BACHMANN ‘COAL TANK’ What’s New
During my time on Model Railway Constructor, one of the kits that I had to build and review was a whitemetal kit of an LNWR 0‑6‑2T ‘Coal Tank’ by GEM, if memory serves me correctly. I knew little of the real thing, and had seen the only preserved example ‘holed up’ almost literally - in Penrhyn Castle, where a hole had been cut in the ceiling to accommodate its chimney! Much more recently, at a press ‘jolly’ on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, headed by the same preserved locomotive, I suggested to the late Merl Evans that Bachmann might produce a ready-torun ‘Coal Tank’, as the wheels were the same as those on the 0‑8‑0 which they already produced. I got a quick rebuttal from Merl on the basis that Bachmann had recently upgraded its axle and bearing arrangements, so the ‘Super-d’ wheels would no longer do. Bachmann, however, is a master of keeping us guessing (“we’ll never do a Blue Pullman or an overhead electric”, for instance) so it’s no surprise that I now find myself reviewing an LNWR ‘Coal Tank’ from the Barwell company. The London & North Western Railway produced 300 of these rugged and distinctive side tanks to F.W. Webb’s design, with construction starting in 1881. They were a tank version of his 17in 0‑6‑0 design for working coal trains, and hence acquired the name ‘Coal Tanks’. Intended for lighter freight trains, they also worked local passenger services, particularly along the North Wales coast and its branches to Llandudno, Blaenau Ffestiniog and Amlwch.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The ‘Coal Tank’ is surprisingly small, both in relation to the box it comes in, and compared to my memories of the real thing. The expanses of plain black make it appear to be a larger locomotive than it actually is. The cheaply built, no-frills construction of a typical Crewe locomotive has been beautifully captured by Bachmann and the ‘face’, with its riveted smokebox saddle and distinctive hand-wheel smokebox door lock, is very effective. It is pleasing to see that the ‘Coal Tank’ comes with a much more comprehensive instruction leaflet than we are accustomed to with British models. It includes not only the usual dismantling and lubrication details, but clear instructions for Next18 and sound decoder installations. Also in the box is a brief history leaflet, courtesy of the Bahamas Locomotive Society, custodian of the only preserved example, No. 1054. Separately applied details include displacement lubricators on the smokebox, Ross ‘Pop’ safety valves and cab-top whistles. The front-end of this model is particularly unusual in that light can shine through between the frames and the front bufferbeam, revealing the finely modelled cylinder front detail. A few millimetres back from this the rear part of the front springs and the inside motion are also modelled. No. 7841 was the last of the class to be built, on which the vacuum brake reservoir is prominently positioned below the rear of the bunker. On the model, this space is occupied by the NEM pocket for the tension-lock coupler. Nevertheless, a reservoir moulding is included in the bag of extra parts. It can only be fitted if the coupler pocket is completely removed. Also in the extra parts bag is a front screw-link coupling, a steam heat pipe and two vacuum pipes. Again, these can only be fitted if they don’t interfere with coupler operation. There is space in the bunker for a sugar cube speaker, if DCC sound is to be installed, leaving the cab clear. The cab itself is so well detailed that it would have been a pity to obscure it. Levers, pipework and handwheels on the backhead are picked out in colour, and while it may be that my eyes are deceiving me, it appears that the front spectacle glasses have ‘brassed’ bezels. The rear spectacle windows have protective bars arranged at a jaunty angle, as on the prototype. The blackened metal bufferheads are not sprung. Some very fine rivet detail tops off a very pleasing body moulding. Two screws hidden above the couplers allow the body to be lifted off, the front screw being the smallest I’ve encountered on a ‘OO’ locomotive. The main chassis block is metal and there are metal weights inside both side