Great British Locomotives Magazine

[James Harrison]

I bought one today and frankly I think it outstanding value for the price paid. For £9 I wasn't expecting perfection but I think with the lining finished off, the frames repainted and etched plates fitted you'd be most of the way to a great model.

I might buy a second and motorise both- one in GC livery and the other in GC green with LNER lettering.

[Flying Fox 34F]

I fell for temptation and bought a Bulter Henderson, its sat on my desk staring at me! For the money it is excellent, even when you straighten out the buffer beam. Yes I've had it all apart already!!!
I'm pondering a Hornby Railroad chassis to shove under it, but only after I've back dated its classification to one of Robinson's earlier machines. I'll only start when I complete my 4-8-2 project
Paul 4475
p.s. If I find anymore for sale, I will purchase at least one more.

[2002EarlMarischal]

I ordered 2 of these from my local Asda and both needed the smokebox door and buffer beam sorting, but that was relatively easy to do. The register of the lining was poor on the RHS of one model, but overall they are not a bad basis. Not sure what I'm going to do with them though yet!

[James Harrison]

I managed to lose one of the buffers on mine (note to self: if the buffers aren't on straight, just leave them be).

No major problem; I have a pair of whitemetal Robinson oval buffers somewhere I can use.

This evening I've emailed the Bachmann spares department enquiring as to the cost of a complete D11 chassis.

[James Harrison]

I would be interested to hear if anybody has had any thoughts about how to motorise Butler Henderson.

I've just stripped mine down and there are some.... interesting discoveries I seem to have made. I'll come to those later.

After releasing the three screws holding the model to the base you are presented with the body loose from the driving wheels. With the tender, once the longer model-base screw has been released there are two smaller screws to be undone and then the body moulding is free from the chassis block.







SAC Martin has already shown how the tender needs no further work and can be grafted straight on to a rolling chassis, so I'll concentrate on the locomotive now.

The bogie casting is secured by a moulded lug on the body, and can just (carefully!) be popped off. The bogie also holds the front bufferbeam in place so once removed the bufferbeam also comes loose.





Have a care at this point; removing the bufferbeam, the vacuum pipe shot across the room and I had the Devil's own job finding it again....

You will now note two deep-set screws, one between the wheels and one between the drivers and the bogie.



Removing these the boiler and cab come free from the running plate.





Hmmm, it looks as though there is no room for the motor- I checked against the service sheet for my Bachmann Butler Henderson and it appears that a blanking plate has been incorporated into the GBL model, and a lug driven down through the motor space.



It also looks as though the splashers have been extended in-board; there is a definite lip on the off-side which compared to the Bachmann offering seems to be where the splashers have been extended. This may be obscured on the drivers' side by the reverser lever.

I have enquired with Bachmann as to the availability of their complete D11 chassis; if I can get hold of one I'll investigate further. My initial suspicion is that the Bachmann chassis/ body securings have been done away with by GBL and replaced by their own idea, and this may make motorising it with a Bachmann chassis that bit more complicated than merely dropping the body onto it.

[S.A.C. Martin]

Definitely not a drop on to the Bachmann chassis. However, I suspect that there may be an etched alternative about somewhere which could end up under a number of these. I intend on some cut and shuts to make other GCR classes, but for now am very happy with the tender going behind my B3/3. The tender body can be made to just fit onto the chassis of the Bachmann one, as below.

[Atlantic 3279]

Very handy to see the model in pieces James. Now I must see if I can get my hands on a couple. I wondered if any sense has been slapped into the organisers of GBL "customer services" centre yet???? Having found them totally misinformed last week I don't want to order from them until I'm convinced that they actually know what Issue 16 of the magazine is, and they accept that it IS already available!

[Atso]

I'm liking the look of that Butler Henderson, shame it isn't to my modelling scale.

Has anybody thought of taking two and stretching them into a 'Sam Fay'. In N gauge a Jubilee or Royal Scot chassis is quite close to the wheelbase - maybe not close enough in 4mm.

Any thoughts, would've though it'll be cheaper and easier than buying a 'Sam Fay' kit???

[James Harrison]

I'm liking the look of that Butler Henderson, shame it isn't to my modelling scale.

Has anybody thought of taking two and stretching them into a 'Sam Fay'. In N gauge a Jubilee or Royal Scot chassis is quite close to the wheelbase - maybe not close enough in 4mm.

Any thoughts, would've though it'll be cheaper and easier than buying a 'Sam Fay' kit???

It might work; I'm not too sure regarding boiler diameter but if you were going for a 'looks very much like' sort of model it would be close enough. A 'Patriot' I think has the correct wheel spacing.

Very handy to see the model in pieces James. Now I must see if I can get my hands on a couple. I wondered if any sense has been slapped into the organisers of GBL "customer services" centre yet???? Having found them totally misinformed last week I don't want to order from them until I'm convinced that they actually know what Issue 16 of the magazine is, and they accept that it IS already available!

Glad my photos are of use. I managed to get mine from a Sainsbury's supermarket and I have seen them in W H Smiths, if Customer Services can't/ won't help.

[Atlantic 3279]

You could do an "approximate" Sam Fay from them, but even for an approximate one you wouldn't be able to get away with a judicious cut and shut to save all of the paintwork and boiler bands. The latter are in definitely different places for a start, and if you begin to get particular, the boiler diameter is different, the amount of visible firebox is different, I'm not sure the cab lengths are quite the same, and the visible frame tops under the boiler don't quite work out......

V2 coupled wheelbase is okay too, but not the wheel diameter of course.

[Atso]

Ok, just a thought but I'd love to see one done! (I obviously won't be doing this in 4mm but I've got one to be started in N gauge)

Didn't think about the V2, Graeme. Obviously the driving wheels would be a problem - some of the new type A4 wheels instead? Patriot, Jubilee and Royal Scott all had the same wheelbase IIRC...

[Hatfield Shed]

...Has anybody thought of taking two and stretching them into a 'Sam Fay'. In N gauge a Jubilee or Royal Scot chassis is quite close to the wheelbase - maybe not close enough in 4mm.

Any thoughts, would've though it'll be cheaper and easier than buying a 'Sam Fay' kit???

I am thinking far naughtier thoughts. Take one K3 chassis, and use the GBL body as the basis of a rebuild by Gresley of the B7s into a 2-6-0 - inevitably named by the crews a 'Black Piglet'.

[James Harrison]

Full marks to Bachmann for their customer service; I emailed them over the weekend and came home to a reply today (sadly not the answer I was hoping for).

So I need to find an alternative chassis.... first thoughts would be either the Hornby RailRoad D49 chassis or to cannibalise my old BEC Director for its Triang 2P chassis.

[S.A.C. Martin]

Railroad D49 is a good shout. Nearly used one for my BEC D11 a few years ago but held back and built The Morpeth instead.

[Danby Wiske]

Railroad D49 is a good shout.

If you can't find a D49, the Railroad GWR County shares the same chassis. They seem to be easier to come by...