1928 Corridor Tenders after 1938

[Atlantic 3279]

One of the most intriguing and challenging parts of my research into the details of the rebuilt No 10000 in preparation for making a model turns out to be the details of the top of its tender, in 1938/39 condition.
I hope my description isn't too obscure or boring. Pictures would be easier but there's copyright to consider.......
I know from reading the RCTS green books and from studying various photographs that the tender was built as a 1928 pattern corrridor tender but had disc wheels from the word go. Initially, the top of the right side of the tender would have been the roof of the crew corridor (with its curved edge slightly above the top beading of the sidesheet), with a single coal rail atop this alongside the coal space. The top of the left side had a fairly shallow curve-in portion to the side sheet above the level of the top beading, so that the two side-views of the tender more or less matched. I don't know whether there was any "rising plating" at all curving up towards the front coal plate on either side initially.
With the advent of the A4s (shortly followed by the similar W1 rebuild) the 1928 tenders were "streamlined" to match. Front and rear plates of the coal space were built up to a higher curve (to match the cab roof line) and extra sloping curved plating was added along the tops of the sides, considerably narrowing the openings above the coal space and water filler. This plating also curved up to the top of the front coal plate in a wide sweep. This "fully faired in" arrangement didn't last long as it caused problems in coaling up the tenders fully from mechanised coalers, and caused a fatal accident on a water trough owing to the way the excess water was thrown out through the restricted opening above the water filler.
MOST of the added extra plating was therefore cut away again, which brings us to the 1938 condition of the W1's tender: Locomotives Illustrated published a good rear right three-quarter view which strongly suggests that the top plating on the right side of the tender was cut back to match the style now seen on the top of Flying Scotsman's tender, which I was able to photograph from "top right" in the NRM a few weeks ago. The extra plating had gone altogether alongside the water filler. A moderatley wide strip was left in place over the crew corridor in the coal space (in lieu of the original single coal rail) and at the front this still curved upwards slightly towards the top of the front coal plate.
IT IS THE TOP OF THE LEFT SIDE OF THE TENDER THAT CAUSES SOME UNCERTAINTY. I don't have a good view of 10000's tender itself from high on the left side, couldn't get such a view of Scotsman's tender, and pictures of different A4's with cut-down tenders in the'38/'39 period don't necessarily suggest a uniform approach to the removal of plating on the left side. I may be reading the pictures wrongly but I get the impression that in some cases the plating was cut back all the way to the original 1928 line. Other pictures suggest a line that matched the remaining plating on the right side of the tender. One picture suggests this higher line alongside the water filler but fully cut back alongside the coal space! I have no idea whether there was any front upcurve towards the top of the front coal plate on this side either.
Please does anybody know if there was a "rule" for the left side of these tenders, and whether 10000's tender conformed? The ideal would be a photograph of course. Unfortunately, I'm sceptical of evidence from other preserved corridor tenders as some of them have been meddled with extensively since 1939.

And while we're on the subject of 10000, does anybody know much about the stem-fitting carried on the outside rear frames of the rebuilt 10000, below the right side of the cab? Injector? Ejector? Blow down equipment of some kind? Any really good photos?

I realise that realistically I'm almost "asking for the moon" here, but somebody might just know.

[mick b]

Hi
Have you MRJ No 146 it has a excellent article on building a 7mm post war BR version in which the Martin Finney Streamlined Tender was used. Sorry cant help re the 1938 condition of the tender.
Re the device under the cab it looks like an injector of come kind? again very good photo in the MRJ edition above. He also used the Isinglass drawing for his build

good luck

Mick

[Atlantic 3279]

Thanks for wading through all that lot and posting a reply Mick!

I don't have that MRJ or the Isinglass drwg, but today I've been lent Yeadon's Vol 2 which helps to show enough of that steam fitting for OO modelling, and also gives me a highly plausible impression of the way the fairings are likely to have been on 10000's tender top when first cut-back. It even gives me a good excuse for painting the area above the side beading on the tender black if necessary, even if Hornby do it garter blue on their models.

[Sir Nigel Gresley]

Some of the A4 tenders - I don't have the Green Bible to hand - were cut-down at the rear for the 1948 loco exchanges, to enable the LMS water cranes to access the filler (the LNER only used bags, so there was no height problem).

[Atlantic 3279]

Yes, you're quite right, and the fact that one or more of these tenders has been preserved and restored to "original" condition (but not quite) makes them a misleading "guide" for the modern observer, as I discovered for myself! I think I've worked out the general ways in which the once fully faired in corridor tenders were cut back down around 1938, but I suspect there were variations!