I've long fancied adding a B4 tank to my loco fleet.
It would be a perfect shunter on Melbridge Dock. I've quite a collection of dock shunters. They are both useful, and interesting, to me at least.
Years ago, there was talk of an etched brass kit, but nothing ever came of this. Pity really, as I bought a book on the class to give me some guidance.
Anyway, Hattons were offering a tempting price on the Dapol model recently, so I blew a bit of money I'm due for a magazine article on one.
I'd have preferred the BR version, but that wasn't on offer. This Southern example is the best second choice - it's the right colour and just needs re-branding and a smokebox number plate adding to fit the rest of my fleet. That and some dirt of course.
This being the Interweb, you'll be wanting to see the model taken out of it's box:
Now, where did I put that book?
This takes me back to my misspent yoof...not the loco, but the livery.
ReplyDeleteIn about 1981 or 82 I bought a Hornby E2 which for its time was quite a nice loco, resplendent in LB&SCR umber.
Fairly shortly afterwards it became matt black with the "Sunshine" lettering as on your B4 from waterslide transfers by SMS (Scale Models of Scotland...remember them?).
I had ideas of modelling the long, straggling, quasi-industrial line that used to go from near Eastbourne station to The Crumbles which was a shingle point to the east of the town...a sort of mini-Dungeness but without the grounded carriage bodies and nuclear power station, though it did have the forerunner to the Seaton Electric Tramway nearby as a stand-in for the RH&DR.
It's now all under the Sovereign Harbour development though a few traces of the route remain if you know where to look.
Tanks for the memory,
Simon.