd Creamery and then started afresh with Llangunllo.  But the project wasn't forgotten as I drew up a list of modifications that I would make to suit my choice of prototype and here they are once again.

See what I mean about that ragged moulding line and chimney!

The first job was to remove the chimney and the over scale lamp irons, then out came the nail file boards and wet and dry paper to make the surfaces good, the safety valve cleaned up nicely so I left it in place.  Though the cab window handrails are made from wire they had been fitted flush against the cab side, so I gently eased them out and secured them with a drop of cyano.

Normally I renumber my RTR based models but in this case 2217 suited me fine because her home shed in 1955 was 89C Machynlleth, prior to that she was at 87G Carmarthen and then she found her way to the SDJR at 71H Templecombe, from where she was withdrawn on the 30/11/1964.  I found this information from my various Combined Volumes and the excellent Rail UK website. To complete my research I needed a photo of the prototype but a search through my extensive collection of books drew a blank, fortunately within the pages of the Colour Rail online catalogue I came across a good selection of photos featuring 2217.

This photo shows 2217 at Carmarthen on the 20/ 07/ 1962 and is reproduced here with the kind permission of Paul Chancellor of Colour Rail.  Notice the low mounted lamp iron on the smokebox door which was fitted as an electrification safety measure on the last remaining steam engines.  That is one detail that I will not be adding as my operating era for 2217 is much earlier  Another detail to note is the small balance weight on the centre driving wheel, on some members of the class they were huge.

Having in the past built a good number of etched kits I've got into the habit of saving the scrap frets, which come in very useful as a source of brass strip for detailing purposes, such as lamp irons and the sandbox operating linkages that you see here.  I also added the conduit (ATC ?) which runs beside the linkage and down inside the frames.  I carried out the same modifications as those on 3218 but this time I also replaced the smokebox door step as the original is on the small size.  If you look closely you can see the strip of 60 thou styrene that I've added below the lower edge of the buffer beam.  Fitting the buffers correctly and replacing the excuse of a chimney makes a huge difference to the face of the engine.  Vacuum pipes were formed from .9mm brass rod with 10 amp fuse wire around them, steam heating pipes are from .7mm rod with a sleeve of layout electrical wire pushed over them.  A Roxey etched screwlink coupling and a Westward ATC shoe completed the front end detail leaving just the lamp irons to be trued up.  Normally I make my etched number plates from Martin Finney's blank plates and individual numbers, alas they are unavailable at the moment so I ordered a set of these which in my opinion are superb.  You will have to paint the background yourself which isn't a big deal, just paint whole plate, leave them to dry for a day or so, then lay a piece of fine wet and dry paper on a flat surface and gently rub the plates until the paint is removed from the numerals and plate border thus exposing the brass surface.  Before I forget the cab is sitting high because the body and chassis are yet to be screwed together

Compare this view with photos 4 and 5, the moulding line has been cleaned up and the new chimney looks much better.  New lamp irons have been fitted beside the firebox and the other part of the sanding gear linkage can be seen emerging from the smokebox saddle.  I've also removed the rear sandbox fillers which were originally between the cab steps and pipework, a weather sheet will be added in due course which will be folded back over the cab roof.  The tender is a nice little model in itself and I've not done much work on it apart from adding real coal, its also been close coupled and provided with an etched fall plate, the rear lamp irons and the usual buffer beam detail can be seen in the photo below.

As these two photos show 2217 like the rest of my steam engines is finished in an almost filthy state, no gleaming brass, copper or Brunswick green paintwork here because this is how I remember steam engines in the fifties and early sixties, granted there were some exceptions but in places way off the beaten track like Llangunllo they were rare.

Weathering follows my usual methods of dry brushing areas of dark and light earth enamels around the running plate, frames, brake hangers, steps, firebox, smokebox saddle and any other areas where rust could be expected to gather.  Once the rust painted areas were dry the whole model was given a couple of light washes of Precision dirty black enamel, then with the paint still a little tacky a light dusting of soot and rust weathering powders together with a little talc was gently brushed on to add a little texture and blend the colours together.

I'm happy with how 2217 has turned out, she isn't perfect but is in my opinion fine for what Iain Rice would call a 'layout engine', could she be further improved ?  Well yes, you could fit the body to an etched chassis and model the inside motion but would you actually notice it when the engine was in use ?  So there you are, should you want the model of one of Collett's 2251 class then open your wallet and purchase the ex Martin Finney kit along with a tender to suit, if all goes to plan they will be available again this coming autumn from Brassmasters.  If etched kits aren't for you then you have a choice of the Wills whitemetal kit or you can make do with Bachmanns version modified or not.

Finally a few photos of 2217 earning her keep.........


Doing what she was designed for, 2217 slowly steams through Llangunllo with a goods train, I find it rather satisfying to sit back and watch trains like this slowly pass through the scene rather than just run to and fro between termini and cassette deck.




When the first batch of the BR Mk1 coaches arrived between 1951-1960 older coaching stock such as the WR Hawksworths were cascaded down onto secondary routes thus replacing even older coaches, so it was not unusual to see them used on local stopping services and excursions.

Collett Goods 2217 drifts into Llangunllo with the return working of a day excursion from Kington. The train had been split at Llanbister Road with the main portion continuing to Shrewsbury, well I can dream can't I ?