Having renovated the Z Club-GB A3 my thoughts turned to the other bodyshell I got off Graham Jones years ago. It was a whitemetal casting of Gresleys famous LNER A4 4-6-2. The streamlined locos that ran the crack expresses from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh and whose most famous class member 'Mallard' set the steam world steam speed record of 126 mph that has still not been bettered to this day. 4468 Mallard by kevsmith posted Aug 5, 2020 at 10:17 PM I finished it as sister engine 4486 'Merlin' in Garter Blue and to be honest it was one of my first attempts at a Z gauge British loco and not up to the standards I hope I achieve now but it served its purpose back in those days Seen with the underscale Atlas editions A4 which does not look as if it can be turned into a working model Z Club And Atlas LNER A4 by kevsmith posted Aug 5, 2020 at 10:20 PM Now this model, which shares its chassis with my Streamlined Pennsy K4 Pacific has done a serious amount of shows since 2007 and was also in dire need of restoration. Pennsy K4 by kevsmith posted Aug 5, 2020 at 10:21 PM I have always said that if you get a good Marklin chassis you get a good 'un and if you get a bad one you get a dog. This chassis, which has had the sides of the cylinders shaved off to fit under the streamlining is one of those that works every time you get it out of the box despite the hundred of hours of exhibition running it has done. And it is a three pole one If I was to model it as I remember it on family picnics and holidays in the 1960s it would have the side valances removed and be running in BR Green and it should have the Kylchap double chimney fitted which is much bigger than the original single blast pipe one 60027 Merlin by kevsmith posted Aug 5, 2020 at 10:19 PM Kev
I carefully prised off the nameplates and then chucked it into the paint stripper to get back to the bare metal. Once dried I made a start on cutting the valances off Z Club GB A4 by kevsmith posted Aug 5, 2020 at 10:21 PM More progress to follow
The valances are the parts of the chassis on either side that cover the big driving wheels. If compare the picture in the first post to the last one, you will notice that the valances are gone in the last version and the driving wheels are entirely visible. Ajay
60027 passes through Portobello in Scotland with the Up Elizabethan in July 1960 60027 Merlin 2 by kevsmith posted Aug 5, 2020 at 10:19 PM In the rear 3/4 view you can see the cab windows are a bit vague so I'm going to fit brass frames in 60027 R3/4 view by kevsmith posted Aug 11, 2020 at 9:04 PM Now the big empty space under the cab and the rather bare trailing truck bugs me! Its the same with the Marklin pacifics and mikados that run on Cuyahoga. I had an old white metal one lurking arund that firs the Markiin truck. Deep in the recesses of the workshop lurked some old Mastermould silicone rubber and some even older Biresin G26 two pack resin. i had no idea whether it was still any good but it was worth a try fresh out of the mould Trailing Truck by kevsmith posted Aug 11, 2020 at 9:03 PM I'll try and get as many as i can out of the mould as i can as i don't think it is going to last that long! Stood behind it is another story. A 3D printed british railways class 158 DMU sat on a modified Rokuhan Shorty chassis, More to follow on that one Kev
Brass window frames, Buffers and drawhook added. Cleaned up ready for priming IMG_1648 by kevsmith posted Aug 16, 2020 at 5:29 PM Rover Brooklands Green paint applied. The tender looks a bit skinny so I've done a spare Atlas A3 tender as well justy to see if it looks better IMG_1652 by kevsmith posted Aug 16, 2020 at 5:29 PM Swan' at Ranskill in April 1960 RED N 017 by kevsmith posted Aug 16, 2020 at 5:46 PM Kev
looking a lot better than when it was in blue! A Sir Nigel Gresley gathering The first coach in the train is an Atlas editions Gresley coach out of the Flying Scotsman set which is the first of a rake I'm doing in BR Maroon. Stood in front of two more restorations I'm starting next. A 00 scale Hornby Dublo A4 60023 'Golden eagle' which was given to me a few years ago. It is very battered and has been converted to 2 rail at some stage and lost some valve gear. Although Hornby Dublo was ultra collectable and originality was paramount this one is too far gone to restore to factory condition. These models were notorious forthe magnets losing their power and usually require re-magnetising at a specialist. I'm tempted to reconfigure the motor and stick a big neodymium magnet to see what it does! Behind that is a 0 gauge Varney 4-6-0. This is the model with the cast boiler and weighs an absolute ton. It has never run whilst I have had it as it has never been wired up Kev
Still in ticket on its boiler but soon to be withdrawn is 60009 Union of South Africa. I avoided doing this one as I have to use N scale nameplates and these would look silly in Z Back in 1996, sadly before HD camcorders were available' I captured this loco in maain line action around Chesterfield Cheers Kev
So I’m always impressed with your work Kev. No exception here. But I seem to recall you were building a Berkshire a while back and I may have missed that progress. How’d that one go?
3 Cylinders with Gresley Conjugated valve gear. The inside cylinder derives its motion from the two outside ones by a system of levers. Works well if all the bushes are O.k. Peter Handford, who was one of the premier Railway sound recordists, one caught a down at heel LNER V2 2-6-2 on the Waverley Route where you can hear the off-beat from miles away. And yes. I must make a start on the Berkshire again Joe!