Which loco to build?

I have been thinking about building a loco for a few years now. I even went as far as buying drawings and a few castings but the design seemed very ‘semi-scale’ and the castings didn't resemble the drawings or the real thing...

Anyway time has passed - years actually but the idea won’t go away. Coincidentally earlier this year I discovered that my great grandfather and great uncle were both boilermakers at Darlington. Great granddad went on to draw a pension according to my research but his son - Eli Cleminson died on the Somme on 15 September 1916.

So While ruminating about Eli and locomotives I wondered about bringing the two threads together and thought about researching and (perhaps) building something that Eli might have worked on at Darlington before going off to war.

I have a preference for goods loco’s, perhaps 060? I would want to build in one of the larger scales - I am not a watch-maker!

Does anyone know what was being built or refurbished at Darlington pre 1st war for which model drawings exist?

Apologies for such a long post.

Regards Paul

Hello Paul,

The main loco works in Darlington in those days was at the North Road Works. That vanished many years ago to become Morrison's Supermarket, North Road to distinguish it from the one on the opposite side of town near the southern bypass and the road to Yarm

There is a railway museum not far from the old loco works site, I imagine they will be able to offer a number of build suggestions to you and worth visiting if you are visiting the area. Google rail.co.uk to see more

Regards

Brian

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Hi Bill and Brian

Thank you for your replies.

I was initially thinking about an loco that would have been around before the first war - however I can see that the J39 is a handsome machine.

Do you know how accurate the plans are? I previously purchased Springbok plans in 5 inch but I discovered that they were not too accurate. I am not obsessive about 'rivet-counting' but I don't want to start a long-term project only to find I am not building a scale model so much as a pastiche of something.

Kind regards

Paul

Paul, I have always thought the J15 (0-6-0) which pulls a tender a nice subject., it fits the period date wise that you are looking for. I have not researched it though so dont know if drawings/castings are available.

Might be worth a search

p.s. I know its modelled in 00 and 0 gauge but dont know if it has been in larger scales.

Ron

Edited By Ron Laden on 01/01/2019 11:35:26

Edited By Ron Laden on 01/01/2019 11:40:18

The Aspinall J27 0-6-0 (LMS loco) seems to tick some of your boxes. Although it is from the other side of the country from Darlington, it may still be worth considering.

Regards,

Phil