The C.D.J.C. Phoenix Diesel:
2020 Updates
2020 Updates
© 2017 David Hurst All Rights Reserved |
A Brief History
Built by Atkinson-Walker
wagons Ltd of Preston in September 1928 as one of their Class A.3 engines. After
a short trial by the Clogher Valley Railway, it was found to be totally
unsuitable. By the end of 1929 Atkinson-Walker wagons Ltd had gone out of
business, and with no buyer to be found the engine lay idle at Aughnacloy coach
and wagon shed until 1932. It was bought by Henry Forbes for the County Donegal
Railway and converted at the Great Northern Railway’s Dundalk workshop to diesel
power. It was fittingly named the “Phoenix” and worked on the County Donegal Railway
till its closure in 1959. It can now be seen in the Ulster Folk & Transport
Museum.
Model Scales
This is an
unusual engine both for its looks and how it came about, and makes a very
suitable subject to model for a narrow gauge railway. It may not have skirts
but the amount of detail at each side of the footplate does a good job of
hiding whatever chassis is used. The initial model was drawn up in 4 mm scale
to suit the Halling motor bogie at either 12mm for 00n3 or 9mm for 009.
© 2017
David Hurst All Rights Reserved
|
A further
version being produced to suit the Kato 11-104 chassis in 009, this has a
slightly reduced overall size to help it to blend in with the 9mm track and not
look too top-heavy.
I have made
it available in both 00n3 and 009 versions to print in Frosted Ultra Detail. It
should also be possible to print in Strong and Flexible if required. If a suitable chassis can be found it
is planned to make it available in TTn3 3mm scale also.
With Frosted
Ultra Detail it is advisable to soak in “White Sprits” (Petroleum organic
solvent – paint thinners) in order to remove the wax support residue left from
printing, then a wash in warm soapy water should leave the surface ready for
painting after it is fully dried. I use a grey or white spray primer to prep
the model for finishing. In some areas, it will be necessary to remove print
lines from the surface, and this can be done with a burnishing tool - I use a
hardwood stick with a rounded point to get in the tight spaces. Do these
processes before separating the print into its component parts so you will be
less likely to lose any of the small pieces.
I have
designed the bodywork and footplate in one, with the roof removable to allow
for interior details and ballast to be fitted. A small exhaust and silencer,
two work lamps and a pair of couplings are printed within the main body of the
loco. These all need to be removed before the chassis is fitted.
© 2017
David Hurst All Rights Reserved
|
Ballast
There are recesses in the sides to front and back of the cab openings which I have filled with lead sheet, at the front end (with the square windows) I have also added lead under the windows. This should give sufficient weight to the engine for traction and electrical pickup.
With the
Halling chassis it is a straight forward fit between the two pressure tabs front
and back. It may be necessary to file a small amount off the inside of these
tabs or add a shim on so you get a snug fit, but this depends very much on the
printing process and is difficult to predict. The Kato chassis will need to be
cut down to fit, the coupling mounts need to be cut off each end and also the
axel boxes will need to be removed from the sides. I have added two small lead
weights at each end of the chassis glued in place - this is not totally
necessary but does keep the ballast low on the model.
There is not
a great amount of wirework on this model; just the handrails each side of the cab
door openings. For this, I have used 0.45 mm brass wire and drilled out the
pilot holes to suit. They are, however,
not straight: the tops are turned to 45° outward, this makes them look
straight when they are viewed side-on. See picture which may explain this
better.
A pair of
printed couplings are supplied with the models. On the 00n3 they are printed
under the footplate while on the 009 they are printed under the roof, along
with the other small detail parts such as the exhaust and work lamps. For the
prototype models, I have used one printed and one Greenwich type coupling on
the 00n3, and both printed on the 009 versions.
© 2017
David Hurst All Rights Reserved
|
Glazing interior details
For the
windows I have used thin acetate saved from old packaging which is glued with a
contact adhesive and is great if you have curved or awkward shaped glazing,
being thin and flexible to use. I fit the glazing when building the model, and
then fix it in place in the final stages after the painting is completed, and
before any weathering is done.
Vacuum pipes
These are white metal from a Vale of Rheidol coach; supplied in sets by Dundas Models. I used two of the smaller one on these models.
Painting
After initial
preparation of the model it was given a couple of light coats of matt grey
primer then burnished and smoothed, with a final coat of primer to finish off.
A base coat of matt white was applied before the cream was added (the grey is
too dark for a cream base coat). After this had time to dry I used a mix of
Revel No 36 red and No 331 red burgundy on the lower part of the body. The cream on
the upper bodywork was a mix of No 5 white and No15 yellow. The footplate,
roof, handrails, lamps and windows were all done in a charcoal grey No 9. I
dry brushed a little silver around the mechanical parts under the footplate
which highlights the details; also some gloss varnish gives the impression of
oil on these areas. The impression of rust was added to some areas of the footplate,
buffer beams and running gear with a dry-brushed application of Revel No 37 and
No 85.
I have printed
the C.D.J.C. logo on photographic semi-gloss print paper, which has allowed me
to size and print to suit 4mm scale, and have then fixed it to the model with Cyanoacrylate
(super) glue. The print is sealed with a coat of matt varnish which softens the
edges fix the print and helps bond it to the finished model.
Graphic details
I have used 2mm
white lettering for the “PHOENIX” name; these are from Fox Transfers ref F-G1003
Franklin Heavy 2mm & 1mm. With the aid of a piece of masking tape which had
index marks for each letter I was able to place the individual letters straight
and at the correct spacings on both sides of the cab, the “OE” arrangement
being the fiddliest as the “O” is cut vertically and joined to the front of the
“E”. The other point to note is that there are only two letter X’s on the Fox
transfer sheet. As I was making two models this left me two short. I overcame
this shortfall of letters by cutting the bottom leg of two of the Y’s and
joined them together one part upside down.
© 2017
David Hurst All Rights Reserved
|
The number 11
plates on the upper cab sides were drawn to scale and I asked Narrow Planet to produce
a pair of these brass-etched plates for each model. After painting the
background in a matching red to the lower bodywork, the number plates were
added to each side of the cab, fixed in place with the Cyanoacrylate (super)
glue.
© 2017 David Hurst All Rights Reserved |
© 2017 Paul Titmuss All Rights Reserved |
In early 2020 Kato introduced there new and updated versions of their popular 11-103 and 11-104 chassis, these are now phasing out and being replaced by the 11-109 and 11-110. With this change, I have made some simple alterations to my models using these chassis.
If you would like a copy of this model it is available on Shapeways at Model Engine Works: