Notes
You will need 4'6" 13 spoke driving wheels (Slaters 7854HR are the nearest equivalent) and 3'6" 10 spoke pony wheels (Slaters 7842)
History
A second pair was delivered in 1909, RR Nos. 115 and 116. However they were quickly renumbered 17 and 97, the former replacing an engine broken up after collision, and the second replacing a 'K' class 0-6-2, written off after a boiler explosion. They were the first engines to have RR in transfers on the tank sides, and were only fitted with steam brakes. At the same time, the earlier engines also had their Westinghouse pumps removed. At its first overhaul, No.3 was fitted with a round topped firebox, but had quickly reverted to the Belpaire type by 1914. (It would have been identical at this stage to 7 engines built by Stephensons for the Brecon & Merthyr Railway between 1909 and 1914)
A further modification was the adoption of overhung springs on the front axle, a feature that was to appear and disappear over the years as the locos were shopped.
New boilers were fitted to all bar 17 by 1922, identical in external dimensions, but with tubes reduced from 244 to 220.
New boilers were fitted to all bar 17 by 1922, identical in external dimensions, but with tubes reduced from 244 to 220.
Two further batches of engines were built new in 1921, 4 from Hudswell Clarke, RR Nos. 39, 40, 41 and 42, and 6 from Beyer Peacock, RR Nos.43-47 and 62. Again they were identical apart from the pitch of the boiler being higher. All these engines had Westinghouse pumps fitted, but they were removed soon after grouping. It is on this Beyer Peacock batch that this kit is based, modeller wishing to model one of the earlier engines need to reduce the smokebox height by a little less than 1/2mm, with a corresponding drop in the mounting of the firebox on the front cab spectacle plate.
In 1925, RR 17 (GW 34) was sent to Swindon and rebuilt with a No.2 taper boiler. In 1929, GW 31 (RR 2) followed, with GW 39 close behind in 1930. There was now a gap of several years before GW 44 was rebuilt in 1943, with GW 40 being the last rebuild in 1949. The other 10 carried on with their original parallel boilers, surely a testament to Mr. Riches design of 40+ years before.