GWR Pannier Tanks: 5700/8750 Options

This week we are covering the various options available for the 5700 and 8750 variants of the Pannier Tanks which covers a total of 853 engines; No's 5700-99, 6700-49, 7700-99, 8700-49, 8750-99, 9711-99, 3600-99, 4600-99, 9600-9682 and 7650-79

Note: Each individual option shown here is correct however we have not made any effort to mix and match the correct modifications on a per-era basis as they have taken well over 2 hours to render them all!
When completed every single one of the 853 engines in all relevant eras will be set up correctly when placed in game once we have finished the pack - today this is just a set of renders to show you the individual options.

To start off we have the basic 5700 and 8750 with minimal fittings as originally designed.

These are both shown with vacuum brakes.
Also included with the pack will be No's 6700-49 (5700 style) and 6750-79 (8750 style, the last 10 actually built under BR in 1950) which are only fitted with steam loco brakes and simple 3 link couplings and were restricted to shunting duties and unfitted freight.

Safety bonnets will be selectable as either painted or polished brass and there will be the usual array of logos for every era but as they don't appear in a 3d render we'll move straight to the physical options.

First up are whistle deflectors in 2 different sizes added from 1936.

Steps and hand rails to aid access to the coal bunker also added from 1936.

Top feed water injection. Added from 1942 onwards these also change the pipe arrangements inside the cab.

To the front of the engine; a change to the front steps from a simple flange design to a welded type with upturned sides. Here we also see the smokebox number plate and shed code plates added under British Railways.

The 8750's had cast brake hangers fitted from new instead of the twin plate style of the earlier design. The 5700's were gradually changed to these from 1934 onwards when they came in for regular servicing.

Doors and weather panels. Yes, even doors were absent on the original 5700 designs! Added from 1937 all of them had been upgraded by 1951.

Did you know that some GWR Panniers worked on Southern lines under British Railways? When they did this they they needed to be fitted with two additional lamp brackets to show the Southern six disc/lamp codes instead of the more common four.

Sometimes you just feel like you want the pipes of your injectors to run around the outside of the running boards rather than through them!

When pulling passenger coaches you need steam heating. This modification is also reflected in the cab with relevant controls and the additional gauge.

Tool boxes. Left side, right side, both sides or not at all.

Spark arrestors were fitted to some engines that worked in areas where sparks could cause a major disaster. Munitions factories during WW2 would have seen panniers fitted like these.
After the war when many of the panniers returned to standard duties some of them had the spark arrestors removed and then just ran with the "drain pipe" look!

Spare lamps carried on the right hand side of the engine can be mounted at the front or rear of the running board.

As well as external modifications changing the in-cab equipment (braking systems, steam heating, top feeds, etc.) there are also options for GWR ATC (fitted as standard from 1934), and even a speedometer for creating panniers as some exist in preservation.

One final modification for the 5700 variant is the front cab doorway handle which was originally part of the window beading. From 1934 this was changed to the handrail mounted to the outside of the cab matching the one to the rear of the doorway.

So that about wraps up the options for the 5700/8750 Pannier Tanks.
It was this quantity of options and feedback from customers as our add-ons have become more and more complex that has led us to begin to develop the "Victory Works Locomotive Number Generator" which will hugely simplify the selection of all of these optional parts for the whole range of our existing add-ons and into the future.
Have a read of last weeks blog post if you missed the announcement.

Next week, we think it's about time to see some Pannier Tanks in game!