Grazed Gronk - Cut down 08 (N part 68)...

Sometimes inspiration sideswipes us - coming from nowhere a trigger creates a chain reaction of emotional response that just has to be attended - be that just a casual Google search, or, as here, a complete model...

08993, modified Graham Farish Class 08. Remember, this model is only around 60mm long.

11 year old me and my Spring 1990 copy of 'Motive Power Pocket Book'. In its hallowed pages an image of one of the cut down Class 08 of the Burry Port and Gwendraeth railway in Railfreight grey. At the time I didn't know what this was yet I liked its chunky cast number/name plate and the grey livery with red labels. I probably toyed with re-painting my Lima 08 (again - that thing was so thick in paint it had doubled in size!) but instead, a seed was planted. The story of this branchline with its cut down shunters felt mysterious, you wouldn't find many photos in books and Swansea is a long way from Chester. Years later that seed germinated with Iain Rice's plan in an old copy of Railway Digest. Most recently it sprouted with a chance discovery in one of the Shannon/Rhodes 'Freight Only' books of a few photographs of the branch. YouTube day dreaming followed. Opportunity came from Kernow selling their limited edition 08 at a price too good to pass up - this model, as they say, was perhaps 'always inevitable'.

I love Class 08 shunters. The Graham Farish examples are the perfect toy, they look and feel great, they run supremely and the crude coupling rods balance with the finesse of flush glazing and cab handrails to remind you of the fun and love of playing with model railways. In N gauge though, a cut down 08? I must be completely mad?

Well, the model on the left is an original Farish model with can motor and tall drive - not DCC friendly and a bonnet full of motor and transmission. HOWEVER, the new Farish release (as used in the Kernow model) has a low-rise coreless motor with space on top for the sound decoder - a speaker is hidden in the radiator - I figured if I stripped out the electronics I should be able to drop the bonnet enough...

The Burry Port and Gwendraeth Railway

The prototype was famously converted from a canal! In the 1970s this led to a quintet of Class 03 being cut down and fitted with MU equipment - this wasn't because of the height of an 03 over the 08, but because of the mechanical transmission as the original line from Llanelli was prone to flooding. The right of way continued to decline and the 03s were getting tired so in 1983 the branch was re-connected with the South Wales mainline at Kidwelly Junction, removing the only obstacle to using an 08... that said, they'd still need reducing in height. 08991 and 992 were vacuum braked and converted in 1985, followed later the same year by the only dual braked example 993 (the subject of my model). Later, as the coal traffic was switched from vacuum braked to air braked wagons a further two 08s were modified, 994 and 995 in 1987. The line then settled down into a regular pattern of coal traffic between Cwmmawr disposal point and Coedbach washery, until in 1996 when the traffic was moved to road transport and the branchline closed.

The prototype were all modified at Landore, Swansea. The bonnets were extensively modified, 1ft taken out of the height by cutting off the bottom and then re-making bonnet doors, repositioning hinges etc. The cab roof was cut down by reducing the profile of the curve. The result were successful and saw out the end of the branchline.

The Farish model was stripped to its component body parts and the paint removed by soaking in IPA, then scrubbing with an old tooth brush. The circuit board and speaker were removed from the chassis and the motor and pickups connected directly. The plastic moulded cabinets were removed, along with the radiator. The cab control moulding was cut off too, and reduced in height at the top edge. A 2mm line was marked on the body and cut carefully with a razor saw. Doors were modified with a file and sharp blade, door hinges and handles removed were necessary - before the cabinets were carefully re-attached with superglue. Replacement door handles formed from short straight sections of 0.35mm brass wire to ape the remaining moulded ones on the bonnet.

The cab was worked on separately. The edges were cut with a razor saw and the profile of the back of the cab worked on with files to match photos. As built the first three 08s has a curved replacement roof and the original size cab windows. Later these were prone to leaking and they were modified on 993 when 994 and 995 were built and 991 and 992 withdrawn with the introduction of the HEA.

The cab roof needed to be thin and robust, I measured and drew a replacement on the computer and had this etched in thin brass, along with the cab numberplate. This was carefully rolled to the right profile (a Prit-stik on my carpet) and superglued in place. The cab was glued to the body and the edges of the fuel tank made good with primer.

 

Painting was with my airbrush, as usual. Phoenix Precision colours for the warning yellow and faded Rail blue - the airbrush allows us to put the thinnest of coats on the model. This was then given a coat of gloss lacquer so I could apply wasp stripes (Fox decals) and the few markings the prototype had (993 never wore double arrows). I used some styrene section to make up the headlights, using a drill bit to create an indent in 30 thou material and then cutting it into 1mm squares - picking the best ones. Hoses added from the detailing kit, a bar between the front steps painted satin black and a pipe (0.4mm brass) under the cab in orange. A small 4mm scale horn added in front of the cab in place of the whistle - overcall but better than nothing. DG couplings fitted without loops - these glue onto the cast chassis once you cut off the NEM ends of the plastic bottom plate. The etched name/number plates were fixed and then the satin lacquer sealed the whole lot for weathering. 

Weathering followed - usual approach, mixes of Humbrol 33/98 applied to a wet wash and then removed with a wide flat brush. Glazing then re-fitted, along with a Modelu crew. Posed here with my first 08, a custom repaint of a Chester regular, 665, you can see its squat demeanour. Almost cuter? Certainly purposeful.

I'm not afraid to say - this is a model I am incredibly proud of - perhaps the first to answer the 'Awestruck' question of last week? N scale doesn't mean accepting compromise or just relying on ready to run. Nor does it mean a lack of character, or being described as 'too small'. It rewards patience, consistency and neatness. Finesse is fine, but neat and consistent matters more in this smaller size... the results are incredibly rewarding, exciting even. The 'N part' series documents by journey in this smaller scale - smaller in size alone, it has been a wonderful experience and one I'd wholeheartedly recommend.

Tiny, personal creations, full of character.

As for my 08/9? It could do with a micro layout and some coal wagons I hear you say? Watch this space! Until next time, more soon...

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