As you know, I rarely feature anything on this blog that I haven't built myself, however I'm making an exception for this little rarity;
It's a Saltford Models K1 Hudson Hunslet (also known as 'Mudmaster'), bought from the 009 Society's stall at Narrow Gauge North last weekend.
It's very nicely built and finished, with the exception of the cab roof which needs to be removed, straightened and re-painted.
The kit was brass, with the chassis block and engine being cast and the bodywork and frame sides etched.
Interestingly, the frames on the prototype is a single casting as well.
The buffer/coupler blocks aren't part of the original kit, these are also Saltford castings as used in the K4 Simplex and also supplied separately. Nameplates are also Saltford items.
I have removed the cab roof, in the photo above the ECM motor can be seen.
Drive is to both axles using an idler gear;
Wheels are nickel silver and the axles run in brass bearings. Note the ballast weights behind the buffer beams.
I've applied a drop of oil where appropriate and cleaned the wheels, and I'm happy to say that the loco runs well.
Paul.
Hi Paul,
ReplyDeleteThis brings back memories from 40 years ago!
I seem to remember having problems with the cab roof on my (long gone) Mudmaster.
The brass was very thin (mine crinkled so I replaced it...it would have been better had I annealed it, but I didn't know about that then) and I've a feeling there may have been very little margin for error when fitting it, exacerbated by any slight misalignment of the cab front and rear.
I think the kit's original buffer/couplings were thin strips of etched brass with a small, flat coupling pin (for want of a better word) sticking up in the middle that you raked back to provide tension locking.
I'm pretty sure that I also replaced these with cast buffer/coupling blocks (spares from Saltford Models IIRC), as they were a bit fragile.
Mine probably ended up 2WD, as I think I cocked up the fitting of the idler gear in its cast cradle.
Can't remember whether I ever got mine running, and I suspect it went along with all my early 009 when I discovered 0-14.
You're right about the coupling, it was an etched strip with a 'pin'.
DeleteI dislike rolling roofs, I had to do three recently, annealing does help though. I'll strip the paint off this one and re-roll it, but I do have enough brass in stock to replace it if necessary.