Another British Steam looc in Z, The WD 2-10-0

[kevsmiththai]

So I went into quite a bit of history when I told the tale of the Bulleid Pacifics and how they can be modelled in Z. Over the years those of us modelling U.K Z gauge have bought examples of nearly every Z scale Marklin locomotive with a view to using the chassis as a donor for something British. I always keep a close eye on Marklin Spur Z on ebay.de (the german ebay) for bargain locos.

 

Ivan Industries and lately Charly McGuiness on shapeways have been designing 3D printed locos in Z so there has been some experimenting and trials with new designs.

 

The most recent one to turn up is a WD (War department) 2-10-0 designed by Ivan these were introduced during the second world war to be used by the army overseas. Along with its 2-8-0 sister these locos were basically a stripped down LMS 8F 2-8-0 with a view to cutting down the manpower and materials required to manufacture one. They were going to be needed in great quantities and were not designed to have a long lifespan. The spartan appearance led them be nicknamed Austerities but the most common way they are referred to now is as 'Dubdees'

 

Two locobuilders, North British locomotive works and Vulcan foundry, between them from 1943 to 1945 produced 935 2-8-0s and 150 2-10-0s.

 

 

As a young lad I never saw the 2-10-0s running in main line service although I can remember the 2-8-0s wheezing and clanking along with no brass left in the side rod bearings or axleboxes. I would have rather had a 2-8-0 but the availability of the Marklin German BR50 as a donor made it a no-brainer as the first choice.

 

 

Better still, for my Z friends on the continent many of these were purchased and used by railways overseas after the war. The 2-10-0s  could be found in the Netherlands, Greece and Syria in the 1950s. Just after the war they could also be found in France, Germany, Egypt and in service with the USATC

 

A Dutch one with an extended chimney

 

 

to be continued

 

Kev

[kevsmiththai]

Some mates of mine and myself were out chasing the Network Rail infrastructure monitoring train last night (one of our Doctor yellows) top and tailed with a pair of Class 37/4s and I was saying I was doing the Dubdee and writing it up and one of them said "What about the gauge 1 WD 2-8-0 you built?" I'd completely forgotten about it but got a warm glow when I remembered the very nice cheque I received when I sold it

 

 

This is my memory of these locos in service. 90249 passes Thornhill junction in West Yorkshire with a westbound steel train from Scunthorpe. This picture is packed with interesting details. In the background is the coal fired Thornhill power station (long gone!) The original station buildings still survive. There is a plethora of telegraph wires and point rodding. The train is unfitted (no automatic brakes) hence the brake van and is probably running as Class 9 (25mph max). The three track workers live in a world long before orange Hi Vis vests and jackets became mandatory

 

 

The body and tender are only available in FUD at present. Shapeways have suspended production in Brass due to Covid 19 but they hope to resume soon so I've got the plastic one to check the fit on the loco chassis to see if it needs any tweaking. Like the Bulleid Pacifics, there is a problem. The wheel castings are quite distinctive and of course the BR 50 has spoked wheels so I'm seriously thinking about having some very thin overlays etched to put on the face of the wheels for both class of locos.

 

the Marklin BR 50 chassi with the body removed

 

 

TBC

 

Kev

[kevsmiththai]

The body and tender are only available in FUD at present. Shapeways have suspended production in Brass due to Covid 19 but they hope to resume soon so I've got the plastic one to check the fit on the loco chassis to see if it needs any tweaking. Like the Bulleid Pacifics, there is a problem. The wheel castings are quite distinctive and of course the BR 50 has spoked wheels so I'm seriously thinking about having some very thin overlays etched to put on the face of the wheels for both class of locos.

 

 

The 3D print is as good as the rebuilt merchant navy with just some layer lines on the underside of the boiler to deal with and some of the vertical surfaces on the cab and tender

 

 

Butchered!

 

 

Motion brackets removed. Chassis front end shortened. Magnet lugs thinned down on the side of the motor where they stuck out

 

Trial fit

 

[kevsmiththai]

This is one of the simplest conversions to do, apart from attacking the chassis.

 

I took extra care of painting the wheel centres and tried Tamiya Rubber black this time which is not a 'Black' black which worked well. Paint sequence was Hycote plastic grey primer, Gloss black, decalling and then Hycote matt Lacquer

 

 

It really, really needs weathering!

 

Seen passing Republic Steel with a typical 1950s British goods train

 

 

The consist is the first four wagons are 3D printed, Bogie bolster and privat owner coal wagon are scratchbuilt, 3d printed cattle van followed by 3D printed 27 ton iron ore tipplers and a scratchbuilt 20 ton brake van

 

I must confess I'm really pleased with this model. When Shapeways start the brass production line back up I'll order a brass one as the extra weight will help with the running quality

 

For a class of locos only designed to last a few years surprisingly there are no less than nine preserved four in Britain, five in Greece and one in the Netherlands. If we get out of this Covid nightmare I',m going to get out and see them

 

Kev

 

[Kiha66]

Very impressive work!  3d models are hard to get right.