Monday, July 22, 2013

Pretty Blue(print)



I picked this blueprint up on a second hand stall at the weekend. It's for an LNER Y4 shunter and is reproduced to 7mm scale.

This is one of the those locos that has always appealed to me. Being quite stumpy with all the waggly bits on the outside, I've always felt it would make a cracking model . As far as I know there isn't even a kit available for it, never mind something ready to run.

As a scratchbuilding project, I'm not sure I'd be up to the task, especially in 4mm scale. Walschaerts valve gear isn't for the faint-hearted and cramming it all in a small space doesn't make matter easier.

Stepping back for a moment though and looking at the plan - it's a thing of beauty itself. I know nothing about its origins but assume it's a commercial product dating back to the 1950s or 60s - hence the wonky and small repro here.

I'd be happy to frame the thing and just have it on the wall. Maybe this says something about me that I probably should admit on the Interweb, but I like the neatness and order of a good plan. Printing it in a traditional style of white ink on blue make it even more appealing. Am I weird?

1 comment:

James Finister said...

For a stumpy 0-4-0 without any waggly bits what about the prototype for the Hornby industrial loco? King George v from Dowlais Ironworks.

http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/Dowlais_Works_locomotives.htm

Whilst scrolling down to it you might want to pause to look at the diminutive Peacock No2, surely a candidate for cutting up an old DApol Pug kit.