WD "Austerity" 2-8-0: In Game, Part 1 (War Time)

After a summer break (and a bit of work too!) we are back.

Over the next few weeks we will be showing the WD 2-8-0 in Train Simulator with all of it's liveries and features.

So without further ado let's press on.

Here we see the WD 2-8-0 as built and in it's khaki livery. Fitted with a Westinghouse air brake for pulling fitted continental rolling stock and ready to ship off to Europe and Africa. (Note: although the visuals and operation are an air brake we've kept the underlying game simulation using the vacuum brake which is common to most steam era TS rolling stock).

A view from the other side showing the reverser reach rod.

As we mentioned on a previous blog post, 169 of the WD's were fitted with injector pipes built into the boiler casing and angled rear sander filler caps to allow the locomotives to carry armour. This actually never went into active service and we weren't even sure if the armour had made it beyond the drawing board until we were sent a picture showing a single armoured prototype WD.
So of course we had to build it!
Seen below is the armoured version of the khaki livery, with the additional protection around the boiler and on the cab sides and roof. The armour also adds nearly 8 tons (roughly an extra 10%) to the weight of the engine thereby providing a bit more grip to the driving wheels but making it a little slower to accelerate. I expect it was abandoned due to the additional cost and weight when realistically the relatively thin plate would have done little to stop rounds from a strafing plane even if it provided some protection from small arms fire.

From March 1944 onwards the WD's moved to an "army green" livery more suited to northern Europe, the North Africa campaign being well and truly over by then. A renumbering exercise had taken place as well changing from the previous 3 and 4 digit numbers to 5 digit numbers beginning 7xxxx and here we see 77485 sporting the emblem of the "Lines of Communications troops of 21st Army Group" on it's tender and cab side.

We have also come across pictures of WD's carrying the main 21st Army Group emblem (the same blue and red shield but with crossed swords) and have included it as an option.

And although completely fictional, the armoured version has been given a repaint into green as well.

Next week we will take a look at the footplate and start to find out what happened to some of the WD's that returned to Britain when the war ended.

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.

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

Next up, the 8 wheeled tender used by the 2-8-0 and 2-10-0's.

Laying out the basic shape.

Adding the coal area and the footplate facing.

Although the sides are quite plain, as with most tenders, there is some nice detailing around the tender like the grab rails and lots of rivet'y goodness on the frames.
We also wanted to create a more typical coal pile for this tender, all heaped up at the back where it's been loaded.

So with that complete, what does it look like together with the engine?

Coming on nicely. Next job, the footplate!

Please note that with it being the summer these updates will more sporadic than we normally try to do and we will be away for some time as well so if you don't see anything for a while don't panic, everything is still on course :-)

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

Works continues on the WD 2-8-0 and the main addition has been the Westinghouse pump and brake gear.

And with another pass to check over the components and with lots of comparison to contemporary photographs the main model is complete.

There were a LOT of modifications to the WD's, from their war time original build to their use under the Big 4 (who all made different changes) on their return to the UK after WW2 and finally under British Railways.
Differences even on the original design include an oval build plate ("Vulcan Foundry" instead of the triangular "North British  Locomotive Company") and the raised rear sander filler caps - this type being fitted to a number of engines to allow the WD's to carry armour plating (although this never actually happened).
Also seen here are some changes that were present on the post-war Dutch versions - a raised chimney, external windows, local lamps, a cover on the clack valves and a ladder next to them. Having read about how very unreliable the cast clack valves were and how often a poor fireman had to climb up onto the hot boiler with no footholds and then re-seat them with a spanner you can't help but wonder if the ladders were the Dutch solution to this problem!

Next week we should have the WD's 5000 gallon tender to show.

WD "Austerity" 2-8-0: Work in Progress 1

Continuing on from last week..

The smokebox area is added, with a particularly nice looking saddle with its support struts. Top components are added including the distinctive short chimney, Gresley anti-vac, steam dome and safety valves.

Building the cab shape comes next.
Adding rivets is always a part of modelling I really enjoy, they really bring the plain shapes to life and as long as you're clever with rendering distances you can have lots with very little impact on performance. Lots of pipes and small details and it starts to look like a proper engine.

More detailing and pipework and that's us done for this week.

Next week we'll get round the other side and add the Westinghouse pump and associated pipework and put in place some pipes for the optional brake types and steam heating.

WD "Austerity" 2-8-0: Work is under way

The War Department (WD) "Austerity" 2-8-0 was a heavy freight locomotive that was introduced in 1943 for service during WW2. A total of 935 were built by the North British Locomotive Company and the Vulcan Foundry and all but 3 of them saw service with the British Army in mainland Europe after D-Day.

After the Second World War 200 of them were sold to the LNER and in 1948 533 more were purchased by the British Transport Commission for use by the newly formed British Railways. The 733 locomotives were renumbered 90000–90732 and were used almost entirely on freight services. Well over half the total number were always on the former LNER system, from East Anglia up to Scotland, and there was also a large number across the former Lancashire & Yorkshire railway depots. Some were initially used on the Southern Region, but later left there, while another smaller group was on the Western Region for much of their lives. The Scottish ones later spread from just the ex-LNER lines across the rest of the Region.
In 1946, 12 were exported to the British colony of Hong Kong to work the Kowloon-Canton Railway. Six were scrapped in 1956, but the final two survived until September 1962.
The other 184 locomotives remained in mainland Europe, mostly working in and around the Netherlands for Nederlandse Spoorwegen.
Finally, one went to the USATC in an exchange for a USATC S160 Class locomotive (that sounds familiar!) in the Postwar locomotive exchanges.

By the end of steam in Britain in 1967, 123 WD 2-8-0's were still in service however none of these were preserved. Fortunately one of the 935 engines has survived; WD No. 79257. This was returned to Britain via the Netherlands and Sweden and has been restored to original condition and given the BR number 90733.

The Victory Works model will be packed with features and options and will cover many of the variations and liveries that this class carried.
And yes, later on we will be making the 2-10-0 version as well!

So you know the drill by now, we always start with the wheels. These were rather fun to model having a really unusual and interesting design.

Frames and the basic boiler shape.

Cylinders (at a slightly jaunty angle!) and all of that lovely Walschaerts gear that will churn back and forth as she runs along.

And finally a quick video. Yes this loco will have fully animated gear as you move the reverser.
Note: Apologies to the purists that in the video the gear works backwards - it should be lowered for forwards with inside admission! This will obviously not be the case when we release it, this set up was to make sure we could integrate all the parts properly)

We'll be back next week with more modelling.

Steam Summer Sale 2019

It's damp, overcast and generally grey.. and that can only mean one thing, it's a British Summer! And that must mean it's SALE TIME!

Lot's of big discounts on everything we sell on Steam so grab yourself some bargains and escape to the past, where summers were always better (because they had steam trains!)

Click this link to see all of our DLC on Steam or click on an image below to view a particular pack.

Note: As usual in the first few hours of any sale Steam will have a complete meltdown as so many people try to access it with some sale prices not showing or the site being completely unavailable - you may need to refresh the page if it doesn't show some of the offers or maybe wait for tomorrow when it's settled down.

GWR Pannier Tanks - 30% off

GWR 1000 County Class - 50% off

LNER Raven Q6 - 50% off

GWR Large Prairies - 50% off

GWR Large Prairies Lined Liveries (Requires GWR Large Prairies Pack) - 50% off

Stroudley A1/A1X Class 'Terrier' - 50% off

GWR Saint Class & Travelling Post Office - 50% off

BR Saint & Travelling Post Office Livery (Requires GWR Saint Pack) - 50% off

USATC S160 - 50% off

GWR 14xx - 50% off

LNER Peppercorn K1 - 50% off

GWR Small Prairies - 50% off

GWR 56xx - 50% off

GT3 Gas Turbine Prototype - 50% off

GWR Steam Railmotor - 50% off

Southern Bulleid Q1 - 50% off