7mm On Heather's Workbench - a baby Small Prairie

[Yorkshire Dave]

I suppose I should contemplate those tank top baffle plates now.

Incidentally this 1930 photo is in one of the Metropolitan Railway books I've recently acquired.

Although not of brilliant quality and nor of the prototype you're building it does show a baffle plate on an early prairie tank between the tank top and the smokebox/boiler (clearest evidence is below the chimney). I trust this assists your decision to include them on your build .

(Apologies as I've had to adjust the contrast of the scan to highlight the baffle plate which is why ghosts of the photo on the previous page are present).

 

[Scale7JB]

Don't think I've ever seen a picture of an inside motion prairie before..

JB.

 

[Paul Cambridge]

Don't think I've ever seen a picture of an inside motion prairie before..

JB.

Legend has it that the twenty 39xx 2-6-2Ts were rebuilt from Dean Goods. I find that a rather dubious as the wheelbase was different. They had all gone by 1934. They may well have been an accountancy ‘fudge’ so that they were not charged to capital expenditure. At least the wheel diameter was the same. They could have used the same cylinders, but I currently don’t have access to most of my books, so cannot check that. Most of the other components would have been new. The Vale of Rheidol No 1213 falls into the same category, there is no way it was a rebuild of one the original Davis & Metcalfe locomotives. Probably only the number plate was reused!

Back to Heather’s baby small prairie. I’m following her build with interest as I built 4407 in 2000 from the Mitchell kit. As mine is in its post WW2 condition, I did not have so many modifications to make. I remember the faff with the steam brake and the rear pony truck amongst other things. Baffle plates on the tank tops, how did I miss that one.... . Far too late to do anything about it now . There are a couple of photos in Russell’s book to boot which show it..... . 7mm models of the class are thin on the ground. I’ve only seen two in real life, mine and the one Malcolm Mitchell had on his stand prior to JLTRT becoming involved. Interestingly, Malcolm’s model was of one early in its life with a short bunker etc, just as Heather is building.