GW Pannier Tank 4666 (1)

Well there it is, my first P4 loco and it works!!!!

The Ultrascale Bachmann Class 8750 'Pannier Tank' P4 wheel conversion pack has been sitting around for far too long. But today was the day I got to grips with it and 45 minutes after starting I had my first P4 loco. Placed on a short piece of P4 track and it ran just as well as it did as a OO loco.

Following Ultrascale's own conversion instructions for the Bachmann Pannier, I found the most difficult bit was removing the pickup plug. I was then extremely ham-fisted when plugging it back in and broke the plug socket off the circuit board (I didn't swear, honest). A quick repair with the soldering iron and all was well.

I decided to trim off the brake pull rods rather than file them down. I will refit them shortly. I also have some Bill Bedford coupling rods to solder up and fit. This will be done when some Carr's 188 solder arrives. All I then need to do is apply some balance weights to the wheels followed by general detailing and weathering of the Bachmann model.

4666 along with 4694 were allocated to Wadebridge shed (72F) in early 1960 to take over the duties performed by the SR Class O2's.

Class 25 on a china clay train at Par in 1976

Decorating is progressing steadily. Two rooms done another nearly finished, just hoping I don't have to start decorating the outside.

Previous posting was probably showing some of my frustration that I've no spare time for either hobby at the moment. Both comments that were left were correct. I was over complicating things, I have to concentrate on getting this house ready for sale or re-letting. Also a class 25 fitted with sound would be nice. Could not resist a quick search on the net for info on class 25's in Cornwall. Found a few photos, the one below were taken in 1976 so a little later than I am thinking but still nice shots.

I like the weathering on the front of this loco.

Clay wagons were not all white!! Nice

It looks like the top of the axle boxes have been weathered with clay dust but the bottoms are black, unless that is a shadow effect. I will have to learn some subtle weathering techniques to achieve anything like the above finish on my proposed fleet of wagons.

More photos of Class 25's can be found on this excellent reference site here.

Onwards and upwards and back to the decorating tomorrow.

57xx coupling rods

Some Bill Bedford coupling rods for a 57xx arrived in the post this morning. Now I've got no excuse to complete the conversion. That's if I can work out how to put these coupling rods together!!!

I've found some assembly instructions for a NER E1 here on Bill Bedford's web site . This kit looks to have similar coupling rods to the 57xx so may be able to use these instructions as a guide.

It looks too easy (57xx conversion)

I have two 57xxs to convert to P4 and EM gauge society and Ultrascale offer conversion packs. It all looks too easy....The following link is to Ultrascale's instruction sheet and should automatically download the pdf.

http://www.ultrascale.co.uk/reviews/review01.pdf

This will definitely be my first attempt at a P4 loco.

Locomotives allocations 1960

The following are allocations of engines known to have worked to the area during 1960.

Wadebridge
Class 0298 2-4-0T (Beattie Well Tank) : 30585 - 30586 - 30587
57xx 0-6-0T : 4666 - 4694
Class O2 0-4-4T : 30200 - 20236 (30236 withdrawn in Jan. and 30200 stored in Feb.)

Okehampton
Class T9 4-4-0 : 30313 - 30338 - 30709 - 30710 - 30715 - 30717
these were also used for part of the summer 30718 - 30719 30729

Exmouth Junction
Class WC/BB 4-6-2
34030 - Watersmeet
34033 - Chard
34038 - Lynton
34069 - Hawkinge
34080 - 74 Squadron
34110 - 66 Squadron
Class N 2-6-0 : 31834 - 31836 - 31839 - 31840 - 31841 - 31845 - 31847 - 31853

The above taken from A. Henderson's article in the July 1997 BackTrack magazine.

Beattie Well Tank at Bodmin