Lookingoutside thebox
Pete Kelly compares two recently released commemorative boxed sets and looks at some of themany alternatives in both period and gauge that are nowbecoming possible for modellers thanks to the availability of ready- to- runmodels.
WITHsomuchheritage newsgoing on, I’ve kept thismodelling featureabout ‘ comingout of the box’, both literally and figuratively, asbrief as possible thismonth.
Many if not most railway modellers will decide on a particular theme for their current layout and stick to it doggedly in everything they buy thereafter. I’mno exception in this regard as I continue to build up locomotives and rolling stock for my next OO- scale project based on the LMS in the late 1930s.
Every now and again, though, something completely different comes along that I simply cannot resist, my latest such acquisitions being commemorative boxed sets of Hornby Rivarossi’s HO ( 1: 87) scale model of the Union Pacific Railroad’s articulated 4- 8- 8- 4 ‘ Big Boy’ locomotive No. 4014 ( HR 2753) and, in complete contrast, Hornby’s ( 1: 76) scale model of Stephenson’s Rocket and three matching first- class coaches ‘ Times’, ‘ Despatch’ and ‘ Experience’ ( R 3809).
Contrast
Released last summer, the specialedition‘ Big Boy’pack commemorates both the 150th anniversaryof the completion of the PacificRailroad in 1869 and 60years since the‘ Big Boy’ locomotives began to be removed ‘ BIG BOY’
Builder: American Locomotive Company, 1941- 1944 Wheel arrangement: 4- 8- 8- 4 Gauge: 4ft 8 ½ in Driving wheel diameter: 5ft 8in Weight ( with tender): 539 tons Fuel type: Bituminous coal ( No. 4014 nowoil- fired) Boiler pressure: 300lb Cylinders: Four ( outside) Cylinder diameter: 23.75 x 32in Tractive effort: 135,375lb
Max speed: 75mph fromtheAmerican network in 1959 – ananniversaryalso marked by the restoration of No. 4014, one of eight that still exist.
The exquisite Rocket set, along with a 1000- piece limited edition model of 9F 2- 10- 0 No. 92220 Evening Star, the last steam locomotive to be built by British Railways in 1960, including a cast resin miniature replica of the commemorative plate on the locomotive, both celebrate Hornby’s centenary year of 2020.
The contrast in size between the ‘ Big Boy’and Rocket, which are pictured side- by- side, is profound, and would have appeared even greater if the scales had been the same.
Variety
Taking the meaning‘ out of the box’ figuratively, though, there’snever been amore tempting time to think about somethingother than‘ Big Four’, British Railwaysorpresent- day standardgauge main- line modelling inOOscale. Agrowing number of excellent readyto- runmodels makes it increasingly possible to turnour thoughts not only to standardgaugepre- Grouping or industrial modelling, but even to think
about re- creating something of our rich narrow- gauge railway heritage.
Superbly detailed OO- scale industrial locomotives in a number of bright liveries, such as Hornby’s newly tooled Peckett B2 Class 0- 6- 0 and W4 0- 4- 0 saddle tanks, open up all kinds of possibilities for freelance standard- gauge industrial scenes.
Imagine modelling too a narrowgauge Welsh slate quarry, or perhaps the Welsh Highland or Lynton & Barnstaple Railway past or present thanks to the recent resurgence of ready- to- run locomotives and rolling stock in 009 scale.
Support
The009 Societycaters for every aspect of small- scale narrow- gauge railwaymodelling forbeginners and experiencedmodellers alike, whether they prefer to scratch- build, kit- build or simply enjoy the increasingnumber of ready- madeproducts nowavailable, and its website tells us:“FromAfrican Garratts toWelshQuarry Hunslets, from sleek Swiss efficiency to ramshackle railways, we cater for all aspects of small- scalenarrow- gauge railway modelling in 009, Hoe, OOb3 andmany other combinations.”
Among last year’s announcements of 009- scale locomotives were a lovely model of the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway’s 1898 Baldwin 2- 4- 2T Lyn from the Danish firm of Heljan, and a standard- setting Baldwin 10- 12- D which earned Bachmann Europe the 009 Society’s P. D. Hancock Award for outstanding achievements in narrow- gauge modelling.
As reported in issue 268, to allow modellers to complete their Lynton & Barnstaple ( L& B) locomotive fleets, four versions of the Heljan Baldwin fleet embrace L& B olive green and dark green alongside the Southern Railway Maunsell liveries of pre- and post- 1932, and a fifth such model is finished in unnumbered works black for freelancemodellers with 009 layouts.
The wide livery choice for Bachmann’s Baldwin 10- 12D includes No. 542 in Railway
Operating Division black, Bridget in Ashover Light Railway black, a model in the lined black of the Glyn Valley Tramway, No. 4 in Snailbeach District Railway black, No. 590 in Welsh Highland Railway lined maroon and L& B- esque E763 Sid in Southern Maunsell green.
009- scale bogie wagons from Bachmann range from a covered ambulance van to versions in Nocton Estates grey, Southern Railway brown, Express Dairy Company blue and Lincolnshire Coast crimson as well as a Southern Railway insulated van.
Gloucester bogie coaches are presented in Ashover Light Railway crimson and Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway blue and cream liveries, and six versions of the open bogie wagon includeWD grey, SR brown and
ICI red.
Also announced last year by Bachmann – although they have yet to be released – were Royal Navy Armaments Depot open wagons in Statfold Barn grey orWelsh Highland Railway liveries, RNAD flat wagons with or without planked ends, vans in RNAD grey and Statfold Barn Railway white, an RNAD enclosedend brake van in grey and an RNAD open- end brake van in SR brown.
Perhaps the most anticipated 009 models from Bachmann, however, are the delightful 0- 4- 0ST Quarry Hunslets that will come in four versions, two with and twowithout cabs. Announced at the end of last summer, they will comprise the open- footplate Alice in Dinorwic Quarry red and Nesta in Penrhyn Quarry lined black, and the cabbed Britomart in Pen- yr- Orsedd Quarry blue and Dorothea in the red- lined dark green of Dorothea Quarry.
Range
OutstandingTalyllyn Railway- style slate wagons in packsof three, including their loads, are already available to go with them in grey or red liveries, and to make yourWelsh quarry layouts complete, the Scenecraft range includesa009- scale coal store, water tower, boiler house with chimney and tunnel portals. The slatemountain is up to you!
To join the 009 Society, go to http:// www. 009Society. com/ or, if you prefer to join by post ( UK only), print out and complete the application form ( pdf) found on the website and send it, with the appropriate annual membership fee, to Brian Ellsmore, Membership Secretary, 009 Society, 60 Lingwood Avenue, Christchurch, BH23 3JU. UK rates are £ 23 for full membership, £ 20 junior ( under 18), and £ 20 senior ( over 65). The society’s comprehensivemonthly journal, 009 News, is posted directly to each member, and society badges each cost £ 2.50.
Finally, few modellers in OO scale will have failed to notice the growing number of ornately liveried pre- Grouping locomotives models which have made their debut in recent years. These include the diminutive London Brighton & South Coast Railway 0- 6- 0
‘ Terrier’ tanks and imposing Marsh Atlantics, Great Northern Railway Stirling ‘ Singles’ and Ivatt Atlantics, and the anticipated Caledonian Railway McIntosh 812 Class 0- 6- 0 in Caledonian blue.
Each one makes a beautiful display cabinet exhibit, of course, but last year’s surprise announcement by Hatton’s of Widnes of its planned ‘ Project Genesis’ range of four and six- wheel pre- Grouping OO- scale coaches in a wide variety of liveries ( such vehicles were once the sole realm of brass kit builders) opens up previously undreamed- of possibilities for bringing these static locomotives to life on truly historic layouts.
Have fun!