2–6–0 Tender Locomotive
Built by Adrian Ashford in June 2010
These locomotives, together with a 2–6–2 tank-engine version, were introduced by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1947, a year before the railways were nationalised. They were a great advance on the older Victorian designs they were intended to replace, not only in terms of accessibility for maintenance and servicing, but also in comfort for the footplate crew, with virtually fully-enclosed cabs and a good view when running tender first.
This model is built to 1:18 scale, this being dictated by the diameter of the parts used for the wheels, which are in fact slightly undersized, and has been built as accurately as possible, within the limits and constraints imposed by the Meccano system. I found a dimensioned drawing in the March/April 1947 issue of Railway Magazine.
Although built from predominantly parts from the Light Red-Green era (1959–1964) it also incorporates parts from earlier and later periods, including zinc-plated strips, various French-made parts and red strips from recent years, and some Blue-Gold era flexible plates. Two early ¾" wide double brackets, which were made between 1911 and 1917, were found to be ideal for fixing the ladder to the rear of the tender.
The locomotive has fully working Walschaerts valve-gear. A Meccano motor with six-ratio gearbox, mounted in the tender and driving the front and rear wheels, easily drives the model on its short length of track. Power is supplied by six AA batteries.
June 2011
Since this model was last shown I have found a comprehensive feature in the February 1947 Meccano Magazine about this loco, with photos of the loco cab interior and front of the tender. I have consequently made slight modifications to my tender front, as mine was originally based on guesswork!