The boiler is fitted ready for the beading, opening up various holes, final clean-up and the addition of the fittings

When I obtained it, the footplate, cab (without roof) and side tank assembly was complete except for some finishing, in the original long side tank form. All the cast brass and fabricated fittings had been installed in the cab. Everything was square and the soldering very neat. I completed the cab/tanks by soldering on the handrails and beading. To get the handrails vertical I soldered wire though the holes in the footplate and the top edge of the cab, soldered to the ends of the beading, then cut away the excess. I curved the roof, soldering the central joint strip and whistle. To retain the roof I cut a piece of 1/16 in brass to fit inside the top edge of the cab and soldered it to the underside of the roof, the weight keeps everything in place. The tank filler castings were rather poor so I turned two new ones with spigots, soldered on the handles and fixed them to the tank with super glue.

There were two boilers in the box, one was the etched and rolled original while the second was plain tube, I assume because of the problem I will describe. The problem with the original was that it was rolled in a spiral, the boiler band etch lines did not line up at the joint and the ends were not flat. A small gas blow-lamp reduced the wrapper, spacers and front plate to component parts. By putting one edge of the wrapper lengthways in the vice and a bit of pulling with pliers I managed to correct it. I had to make a filler strip from a bit of scrap to go between the boiler and smoke box outer as this was missing from the box. With all the brass and old solder rubbed down with a glass fibre stick everything was re- assembled, the boiler bands added and the holes opened up to suit the dome (more about this later), chimney and smoke box door. After a good clean, this assembly was soldered to the cab and foot plate using the tabs and slots for positioning.

Fitting the hand rails, showing how I got them vertical

There was about ¾in of space in the cut away section of the boiler above the driving wheels. I soldered in an extra spacer in front of the motor position then filled this with bits of lead from some old gas pipe, soldering it as each layer was added.

The lead infill, the front cutaway is for the dome screw, the rear for the motor

This is the first time I have built an etched loco chassis. First I studied the assembly drawings alongside the instructions and identified all the required parts. As they were found, each one was cleaned with a glass fibre stick, cut out, folded and holes opened up if necessary and then its identification number marked on with a felt pen. This was a help as time went on, since several parts looked similar but were not interchangeable.

The screw holds the dome in place

To aid fixing the guard irons in the correct position, I put lengths of wire right across the frames, soldered up and the cut off the excess. After some correspondence on the GOG Members Forum, I made up the brake gear as a unit that is sprung into place.

The bogies were initially built in accordance with the instructions including a piece of lead in the top. However I had to cut away the arms to allow enough clearance for my 3ft radius curves so I thickened them up with some scrap fret. I also opened up the mounting hole to fit over a 1/8 in axle bush on the 6BA screws.

Lining up the guard irons

The cylinders, according to the instruction, have castings to represent the piston rod glands, however I could not find/identify these in the contents so I soldered in a length of tube for the rod to slide in and used a bit of scrap fret to form the support. The rest of the assembly was as per the instructions. The crossheads needed careful straightening and a little filing of the rods to make them round. Not mentioned in the instructions, the slidebars needed tapering at the wheel end to clear the connecting rods. This can be seen in photos of the real loco. I did not fix the slidebars to the motion bracket.

The brake gear assembly

The completed chassis. The collectors and motor restraint are clearly seen

The drain cocks are actually hand rail knobs. The photos of the real loco shows that they are simple cocks with a ‘handle’ through the cock and pointing up and back about 45 degrees. The operating rod then pushes them forward to open. I put a bit of wire through the knob and soldered the push rod behind.

This is where I found the only error on the frets and a look at photos of the actual loco will make it clear. The chassis construction includes a wire across the frames in front of and below the cylinders. This is to transfer the drain cock operation to the LHS from the RHS push/pull rod. This rod is too short if fitted as the instructions. Fortunately there is a spare on the fret. First cut the vertical/horizontal rear end to a point just level with the rear of the cylinder, now take the second and line it up with the cross rod and cut to suit at the rear of the cylinder and solder together. The spare front bit lines up with the cross rod and back to the cocks on the LHS. This is missing from the instruction.

Right Hand side, the modified slide bars, drain cocks and modified operating rod, the joint can be seen in front & below the motion plate

The spare tanks, dumped in the best colonel Stephens manner

As for photos, there are several in Branch Line to Selsey by V Mitchell and K Smith (Middleton Press), all of the rebuilt version. The only photo of the original that I know of is in The Hundred of Manhood and Selsey Tramway written and published by Edward Griffith, B.A.
I would have preferred the rebuilt version as it would fit my 1925 period better, but the assembly too far advanced and too well done to try and start again. I may repaint it HMST blue in the future but give it a fictitious name as if Peckett had built a second of the class. I am, however, very pleased with the outcome.