Atlantic's works: Portable layout - Scenic details next

[earlswood nob]

Good morning all from deepest Surrey

A superb loco................

Earlswood nob

[manna]

I thought Australia was in the grip of so many climate change droughts that there was no such thing
as a lake down there!!!!!!!!

Don't forget that there were fewer colours back then, and rather like Ferrari red, tended to be
made up the following day from what had been left behind the night before, so it would have
varied. The only reference we have is either paintings by Hamilton Ellis, or the two books
that we know about offering livery details. Strangely I have both, but they are at the bottom
of my new storage tuit pile right now, but will look out for them both.

I have some pictures of No 1 from 2003, which might be helpful if you want Graeme?

Paul

G'Day Gents

Yes, we've had a fair few droughts over the past few years, but it's over now, the East Coast of Australia is being battered by many huge rainstorms, rivers and towns are flooded, it's all to do with the 'La Nina' weather patterns, it'll rain like mad for 6 months, then dry up and won't rain for 10 years, a normal cycle, not climate change.

manna

[Atlantic 3279]

After a lot of eye-shrivelling concentration, my Stirling heavy 0-6-0 now has a lot more of its lining and nearly all of the shiny bits temporarily re-fitted. The splashers and sandboxes ideally need lining too, as do the brown area below running plate level. The buffer beams require additional details as well, but I'm now happy to put it to one side for further attention later, should other matters such as Christmas preparations get in the way. I was rather frustrated to find myself having to re-tune the running characteristics of the loco today, when it had been "perfect" on earlier tests. By some mysterious means it had developed a major tight spot, synchronised with wheel revolutions, mainly but not wholly when attempting to run in reverse. I initially suspected loss of the very fine clearances under the running plate for the oil bosses on the rods, thanks to paint build up. There were some marks in the paint to suggest this, but after manually scraping out more clearance I still had the same tight spot. I loosened the body screws off, in case the body was deforming the chassis. Still no joy, nor when I relubricated everything. I ended up de-soldering all of the crankpin washers so that I could have the rods off, alarmingly pulling a crankpin out of the heat-softened plastic on one of the Scalelink wheels in process, but that screwed back in satisfactorily once the plastic had cooled again. I then ran a 1.2mm drill bit through all of the crankpin holes again, exactly as I had when first fitting the rods, and was sure that I had removed little more than fresh air from the holes. On refitting the rods that did however appear to have done the trick, smooth running restored...

I've gone for No 174, the first loco of the short series, because on checking Groves' notes I discovered that No 145 which features in the only two photographs I've seen (both probably taken in the 1880s) later received a boiler of a revised type. I deduced that the new design may well have done away with the side clack-valves that I've carefully modelled, and the plumbing for the the injectors could conceivably have altered too. Two other locos also got the new type of boiler, so that reduced my options to just three, none of which lasted beyond 1902 whereas those with the newer boilers lasted another 3 or 4 years. There's no confirmation that 174 was fitted with vacuum brakes, but I've boldly assumed that some sort of loco brakes were fitted rather than leaving it reliant on just tender braking until its 1902 withdrawal. I'm not likely to forget that it is a 174 series loco if it bears that very number anyway!

[Chas Levin]

Beautiful!

[kimballthurlow]

Hello Graeme,

The GNR 174 is a beautiful model, and thanks for showing the build sequences.
You are very skilled.

So far my attempts at GNR modelling have been the modification to the ubiquitous Hornby J52 (to GNR M6) and a few vans from RTR stock.
It is a very interesting railway.

Kimball

[Woodcock29]

Graeme the 174 is looking superb.
Andrew

[nzpaul]

mmmmmm, very nice.

Paul

[S.A.C. Martin]

Gorgeous!

[LNER4479]

Simply exquisite.

Just the wheels to line now ...

[Atlantic 3279]

As GNR late Victorian wheel lining, if applied at all, appears to me to have consisted of a black pin-stripe (with ornate termination) along every spoke, and no white at all, I question whether anybody could apply it to scale, by hand, on a 4mm scale model, and whether it would be noticeable once applied.
That's my excuse anyway, and I'm sticking to it.
Groves also suggests that (possibly in an earlier period?) vermillion lining was not always applied to the brown frames and valances. I don't know what his evidence was, but it may be that I could with some justification omit that lining too - although I can just see the lining on the valance in one photo of a 322 series "standard" 0-6-0.

[Hatfield Shed]

Your Stirling 0-6-0 looked very fine as seen posed on TW's Little Bytham.

...So far my attempts at GNR modelling have been the modification to the ubiquitous Hornby J52 (to GNR M6) and a few vans from RTR stock.
It is a very interesting railway...

It's unique achievement in the UK was to successfully plot the route to maximum power steam express traction in the fewest possible moves.
Stirling, leading bogie, outside cylinders between bogie wheels, carrying wheel at rear.
Ivatt, added wide firebox, large boiler atlantic format.
Gresley, added high superheater to grate ratio, pacific format, employed Chapelon's insights on draughting.
LNER wide firebox power is GNR writ large, and all other UK pacifics that came after sprang from the GNR's lead.

A side benefit from the GNR is that the Doncaster design shop maintained an exterior design aesthetic that also delivered elegance in those express locomotives.

[S.A.C. Martin]

Your Stirling 0-6-0 looked very fine as seen posed on TW's Little Bytham.

Do we have a link? I'd love to see how it looks in a natural setting. TW's Little Bytham must have changed since I last it (2012 I think!) quite a lot. It was incredibly impressive then.

[MikeTrice]

Try this: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index ... 66935_menu

[Atlantic 3279]

Thanks to all for the comments, and thanks Mike for the link, saving me the trouble.

[nzpaul]

The photos taken of your locos on LB do look very nice. I don't suppose anyone pointed a video camera at them while they were running around? Still keen to see that two motor A5 running, and the other engines too..

Paul