Some time ago, Don Sibley presented me with an old but well-built War Department 4-6-0 Baldwin made from the GEM/FR no. 590 Baldwin kit. Which one I don't rightly know. The loco was built with a Minitrix dock tank chassis, fitted with coupling rods despite the slack in the intermediate gears, and surprisingly was a fair runner. Knowing Don, he must have gotten everything out of that simple chassis.
Last year I made a few modifications.
There were a few problems, one of which was the connecting rods dropping off the piston rod which had been set up as a simple guiding system. The connecting rods were adapted by soldering a short piece of brass tube to them where they are guided by the piston rods. These serve as crosshead guides, a bit unorthodox but it works. The loco then passed its first running trial.
The motion is unique for a Minitrix dock tank in that it has connecting and coupling rods, which is an achievement as quartering the dock tank chassis is very difficult due to the amount of play between the first and last wheels. A lot of slack in the holes in the coupling rods does help however.
Here are a few photos made last year.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Foddphotos%2Fbaldwin1.jpg&hash=824091e279ba359265c9dbd21e50ef43ce737161)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Foddphotos%2Fbaldwin2.jpg&hash=f55316dbb04b445baef8be9e81bc59de722f8234)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Foddphotos%2Fbaldwin3.jpg&hash=4ccd73ff6c047b0dda963cf03c822f9bef2756d9)
I had already repaired the connecting rods, fitting tiny bushes to the 'little end' that slides over the dummy piston rod. Next was improving the amount of wear in the old chassis block using my standard approach with solder fillets on the keeper plate.
There was a tiny stiffness in the chassis which I suspected came from the centre wheel crankpins. So I removed them entirely and soldered pins to the outside of the coupling rods. These now are only fitted to the leading and trailing wheels.
Two tiny distance bushes were cut from aluminium pipe, and the connecting rods fitted. Then two more bushes were made and superglued to the big end crankpin. The result is shown below. The loco now ran very well despite being fitted with the rather basic Minitrix chassis!
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Foddphotos%2Fbaldwin4.jpg&hash=60d4c2803110f9bb4be8bba47c3bfdbf3b8c8e7f)
Here is a video I made of the model on its first trials.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQQtIzLu1K8 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQQtIzLu1K8)
The Tralee & Dingle horse box in the video was scratchbuilt by Dutch 009 Society member Bert van Rhijn.
Then the loco sat at the back of the works for months. It ran, but as you can hear in the video it was very noisy due to the Minitrix motor, and the couplings I fitted were, strictly speaking, a botched job. So yesterday I decided to fit better couplings and see how it worked with those. The front coupling was fitted to the bogie, and a sprung rear one to the rear buffer beam.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Foddphotos%2Fbaldwin5.jpg&hash=f4af22cf537f1b9ab2268016e936933f67a86e94)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Foddphotos%2Fbaldwin6.jpg&hash=024924e5f354002bd468fd9b1f02fece694043fb)
Better, don't you think? Then I ran it again, and still that coffee grinder motor got on my nerves. Out it came, and I took a Mashima 15x10 can motor which I had in a box. The shafts were cut to size, a Fleischmann plastic worm fitted on one end and the motor mounting holes slightly filed to get the Mashima screws in.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Foddphotos%2Fbaldwin7.jpg&hash=177050b1170740a823ae4e0a099b4872ede54103)
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The job took only an hour, start to end. Then I ran the loco again. It is now very quiet, except for a slight gear grind. When it has to pull hard, the gears seem to be pinched a little by the rods, so it has a rather endearing 'chuff'. I put it on a short branch coal train made up of the old Roco hoppers. I'm not displeased with it. Now perhaps I will have to do something about that rusty and weathered paint job....
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Foddphotos%2Fbaldwin10.jpg&hash=fa81a3c15095d0bce75e284c9fa696073d2593a9)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Foddphotos%2Fbaldwin9.jpg&hash=ab3d8fe9289f700a18bc7c29e809274f66687d65)
Finally, I made another short video of the loco on its trial run on the coal train.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifukfO8QR3I (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifukfO8QR3I)
The gear noise seems to be louder than it really is - compare to the running noise of the wheels of the Roco tubs. And the loco is now really smooth.
A short addition: I enlarged the slot in the bogie it so the loco will run through the curves on Nixnie. Some detail must be added still, including dummy slidebars and crossheads - I'll consult the book I have on the trench railways.
Garry suggested it would be a good loco for the colliery. I decided to photograph this cameo which I think says it all, even though the water column seems a bit overscale! In addition to some extra detail it must be lettered for the colliery.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Foddphotos%2Fbaldwin11.jpg&hash=6cd5000f3730c0fcbbb52b2abecc5790d04b8c64)
Anyway it's a useful addition to the roster. The improvement of the dock tank chassis by the new motor is marked. The torque of the old motor is low, so the chassis tends to drop in every track gap and hesitate. The Mashima five-pole job keeps going far better, and the absence of 'cogging' means the wheels tend to slip far less at low speeds.
As usual Ted, a lovely piece of work and an inspiration! She looks fine in the video but I have to admit that for me a Baldwin never looks right unless it's weathered to within an inch of its life!!
Thanks, David - this one is pretty weathered. A little more weathering on the cab and tanks, I think. But after the detailing has been completed!
Very nice model, but wouldn't a rear backsheet be considered giving the somewhat 'damp' nature of Britain??
James
Err, I think a crew would be more desirable wearing stout McIntosh raincoats. That's what Alan Garraway advocated when the FR began running 'Linda' on the FR with a wide open cab rear back in the 1960's.
Nice model, Ted.
Roger
James - I think open-back cabs were often fitted with roll-down tarpaulins. In some cases they would have used wooden covers to improve protection of open cabs. A notorious example is the Dutch enclosed-type tram loco, which has front and rear cab sheets with windows, but unprotected sides.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.narrowgauge.nl%2Fsite%2Fvalkenburg%2Fst-tram03.jpg&hash=1d1f312cc41f786a3676e972224edf8d659a31f8)
What they did in winter is fit a wooden cover all down one side of the loco, so the wind wouldn't blow right through it.
I just remember my Darjeeling tank (http://www.009dutch.nl/cdr/main/foto/motivepower/loco/pb279400.jpg) has a roll-down cover modelled under the cab roof.
Quote from: tedp on December 07, 2013, 08:55
James - I think open-back cabs were often fitted with roll-down tarpaulins.
I just remember my Darjeeling tank (http://www.009dutch.nl/cdr/main/foto/motivepower/loco/pb279400.jpg) has a roll-down cover modelled under the cab roof.
If I remember correctly, when I bought and detailed the green Baldwin which now works on Buccabury I added a rolled-up tarpaulin to the open cab rear by rolling alumimium foil around a length of wire, removing the wire and tying some brown cotton round the roll before painting it Humbrol matt 31 green and glueing it under the cab roof.
Thanks Dave - I think the canvas screen on the Darjeeling loco is rolled-up paper. Probably aluminium foil is more to scale!
On one of my open back locos I used some toilet tissue wrapped around a length of handrail wire.
Well, it is on the back end!
Roger
Slightly off topic this but perhaps of intrest....
The loco that this old FR kit is based on is WHR 590. The cab roof extension on 590 possibly pre-dates its time on the WHR. It is known that several of the WD locos had modification like this done in the field. The cab roof was one complete sheet when the loco was on the WHR, unlike most other Baldwin 4-6-0 cab extensions that had sections added on the back with a rivet seam visible on the roof that is not present on 590.
It was also already fitted to the loco when it was photographed just after arrival with simple rear supports and an open back to the cab:
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.whr.co.uk%2Fs2%2Fhistory%2Fgallery%2F04_590-dinas-1923.jpg&hash=8d279ab2d6a84ac6b22e694c04687f1e4de216ca)
(Originating web page: http://www.whr.co.uk/appeals/baldwin-rebuild)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.whr.co.uk%2Fsites%2Fwhr.co.uk%2Ffiles%2Fpictures%2Fhistory%2F03_38.jpg&hash=9f2a87455f0b75b2f9fcc6483420ce9521ea7035)
(Originating web page: http://www.whr.co.uk/stock/steam/baldwin-590)
The steel rounded side corners and the wooden rear weather board were added shortly after arrival at Dinas but if you look closely at later photos the top edges of the basic rear cab supports can still be seen sticking out past the end of the wooden rear weather board. This small detail is often missed on models. But it should not be missed out on 794
Thanks Brian, a very comprehensive and interesting piece on details that are easily overlooked. All this Baldwin talk is pointing me towards a box in the far reaches of the top of my wardrobe containing the remains of 2 very old and previously abused Baldwin bodies that I discovered lying unloved rummage trays on Brian's sales table and placed into safekeeping many many years ago! Should be enough parts to put together a complete one at some stage!
Mick
This is interesting, thanks Brian. I never knew the WHR Baldwin had rear sheets added to the cab.
I plan to keep this one in its state as received from Don, however, with a few minor details added. If someone has a kit waiting to be built or restored I'm sure he will benefit from the photos you dragged up from the Internet!
Today, after a lot of non-modelling distraction, I took a little time to work at Don Sibley's Baldwin, which has been in service as the colliery shunter for a few weeks. I added a driver, who I'm afraid will have to work the loco on his own, with his mate coupling up the wagons in the colliery yard. I jammed his head under the roof. In addition the Craigcorrie Colliery Company legend was printed on the side, with some very ancient dry print lettering rubbed off. I only had 4 'C's, so I had to modify 3 'G's into 'C's to complete both sides. A touch of semi-matt varnish fixed the lettering, then I appled some grey and brown acrylic wash as weathering. It is easy to overdo this and probably I did...
Anyway, the little Baldwin has now turned into a most useful loco. An ancient model, but very solidly and neatly built by Don, who I would like to thank for presenting it to me. Here are a few photos.
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Foddphotos%2Fbaldwin12.jpg&hash=0740770bbbdda800e015a2ca30f78a55beb2666a)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Foddphotos%2Fbaldwin13.jpg&hash=d5c3124a33117159c4521f06e3ee117149949acf)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Foddphotos%2Fbaldwin14.jpg&hash=6f574a58853aa4338f62bb697cd4f433b3cfb645)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Foddphotos%2Fbaldwin15.jpg&hash=8d0a613a454e339116b4d425a37dff3650738ca9)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Foddphotos%2Fbaldwin16.jpg&hash=7109633e4b37b37235d0a26f901f6ddd9c60b8c1)
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Well - I thought I had finished with the Baldwin, till I found out I had omitted the bunker! It was rather a fiddly job, but in the end it came out all right. I broke the driver's arm, and had to set it (superglue, no plaster), and I fitted a bunker in the back. Serves me right, I should have used what is supposed to be a brain.
Anyway, after a spell in the Rae Bridge shops, the Baldwin emerged with a proper bunker, even though Angus Macnab swore it would be the last time he'd touch the Colliery's rustbucket!
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Foddphotos%2Fbaldwin18.jpg&hash=f34e0ee5a662d11cdc75b3a3ec34a0223573325f)
(https://forum.009society.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.009dutch.nl%2Foddphotos%2Fbaldwin19.jpg&hash=1132ae848e7c82c894044bf3eab0f89b65942a6d)
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Before I noticed what I'd forgotten, I made this video. Well, if you don't look too closely, you may not notice... ;D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyDi3z33uKI (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyDi3z33uKI)
Thank you - very satisfying to watch (even Maradona would have been proud of that Hand of God!) It must be my suggestibility but the locos seemed to be working noticeably harder once the train had been loaded...
David.
;D Well - it was a long train and the Baldwin will move it all right, but the Minitrix dock tank chassis is prone to slipping due to the spur gears which produce a slight skittering action on the track.