LB&SCR A1/A1X Terriers: A1X, so what changed?

Today we're taking a look at the Terrier in it's rebuilt A1X version.

21 of the original 50 Stroudley A1's were rebuilt this way and as 14 of the 15 Terriers that made it into BR ownership were of this A1X type they are likely more familiar to people now.

There are quite a few variations on the A1X (almost as many as there are engines!) and we'll be showing the options for those soon but for today we present the A1X in it's "purest" form.

As with the A1 shown last week you can use any name and any number with the engines and they come with all 21 of the original names and numbers set up and ready to go.

The most obvious change is the new extended Marsh boiler and new smokebox, and therefore the reshaping of the wheel splashers, and the removal of the condensing pipes either side. The A1X was changed from the condenser and pump system to the more familiar injector system and this can be seen by the wisps of steam coming from the injector pipes between the front and middle wheels, and obviously with a different set of controls in the cab.

 

Also changed are the sanders having lost the sand boxes above the running plate which were part of the original wheel splashers and are replaced with steam powered sanders (some of the Isle of Wight rebuilds kept a combination of the new and old splashers, retaining the old sanders, and this is one of the options we'll show later).

The old copper capped chimney has been replaced with the much plainer Marsh cast version and both buffers now carry vacuum brake pipes as well as the original air pipes.

The top view shows the significant changes that were required for the replacement of the water pumps with injectors and the addition of the vacuum brake.

On the left hand side of the locomotive the exhaust (black pipe) from the vacuum brake can be clearly seen running all the way to the smokebox and the intake (grey, insulated wrapped pipe) from the top of the boiler.

Also visible are the 2 copper pipes that drop down the front of the water tanks which take the water from the boiler to the injectors and the other long copper pipe which is the re-routed exhaust from the Westinghouse air pump. Some brackets and firebox tools are also squeezed in to make the whole scene very "busy" compared to the cleaner appearance of the A1.

Next week we'll take a look inside the A1X cab and see what all of these changes and additions have done to the driving position.

LB&SCR A1/A1X Terriers: A1 Cab

Before we begin today we wanted to address a question that is being asked on an almost daily basis...
"Are you doing X named Terrier?"
To which we've been replying - READ THE LAST BLOG POST! We're not sure if people only look at the pictures (in which case typing this is probably pointless!) however the last blog post covered how the naming is going to work.
To summarise, you can have ANY name (5 to 11 characters) and number (2 digits) that you want. We'll be including files to show the names and numbers of ALL of the original Terriers however you can name the engines ANYTHING you want to.
ANYTHING!
Thank you for reading.

Ok, now we've got that off our chest...

Today we're taking a first look inside the cab of the A1 Terrier as originally built. A very spartan and clean appearance compared to later locomotives and even compared to the A1X variant which we'll be looking at soon.

Looking towards the driver position

And looking to the fireman's side

Even the backhead has a minimal number of controls, clearly lacking any kind of steam injector taps as these engines used a condenser to pre-heat the water and pumps to push it into the boiler.

The rear of the cab just has a handbrake and the coaling door (which uses notches in the back wall to hold it open), with the cylinder cocks lever on the driver's seat.

The large windows give a really good view ahead and you can clearly see one of the water taps (bottom left of the picture) which allows the water into the pump. These are locked in place using a wing nut.

Finally the driver and fireman head out views which still allow full use of all of the cab controls.

That's it for today. On Friday we'll be taking a look at the A1X version of the Terrier and its modernisations and modifications.

LB&SCR A1/A1X Terriers: What's in a name?

Happy New Year everyone!
We hope that you all had a good Christmas and are enjoying the start of 2017.  We've been very busy back at work and have a few things to show this week.

Today we are delighted to show the completed A1 Terrier, in game, in Stroudley's Improved Engine Green livery; seen here as No. 73 Deptford.

Also shown is the dynamic naming system for this livery which will feature on the the A1 and A1X Terriers. The engines can carry any name from 5 to 11 characters which covers all 50 original class members. You can also have names less than 5 characters although these will be padded so will not cover the whole tank side.

Here we see an A1 named as No. 59, Cheam

.. and a fictional engine No. 99 Victory

As you can see the name spaces correctly across the entire tank side and begins with a larger first character.
The shortest engine names were Cheam and Ewell, the longest were Bishopsgate, Whitechapel, Rotherhithe and Crowborough.

The engine can also be given any number from 00 to 99 and both of these are dynamic and can be changed by simply typing the number and name into the engine number in the scenario editor.
This system will also be used for any other liveries that have names anywhere on the engines.

That's all for today but over the next couple of weeks we'll be looking in the cab of the A1, and also taking a look at the A1X variant, some of the optional parts available and we'll discuss the A1's Advanced Mode condenser system and water pumps which will make for a whole new experience when it comes to filling up the boiler.

Happy Christmas

LB&SCR A1/A1X Terriers: Build Part 5, Texturing

The dreaded unwrap is complete so the next task is to layer on some colour.
Before we started we gave the parts some simple colours in the 3D modelling programme to help visualise the parts that could be coloured together.

This is the A1

and the A1X in it's mostly unmodified layout.

Then it's a case of texturing the parts and building up the engine piece by piece

It's starting to look like something now. We should mention at this point that the green and "yellow" of the Improved Engine Green livery in these images are just place holders. We needed to do more research as to the correct original colours before we committed - as it turns out nobody is 100% sure of the colours but after reading a lot we're happy we've come up with one of the accepted variations which we'll show you when model is finished.

Next came the Improved Engine Green lining - which is complicated to say the least! But after quite a few experiments we came up with a set of parts to build the lining textures and it started to come together.

Again, the green and yellow are temporary colours - this was all about getting the lining detail correct. Once we were happy with the side panel it was time to complete the rest of the lining which covers most of the flat panels on the engine as well as the rear of the bunker and the A1's rear mounted toolbox.

And just as this is all getting exciting.. it's time to break for Christmas!
We'll try and make a post next week with the progress that has happened since these pictures, or at the very least our traditional Christmas screenshot and best wishes.

LB&SCR A1/A1X Terriers: Build Part 4, Cab

Now the outside is complete it's time to turn to the cab.
We didn't take any WIP pictures of the cab as it's not particularly interesting until it's complete.. so here it is, complete!

Firstly, much the same as the outside, the clean and simple looking A1 cab

And once the conversion to the A1X had occurred with a vacuum brake added for good measure then it got a lot more cluttered.

Some more comparison shots for various angles
Drivers view

The fireman's side

Looking in from the driver's side

And looking in from the fireman's side

And finally for today, adding them quickly to the outer loco model

A1

And A1X

And that's about it for modelling. Time for the unwrapping - which is a lot less exciting than the unwrapping that's due in 20 days time for many of us!
Then it will be on to the texturing. First up will be Stroudley's very complex "Improved Engine Green"... we're not looking forward to doing that one!

LB&SCR A1/A1X Terriers: Build Part 3, Options

Last week we looked at the completed outer model for the A1 and A1X variants of the Terrier. This week we show some of the modifications and options that will be included with the pack.

We start with bunkers. The only real failing in the design of  the the Terrier was it's very limited coal capacity. As seen below the original bunker could just about carry a 1/2 ton of coal.

Various modifications were made over the years to increase this capacity up to 3/4 ton or even 1 ton in some cases.
The simplest was a set of bars above the existing bunker to allow the coal to be stacked much higher. All of the bunkers that were extended upwards to allow a higher stack of coal also required the adding of bars over the rear windows to stop them being smashed by wayward coal lumps.
Open bars were used..

.. but with smaller coal lumps often falling out of those, the enclosed bars become popular.

The K&ESR chose to extend the bunker upwards to add extra capacity..

.. but even that wasn't enough and bars were added to that as well.

The IOW Terriers were given the largest capacity by removing the rear toolbox and extending the bunker back as far as the buffers.

All of these bunkers will be available for the Terriers and the following will also be included as options or replacement parts:
Front steps (fitted to some Isle of Wight - IOW - engines)
Lubricator oil boxes on tank fronts
Handles on tank fronts
4 different types of chimney with optional spark arrestors
Stroudley, Marsh and Drummond domes
Toolbox in front of dome
Original whistle and IOW hooter
Brighton or IOW front splashers (A1X)
Extra wheel weights (IOW engines)

All of these (along with the liveries) should allow you to create hundreds of different arrangements as used on the 50 Terriers throughout their long lives.

Below is an example of an Isle of  Wight set up which uses the following modifications:
Front steps, IOW cast chimney, IOW front splashers, tank front lubricator oil boxes and handles, IOW hooter and IOW rearwards extended bunker.

It is worth comparing it to the "default" A1X in the final picture in the previous blog post http://victoryworksts.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/lb-a1a1x-terriers-build-part-2.html

Next time we'll take a look inside the cab of the A1 and A1X versions and see how they changed over the years.