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The first attempt evolved into a Sharp-Stewart 0-4-2T and the second attempt finished up as an O&K 50HP 0-4-0WT.
This time I kept my inner fine scale modeller under firmer control and started building this model around the time Roundhouse announced they were doing a limited run of an updated Mk1 Dylan for their 40th Anniversary.
As it happens I prefer the later Mk11 version of Dylan, built in the early '90s with Walschaerts valve and I also wanted to use up various Roundhouse parts that had accumulated in a box under the bench. I was rather taken with a version of Dylan shown on the Rhos Helyg website of TonyW, so an order went off to Roundhouse for the rest of the parts needed to complete a chassis. These arrived in due course and work started on the new loco as winter set in and the workshop cooled down.
The chassis is basically a standard current production Lady Anne kit, the only changes being a different shape to the headstocks and fitting running boards between the side bunkers and the front headstock. Assembly went smoothly and a few days later the chassis was running on air.
The photo below shows the chassis sitting on blocks and ticking over nicely on 10psi of air. The foot boards over the cylinders and valve gear are separate pieces that can be removed for access to the valves, without stripping down everything above the frames.
The next job was fitting the boiler, which was actually a Katie boiler kit, although both Lady Anne and Katie use the same Type 1 boiler anyway. The next photo shows the boiler and foot boards fitted and various details added to the headstocks and the reverser fitted.
The next photo shows the boiler installation completed with a custom gas tank and all piping in place.
At this point, it would have been possible to just fit a Lady Anne body kit, but the plan was still to build a '90s Dylan and some bespoke bodywork was the next step. This was designed using photos found on the internet and a sketch plan was then drawn up to use as a basis for the card bodywork to visualise how the model would look before cutting any brass. Card is a lot cheaper than brass, especially when an empty box from the recycle bin is used as the source.
The inner finescale modeller made a break for freedom at this point and a few modifications crept in, which is why this is a Dylanesque loco, not a replica. The most noticeable change being the shape of the saddle tank. The rear bunker was also left off, as I don't like the shape much and there is already plenty of bunker space in front of the cab if this was a real loco. The final bespoke bodywork design is shown in the next picture.
Real life intervened at that point and the project stopped dead for a couple of months. I was finally able to get back into the workshop a couple of weeks ago and started cutting brass to fabricate the bodywork.
It is now spring around here, the sun has put in an appearance, the Lorikeets and the Noisy Miner tribes are squabbling over the flowering gums and the weeds are going gangbusters......
The photo below shows the basic bodywork installed and the loco is sitting outside in the late afternoon sun about a week ago.
The last detail bits have been made and installed now and the photo shows the TVT engineer inspecting the work before the loco joins the paintshop queue. La Nina is visiting us again and is not happy, there were two inches of water over the path around the house the day before this photo was taken and I only just deployed the pump in time, as water was lapping at the workshop doorstep before I got the pump working.
The original plan was to have this model painted and lined in time for the GSSU at Gembrook next month, which will be the first steamup we've had for three years. Sadly not enough time left now, due to the loss of time in the workshop.
The model has turned out as intended, even if it isn't purebred Roundhouse Dylan. It has a nice chunky heavy duty industrial loco look to it. There is some resemblance to Manning-Wardle locos built in the last years before WW1, although a British built saddle tank with Walschaerts valve gear is a rare beast in any period.
Regards,
Graeme