WD "Austerity" 2-8-0: Work in Progress, Footplate

With the engine and tender complete it's time to build the footplate.

The main shape came together quickly and we felt shares a common feeling with the BR standards that came some years later (although the ride on those was rather easier than the rough ride that the WD's gave to their crews).

Adding in the controls. The reverser seen here is the later BR version, the original being a double sided affair that had the nasty habit of coming up and smacking the fireman in the face if he wasn't paying attention!
That is if he wasn't helping to operate it! The reason for the double sided reverser was that the regulator was so stiff that it often required 2 people to crack it open and move it, a situation that was rectified with the BR modifications. Our pre-BR versions will feature the double sided reverser, however we won't insist that you fetch a friend or family member to your PC to operate them!

Finally the mass of pipework is added, making the whole scene very busy. In this version you can see 3 types of brakes - the engine steam brake, the UK added train vacuum brake and the original train air brake. Various combinations of these will be available with each prototype livery along with other options such as AWS (BR) and hinged external side windows.
Speaking of windows, as built the WD's had no side windows at all and when they returned to the UK after the war the crews insisted (almost to the point of refusing to work them) that the WD's should be fitted with them like all other "home" engines. So the companies (the big 4 and then BR) dutifully took the engines into the workshops and fitted them with sliding side windows.
However having looked at dozens (probably hundreds) of photographs of WD's in service we have yet to see a single engine running with it's windows closed, they are ALWAYS slid back out of the way!

Finally a couple of pictures of the cab in place in the engine.

We will now be performing the tedious task of getting everything unwrapped ready for texturing and then the less tedious job of beginning to paint the various liveries that will be included (yes, there will be a few!).
Add to this some holiday time and we may be a bit quiet for the next month but fear not, work will continue in the background and we look forward to bringing you the first pictures of the WD 2-8-0 in game in a few weeks time.