I have always had a soft spot for the Churchward 2-6-0 Moguls so my third 2mm finescale loco scratch-building project was 6305 (I built it in 1984). The 63xx’s were initially paired with 2500-gallon tenders and later 3000-gallon versions. I built the smaller tender as part of this project, but with the intention of swapping it for the larger version which I had originally built for the Dean Goods (Another world of modelling, September 30, 2021). The difference in finish between the loco and the tender highlights the evolution in my modelling, between the first and this loco. Nonetheless, the two locos are paired with their appropriately sized tenders for posterity.
6305 – GJ Churchward-designed 2-6-0 with 3000-gallon tender.
Both the loco and the tender have split-frame chassis so that power is collected through all wheels. Phosphor-bronze wires, soldered to the pony truck frames, rub against the underside of a PCB chassis spacer to act as both current collectors and springs. The scratchbuilt gearbox limits maximum speed to a scale 80mph. Idler gears drive the three coupled axles, thus providing good pulling power – 10 coaches or fifty four-wheel goods wagons. The motor fits within the tender and is connected to the gearbox via a driveshaft and universal couplings. Real coal is used to conceal the motor. Wheels, gears and motor were purchased from the 2mm Scale Association shop.
I added some pipework and fittings to the boiler backhead. Brake gear on tender also visible. I think this view highlights the elegance of the class. Churchward’s locos tended to be visually appealing, with clean lines, as well as being strong and reliable runners.
The platework is .010″or .015″ brass sheet. The tapered boiler and smokebox are .010″ brass rolled to the appropriate diameter and soldered along the seams. The boiler and smokebox are filled with lead. The Belpaire firebox, folded to shape and soldered to .030″ nickel-silver front and back plates, sits over the scratch-built gearbox. The loco and tender footplates are fabricated from .005″ and .020″ nickel-silver sheet. The slightly wider, .005″ sheet is soldered atop the .020″ sheet to produce the characteristic GWR footplate.
Hand-turned fittings including chimney, safety valve cover, whistles and buffers. Note tender brake screw lever and tool box.
I turned the chimney, safety valve bonnet, buffers and other fittings using a mini-drill and files. The coupling rods are etched nickel-silver. The connecting rods were fettled from nickel-silver sheet. The pistons are a solid block of tufnol, filed to profile, and glued to the chassis frames. The pony truck pivots on a 16BA screw in the base of the piston block.
Smokebox and boiler fittings on the driver’s side.
The boiler/smokebox handrail is one piece of copper wire bent to shape and held in place with knobs of twisted wire. The boiler bands are hand-cut strips of ‘magic’ tape. The brake blocks and rodding were fabricated from nickel-silver sheet and strip respectively. The loco is a good runner and always looked the part on long trains and long runs.
This is the second locomotive I scratchbuilt in 2mm finescale (in 1981). These GJ Churchward-designed locomotives have always appealed to me. Being new to 2mm finescale scratchbuilding at the time I wanted to build a model into which I could confidently fit a motor and gear assembly. This was my first attempt at outside pistons and motion. I also wanted a loco that would likely be able to haul a long rake of freight wagons.
The loco can easily haul 50 four-wheel wagons or 9 bogie coaches.
The model and chassis are entirely scratchbuilt. The only commercial parts are the motor (an early can version), gears and wheels (purchased from The 2mm Scale Association shop). A split frame nickel-silver chassis enables electrical pick-up from all wheels, including the pony truck. The pony truck frames are soldered to a piece of PCB. Phosphor-bronze wire wipers soldered to the PCB transfer power to a PCB rubbing plate soldered to the main chassis. I built a gear train, set in a fabricated gearbox, to limit the top speed to a scale maximum 50mph. Idler gears drive the four pairs of drivers allowing the coupling rods to be essentially cosmetic. The coupling rods and connecting rods were cut from nickel-silver sheet and filed to shape. The pistons are fashioned from a solid piece of tufnol glued to the chassis.
The footplate, tanks, cab sides and firebox are made of .015″ brass sheet, cut filed and folded to shape. The boiler and smokebox are 0.010″ brass sheet rolled to the correct diameter and soldered to the tanks and firebox. The smokebox saddle is a piece of tufnol cut and filed to shape. It is glued to the smokebox and the footplate. Both the chassis and the pony truck are screwed to the saddle from below.
The chimney, safety valve bonnet, whistles, tank vents, buffers and other fittings are hand-turned from brass. I didn’t have access to a lathe, so all were turned on my mini-drill using files and mini-saws. Brake shoes and actuating gear were cut and filed from nickel-silver sheet and brass bar. Handrails of fine brass rod are held in place with knobs of twisted fuse wire.
All fittings were fabricated using hand tools.
I hand-painted the model and applied lettering produced and sold by The 2mm Scale Association. It had been my intention to strip the paint and spray it when I acquired an airbrush but, when the time came, I just couldn’t work up the courage.
Even in 2mm scale the loco looks massive and powerful. However …
My first trains were clockwork Hornby O-gauge tinplate. They could not be called models, but they gave me immense pleasure for years. I then graduated to electric Hornby-Triang OO at the age of ten – via an early BR diesel and goods wagons. The first true railway modeller I met was the father of my brother’s best friend. At the time, he was the organiser of the annual Brisbane model train exhibition (fore-runner of the current show) held in the ballroom of the Brisbane City Hall. He had a most wonderful layout under his house – American outline – full scenery, quadruple track mainline, sizeable yard and engine facilities, plus a branch line that climbed away from the main to an elevated station. I was hugely impressed with the running qualities of the engines and rolling stock (mainly Rivarossi) compared to my Hornby-Triang equipment. However, I had already fallen for the Great Western Railway through publications such as Railway Modeller and Model Railway Constructor, particularly an article about a most wonderful EM gauge layout of a fictitious terminus called Portreath (Railway Modeller, February 1961). I still have that article. Some of the modellers involved in Portreath went on to promote higher standards across the hobby through EM, and later P4 and S4. After seeing Portreath, there was always something missing for me about ready-to-run OO, but I had neither the knowledge nor the skills to do better.
It wasn’t until I was working in the UK in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s that I began to explore modelling to finer standards – first in EM, then 2mm finescale. Up to that point, everything I had was either RTR or kit-built. My first experience with scratch-building was in 2mm finescale, as nothing was available commercially. However, The 2mm Scale Association published very informative and supportive guides to scratch-building. The Association also supplied various scratch-building items via its members’ shop. My thinking at the time was that there was no point building rolling stock if I couldn’t build a locomotive to haul it, so my first foray into scratch-building was a model of the ubiquitous Dean Goods 0-6-0 tender engine. I chose this loco because it had no outside valve gear and had a round boiler. GJ Churchward, William Dean’s successor as CME for the GWR, introduced outside cylinders and tapered boilers and many other features that gave GWR locomotives their distinctive looks.
My first 2mm finescale scratch-build: Dean Goods no 2534 (built 1980)
The mechanism: Basically, 2mm models are small and light, so the key to good running and hauling quality is appropriate gearing and getting as much weight over the driving wheels as possible. Another key element is good electrical pick-up, achieved by collecting power through all wheels. This necessitates a split chassis design. The loco and tender chassis frames were cut from 0.5mm nickel-silver sheet and finished with files. The frames are held apart by small tufnol blocks.
The motor is tender-mounted and drives the gearbox via a drive shaft and universal linkages. The gearbox includes a series of gears that reduce the maximum motor revs to a scale 60mph at the driving wheels – a bit of arithmetic involved there (finally, a use for all that stuff that my high-school math’s teachers got so worked up about). Additional idler gears between each driving axle ensure that all driving wheels are contributing to hauling capacity and reduce the strain on the coupling rods. The gearbox fits within the firebox space, so the boiler and smokebox were filled with lead to get weight over the drivers.
The driveshaft is visible above the tender fall-plate. Tender coupling and pick-up wiring are below the fall-plate
Body work: I used General Arrangement drawings for key dimensions and photographs to inform construction of the loco as it ran in the 1930’s. The loco and tender footplates consist of nickel-silver sheet with a thin sheet of brass soldered on top. This simulates the characteristic lip on GWR footplates. The bodywork is .010″ brass sheet folded to shape. The boiler and smokebox are one piece of brass sheet rolled to the correct diameter, with an additional piece wrapped round the smokebox section. The Belpaire firebox sides and top was folded up from one piece of brass and soldered to appropriately shaped front and back plates of nickel-silver. Wash-out holes were drilled into the firebox sides and brass wire used to represent the wash-out plugs. The wheel arches, cab sides and roof are .010″ brass sheet. Lagging bands are represented by thin strips of ‘magic tape’.
Other fittings were fabricated from brass sheet, rod and wire. The chimney, boiler dome, safety valve bonnet, whistles and buffers were turned by hand using my miniature drill and files. Brake shoes, brackets and rod were cut and filed to shape. Handrails are steel wire held in place with knobs of twisted fuse wire.
Everything is scratchbuilt, except the tender springs/axleboxes, motor, gears and wheels produced by The 2mm Scale Association.
The tender sides and end are a single sheet of brass cut and folded to shape using homemade jigs. The bottom edges of the sides and end are soldered to a nickel-silver former on the footplate. The top edges are soldered to the tender top and bunker. The tool boxes, tank filler and vents are brass bar turned or filed to shape. The brake stand and handle were fabricated from brass rod and wire. Real coal is glued into the tender. The motor is screwed to the tender chassis which, in turn, is screwed to the tender body. The external axle boxes and springs are 2mm Scale Association castings.
The prototype engines were originally teamed with small capacity tenders but, fortunately for 2mm modellers, were later teamed with larger 3000 or 3500 gallon tenders which in 2mm scale can hide a motor.
Finish: I didn’t have an airbrush at the time, so hand-painted the model. I used 2mm Scale Association decals for the lettering. A coat of flat clear varnish was applied years later, when I purchased an airbrush. The loco runs well and easily hauls a rake of seven bogie coaches, or 20-30 four-wheel wagons. Its low-speed running is smooth, albeit probably not as smooth as it would be if fitted with a flywheel. Indeed, some 2mm finescale modellers were fitting flywheels to their models even in the 1970’s – something well beyond my capability.
Note to self: it’s time to invest in a real camera suitable for model photography.
Burrawon branch 