A box for the B4 tank

 

All steam locomotives, be they electrically powered, or steam, need carrying boxes. None of this digging a model out of its shopping box, spreading packing materials all over the lineside. A proper box, works better, and looks more professional. I might not know what I'm doing, but I do my best to pretend. 

So, the B4 tank needed a case, and I wanted to have it sit in its carrying cradle. To this end, I make a wooden box, just like the ones for the rolling stock, complete with clear, sliding front.  

At this point, lightning struck twice. 

Years ago, when planning The Hellingly Hospital Railway layout, I planned for it to fit on the back seat of my 1973 VW Beetle. I carefully measured the distance between the sides, and built the baseboard to fit. 

When I came to put the finished layout in the car, I discovered that while it might fit in the back, the board was too long to fit between the B-pillars, so it simply wouldn't go in. I had to build the whole thing again...

And when I came to build the box for the B4, I measured the length of the cradle, added a bit, and got on with the woodwork. 

When I came to put the cradle in, I discovered that I'd not allowed for the length in the mouldings that the plastic front slides in. Duh. 

So, out with the saw and a heavy knife, to put cutouts in the sliding parts. They still hold the plastic, but now the cradle goes in. 

I'm not sure if this isn't the best solution. To have the cradle fit without making these alterations would require a box wide enough for the whole lot to slide back and forth. So, on balance, I have decided I am a design genius. The model goes in and out, and is held firm in transit. What more could I want? 
 

B4 loco cradle

 

Martin asks: Hi, as another newcomer to large (tank) locos and real steam, I am intrigued by "little carrying cradle" and how useful it is with a hot loco. How does it work, ie. how does one get a 'hot loco' into the cradle without burning oneself or indeed the cradle? 

The cradle is a pretty simple wooden device as you can see above. 

With the loco removed: 

It's an open-top box, with a piece of somewhat oily corrugated cardboard at the bottom. 

Underneath, you can see how the rope handles are attached. 

Moving the loco in, involved some heat-proof gloves (as supplied with Accucraft models, but others are available) or a couple of bits of cloth to let you touch the bufferbeams. Once in, the rope handles allow me to carry it around freely, and cooly. 

A very useful little device. I'm thinking of making them for some of the other steam engines. 
 

B4's first run

 

 

Summer evenings are great. I can go to railway club, and have a sail beforehand. Or, if have a new loco to try on the outside track, I can do that instead. You won't be surprised that I was keen to try the B4 out!

A nice extra with the model, is this little carrying cradle. Simple, but it makes moving the loco around really easy, especially when it's hot.

I'll admit, I didn't read the instructions, but most steam engines work the same way. Once I've turned the gas valve off, I managed to fill the tank, then oil around, fill the lubricator and then add water. 

Lighting was tricky as there was a bit of a breeze, and it took half-a-dozen goes to get the flame at the back of the loco and not in the smokebox. Once I managed this, the safety valve didn't take long to start blowing, and I eased the model forward. There was a bit of priming, and some muck chucked out of the chimney, but we were soon off. 

And that was it. With the regulator only cracked open, a nice speed was achieved. Hanging a train on the back will help keep things under control even more. 

A few lessons/jobs:

• The pressure gauge is broken, showing 110psi when the loco is cold. Hopefully, this is a spanners job to fix. 
• The gas must be opened a very tiny amount, and it's not easy to control. I'm told melting bits on the front of the loco is a possibility if you leave it turned up to high. 
• Long term, I will look at a sleeve on the burner, which would be a better solution. 
• The reverser is a fiddle, you need pliers to move it. That's the prototype's fault, not the model. I'm intrigued how RC can be fitted though. 
• I need a vacuum pipe for the front.  

Overall though, I'm very happy with my new toy. Like every steam engine, this is a learning curve, but I've had it running, so my growing steam experience has helped.  

B4 unboxing

 

I've long fancied adding a B4 tank to my loco fleet. It would be a perfect shunter on Melbridge Dock. I've quite a collection of dock shunters. They are both useful, and interesting, to me at least.

Years ago, there was talk of an etched brass kit, but nothing ever came of this. Pity really, as I bought a book on the class to give me some guidance. 

Anyway, Hattons were offering a tempting price on the Dapol model recently, so I blew a bit of money I'm due for a magazine article on one. 

  

I'd have preferred the BR version, but that wasn't on offer. This Southern example is the best second choice - it's the right colour and just needs re-branding and a smokebox number plate adding to fit the rest of my fleet. That and some dirt of course. 

This being the Interweb, you'll be wanting to see the model taken out of it's box:

Now, where did I put that book?