OO Works GSWR ‘101’ 0‑6‑0
◆ GAUGE ‘OO’ ◆ MODEL OO Works GS&WR ‘101’ 0‑6‑0 No. 131, CIÉ grey ◆ PRICE £295.00 (plus p&p) ◆ AVAILABILITY OO Works, Brendon, Langham Road, Robertsbridge, East Sussex TN32 5DT Web www.ooworks.co.uk
OO Works has dabbled in the Irish railway scene before – now they’re doing it again with the ‘101’ 0-6-0.
It’s almost churlish to criticise but there’s a certain ‘sameness’ to the current British main line steam scene. Essentially, all you’ve got to choose from are Eastern Region 4-6-2s or LMS 4-6-0s. But there is one place to go if you fancy something a bit different. That place is, of course, Ireland. The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland has four main line-registered steam locomotives, which is a superb achievement. Sadly, the ‘ticket’ of one of its most charismatic ‘main liners’ – GSWR ‘101’ 0-6-0 No. 186 – expired in 2014. That’s right, there was an 1879 steam locomotive running on the main line in the British Isles in the 21st century. The ‘101’ was the most numerous class of locomotive ever built for use in Ireland. They were designed by Great Southern & Western Railway engineer A. Macdonnell, and were a development of John Ramsbottom’s ‘DX’ 0-6-0 built for the London & North Western Railway. They were built between 1866 and 1903, with the bulk being completed at Inchicore Works, with Beyer Peacock and Sharp Stewart contributing 20 between them. The GSWR became part of Great Southern Railways in 1925 and CIÉ in 1945. GSR reclassified the ‘101s’ as ‘J15’ and CIÉ withdrew the final survivors from stock in 1966, where they’d acted as a strategic reserve after normal steam services finished in 1962.
FOR THE REPUBLIC
OO Works has dabbled in the world of Irish steam before, with the GNR(I) ‘U’ 4-4-0 (MR227) and ‘UG’ 0-6-0. However, the GNR(I) operated cross-border services; the ‘101’ is OO Works’ first steam locomotive purely for the Republic. The first thing that strikes you about the new model is that it’s grey. The GSR and CIÉ painted
every part of the locomotive grey, even the smokebox and chimney. Only the red bufferbeams brought any flash of colour to the monotone grey. Our sample depicts No. 131 in CIÉ condition. Cast cabside numberplates were replaced by large painted numerals and the ‘flying snail’ emblem appeared on the tender in light green. OO Works’ model portrays the class with saturated boiler and round-topped firebox. Those familiar with No. 186 will note that it has the later, superheated boiler and Belpaire firebox. It also ran with the larger, high-sided tender with inside springs. Happily, the RPSI’S second ‘101’, No. 184, is in the same condition as modelled by OO Works. The model closely matches photographs of the real thing. It has that Victorian look, with a tall, slender chimney, bulbous dome and open cab. The narrow tender, with outside springs, complements the locomotive’s antiquated look. No. 131’s ‘face’ is very convincing, with the right dish to the smokebox door that’s complemented by the dog clips and handwheel. The cylinder ends are neatly produced, with lots of crisp rivet detail. However, the gap between it and the underside of the smokebox does detract from the overall appearance. The fit and finish of our sample was not quite up to OO Works’ usual standards. Ours had a distinct bow to the edges of the running plate and the brake rigging was warped. That said, it’s always worth remembering that these are limited edition, hand-made collectables and shouldn’t be judged against mass-produced models from Chinese factories.
SOLID SPECIMEN
No. 131 is metal throughout, with only the lower handrails made from plastic. Everything feels nicely chunky and solid. You feel confident handling the model as nothing feels as though it will fall off if you breathe on it! There are no mod cons, such as a DCC socket or NEM coupler pockets. There is space for a decoder to be installed but it has to be hard-wired onto the chassis. However, narrow tension lock couplings are fitted. No. 131 performed well on our test track. OO Works’ new M05 coreless motor is mounted at 45º inside the firebox. It drives the rear axle via a worm drive and it provides plenty of power, despite being a little growly straight from the box. You need to treat a OO Works model a little differently to mass-produced models, by thoroughly running it in before attaching a heavy train. Our sample quietened down considerably after running in (in both directions) and it handled a rake of nine Bachmann and Hornby bogie coaches with ease. Aside from a few rough edges, the little ‘101’ is a cracker. One day, Irish Railway Models or Murphy Models might decide to bring us an all-singing, all-dancing ‘101’. We might, hopefully, also see No. 186 back on the Irish main line in the not-too-distant future. But until that time, OO Works’ lovely little model keeps the spirit of these handsome Victorian 0-6-0s alive.
You feel confident handling the model – nothing feels as though it will fall off if you breathe on it!