by Tony Dyson

I was most interested to read the article submitted by Frank Jones in the last Gazette. I have also been using this form of drawbar for some years, again inspired by our mutual friend. It is easy to fit, as described by Frank, and very convenient in use.

Coupling loop on the County's tender dragbeam

The height difference between loco and tender step treads

County loco and tender coupled and the lower step treads match. Note that I forgot to replace the fallplate-oops!

My contribution concerns how the drawbar helped me to transfer weight onto the rear of a GWR 4-4-0 County (built from a David Andrews kit). In terms of calculated tractive effort – 20,530lbs – the Counties were exactly the same as the original Saints before the latter were fitted with larger diameter cylinders. In spite of their lack of a third driving axle, the Counties were powerful engines, on a par with the 4-4-2 Scott group of Saints.

My aim was to give the County as much tractive effort as possible, so the boiler was packed with liquid lead (no PVA glue used here), which makes the loco front heavy. The front end rests directly on the bogie, without any springing. The loco driving wheels are quite heavily sprung so that on its own without the tender, the loco sits with its cab raised above the correct level.

The tender is not sprung, but the axles are all able to drop, with the middle one allowed to lift as well. The photographs show the loco uncoupled and then coupled to the tender, showing how the loco settles to the correct level when coupled to the tender. Weight is added to the tender in front of the centre wheels only, so that it holds the loco level and improves the grip of the driving wheels. It was necessary to modify the tender slightly by opening out the slot provided for the usual drawbar to allow the chassis and body to be separated . Loco weight is 3lb 10oz, and the tender 1lb 9oz; not excessively heavy, but enough to haul a significant load.