Under Construction

As there hasn't been anything model railway related here of late, I thought that I'd give a brief update on a couple of ongoing projects, in this case a pair of unrebuilt Bullied Pacifics I've been putting together.  Both are being constructed from various Triang/Hornby components I've acquired over the years.  The first of them started out this way, as an unfinished loco and tender body from the last version put out by Hornby's Margate factory before it closed and production was moved to China:
 

At one time you could pick these up very cheaply on eBay - they were surplus stocks after the factory closure.  These were part of a set of two that I bought, complete with tender chassis and wheels..  I eventually obtained loco chassis, minus motor, suitable for this version of the body, (at least two different types of chassis were used with it over the years), consequently, the project now looks like this:

The tender's high sides have been cut down, as the originals were during the late fifties and early sixties, while the chassis has acquired an old Hornby XO4 motor I had spare and has had its pick ups rewired.  The tender still needs some work - the brake cylinders need a cover and ladders need adding.  Once that's done, the whole thing will be ready for the paint shop, (the loco body has already received a black undercoat).  I still have no idea what name and number it will carry when complete.  Meanwhile, another Bullied Pacific is nearing completion:

This one uses an earlier, Triang, version of the chassis, dating back to the sixties.  Originally, I had intended to use a body and tender constructed from the old Airfix (originally Kitmaster, later Dapol) plastic kit, but had real problems getting it to fit properly.  Consequently, I managed to get hold of an older version of the Triang-Hornby body, (judging by the livery, it dates to the early seventies), and used the other Margate Hornby tender I'd bought with those used on the first model.  I decided to leave it in original condition, to represent one of the locomotives that retained the high sided tender into the early sixties.  Apart from needing the removal of a broken smoke unit and a rewiring of the pick ups, the chassis, complete with original XO4 motor, is in good condition and runs nicely.  This one is pretty much ready to be painted and lined.  It will probably end up depicting 34057 'Biggin Hill', mainly because I have a set of nameplates for this locomotive and it was, I believe, still running with an unmodified tender in the sixties.

All of which leaves me with a spare late model Hornby loco body and the Airfix body and tender.  A third Bullied might yet remerge from these - I already have a basic Hornby chassis of the later Margate type, (driving wheels and connecting rods, but no bogie, pony truck or valve gear), and a later-type motor which could, with an adaptor, be fitted into it.  

As for the layout itself, the rewiring to a simple cab control system is curently on hiatus as I await the delivery of some more wire.  I decided that, in order to keep things clear, I needed some different coloured wiring than that used for the track connections, for the connections between the different controllers and the switches.  Otherwise, it is all going to get overly confusing.