7050

7050 was a the first of a series of experimental shunters bought by the LMS. Built in 1934 by Dick, Kerr in Preston, fitted with an W. H. Allen 8RS18 engine. Originally allocated number 7400, it was renumbered 7050 upon delivery to the LMS. It was used at Salford Docks before being loaned to the Air Ministry in 1940. Withdrawn in 1943 by the LMS, it was sold to the War Department eventually ending up at the Royal Naval base in Botley, Hampshire. It was re-engined with a Gardner 6LX and had the exhaust gas conditioner removed from the roof. Fortunately, it was preserved in 1979 and displayed at the Museum of Army Transport in Beverley. The museum closed in 2003 and it was transferred to the National Railway Museum in York. The NRM restored it to its original black livery and is usually on display.

Fortunately, Judith Edge Kits decided to release an etched brass kit of this locomotive and was duly purchased. Construction follows Mikes usual method of chassis, footplate and body assemblies that bolt together to complete the model. The chassis was started first and soldered together in my alignment jig to ensure a square chassis. The footplate is also straightforward to assemble.

With the body, a number of variations are possible and are catered for in the kit. As originally built, the locomotive had an open cab. This was altered to an enclosed cab quite quickly and both cab types are provided. As built, the locomotive had an exhaust gas conditioner fitted, which is the rectangular box on the roof. When the locomotive was re-engined, the exhaust gas conditioner was removed. Some other changes took place whilst with the military, such as the removal of the air whistle from the cab front, being replaced by an air horn. So, one has to decide at what stage in the locomotives life you want to model. As preserved, it is not quite right as it carries LMS livery, but without the exhaust gas conditioner! I decided to model 7050 as the enclosed cab LMS version with the conditioner. As usual, reference to photographs is extremely useful.

7050 built up awaiting painting

The kit specifies Alan Gibson 12mm 4836P wheels, which are the ones used on the 'Pug' steam locomotive. I always have trouble quartering Gibson wheels, so decided to use the Romford 'Pug' wheels. These are actually 12.6mm in diameter and I did need to file a very small amount off the footplate supports! I used a Mashima 10x20 motor I still had in stock with a High Level Kits Roadrunner gearbox. As such, I had to remove part of the front footplate support between the frames to allow the gearbox to sit comfortably. If I had used the suggested Roadrunner+, I might not have to have done this.

As can be seen in the above photograph, I haven't yet fitted the cab door handrails. This is because the bottoms fit in the footplate and the tops in the body. The body and footplate do need to be split for painting and glazing and fitting the handrails permanently at this stage would have made that impossible. They will be fitted when those two parts have been re-assembled.

7050 in primer

The next part of the process was to prime the body and footplate with my usual Halfords Grey Primer. In the photograph, the body is only placed on top of the footplate, hence the gap by the radiator and cab. Some minor fettling needs to be done before the final coat of Halfords Gloss Black is applied.

Progress with the chassis was made, as can be seen. Now sprayed black and varnished, the wheels and coupling rods have been fitted. Some additional work is needed here, not least painting the wheels and rods. However, I now have a working chassis and it is undergoing testing and running in.

LMS 7050 rear view

The buffers are Gibson 4903's with oval overlays added. These, of course, have a tendency to rotate. To stop this, I have added some fine brass channel section behind the beams attached to the footplate. The 'tails' of the sprung buffers run in the channel, stopping the rotation.

There seems to be some uncertainty over the decals used. Photographs show an unshaded block style, but not the colour, as they are all black and white!. The RTCS book states they could be yellow or straw. In the end, I opted for straw and obtained some suitable general lettering from Fox Transfers. I imagine the real locomotive had hand painted letters and numbers.

The model has a DCC decoder installed, a Digitrax DZ123, and have cab lighting. I don't know if the real thing had cab lighting, but it seems a pity not to be able to see the cab detail!

I'm very pleased with the result of this kit and I'm pleased Mike Edge was persuaded to make it available as a kit.