Planet Industrials: Devonport Hibberd...

Since Warley when I picked up a book on Devonport my interest in this impressive dockyard railway system has continued to grow so alongside the other big developments planned for the Planet Industrials brand (more on that as the year progresses) I have decided to add a third variant to the Hibberd...

The Devonport system was simplistically distinguished by North and South yard operations, with the system connected by a quite restrictive tunnel. When built this was for horse drawn traffic but when the yard was mechanised steam locomotives, and later diesels had to negotiate this tight loading gauge. The Barclay cab project has generated this interest, as the prototype's chunky nature with low slung cab has a very distinctive appearance, and obviously this followed that the diesels could well be as distinctive.

On first inspection, the Navy's 30 odd Planets which featured Foden engines rather than the normal Dorman and flame proofing, were otherwise outwardly similar. However after a trip to Chatham last October where I could study Rochester Castle it was apparent that the flameproofing didn't just mean different exhaust and radiator - but also a shorter bonnet. In addition, the Devonport system's 10 examples had a cut down cab, not a lot lower than standard, but more curved at the side to allow passage through the tunnel.

The 3D model has been altered to reflect these differences, and alongside the front footstep prototype will be test assembled in the coming weeks - I will need to re-draw some of the etched parts too, and I suspect the market for such a model may not be large we may only do a very short run of them alongside the usual production versions. It feels as though my own model of a Devonport inspired system, even if just a cameo, is now just waiting to be built. Time will tell... in the meantime it's been a gentle introduction back into work this week, more as other commission work re-starts in the coming days. More soon...