GEOFF TYLER - RAILWAY MODELLER: November 2016

This weekend is of course the big national model railway exhibition at the NEC Birmingham but if you aren't going there then this is an excellent alternative and avoids all the traffic chaos on the motorways at the weekend.

ADDRESS [map available at end of this page]

Etonbury Academy, Stotfold Road

Arlesey, Bedfordshire
SG15 6XS

Saturday 26th November 2016
OPENING TIMES: 10am-4.30pm
ADMISSION: Adults £5.00 Concessions £4.00
Please note that there is NO charge for children under 16 when accompanied by an adult.

This is their 32nd Model Railway Exhibition with 20 layouts covering most scales and gauges. Full trade support, also modelling demonstrations and displays by local and national railway societies. Refreshments available, free parking and full access for the disabled.

List of Layouts Attending:

Fen Drove - 0 - John Hobden
Wantage - 0 - D S Cox

Grange West Tramway - 0-16.5 - John Dean
Snow in the Glen - 0-16.5 - Noel Davis
Oldshaw - EM - Maggie Clark and Alan Bevan
Orestone Quay - 00 - Burgess Hill MRC
Loweston - 00 - Waveney Valley MRC
St. Lukes - 00 - Ray Lewis
Coleford - OO9 - John Wilkes
Lemmington Park - H0 - Western MRS
Obervaz - H0m - Norwich MRC
Stamford East - N - Robin Fox

Loughborough Derby Road - N - Stephen Sims
Deanmoor - N - Jon Dean
Tormouth - N - Paul Churchill
Schwungischer Platz - N - Mark Fuller
Koln Westbahnhof - N - Brian Silby
Anzdorf - Z - Ann Silby
Lincoln - Z - Dave Dawes

List of Traders Attending:

Alban Rail Garden Railways

Chris Roberts Continental Pre-Owned
H & A Models Kits
Ian's Trains Pre-Owned
JB Model World Storage Cases
Joe Lock Pre-Owned
Keiths Model Railways 00 RTR New and Pre-Owned
Model Scenery Supplies
Model Roads & Tramways Diecast Vehicles
Nine Elms Pre-Owned
Plus Daughters N Gauge British Continental and American
Videolines DVDS and Gifts

Nearest Railway Stations :
Arlesey [0.92 miles]
Letchworth Garden City [2.83 miles]
Baldock [3.1 miles]
Biggleswade [4.47 miles]

(ex LNER) Class N5 British Railways livery No. -- 69307

Gladiator Model Kits sell a 7mm scale (O gauge) kit that builds the N5 or N4 0-6-2T. And I have to presume that it must be one of those as my father made a number of different models using Gladiator kits and I have seen at least 2 or 3 different styles of N2, N5, N7 models that he created all having slightly different unqiue fittings included with them.

Have found some information about this class;
Built 1898, Withdrawn December 1960

Parker introduced the 0-6-2T arrangement to the Manchester Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR, later GCR) in 1889 as the N4. The basic design proved successful, and in 1891 he revised the design to produce the LNER N5. The MS&LR would classify the N5s as 9F, and used class 9C and 9O for two variants (see below). The revision replaced the original Joy valve gear with Stephenson link motion. He also replaced the round-topped firebox with a Belpaire firebox. In fact, the N5 prototype MS&LR No. 7 was the first locomotive built for a British railway to use the Belpaire design. The neighbouring Beyer Peacock & Co had been using them for a few years, but all of these locomotives were built for export.

Due to the experimental nature of No. 7's firebox, eleven months elapsed before the second locomotive (No. 47) was built. This was followed shortly afterwards by a third, No. 171. This experimental batch of three became class 9C. This length trial period appears to have proved useful because a weakness in the valve gear layout was identified. The valve rods were supported by tubular slide bars fixed to the motion bracket, with the motion bracket positioned in-front of the rocking shaft. All of the production locomotives had a slightly different arrangement and were classified 9F. These had suspension links fixed in-front of the motion plate, supporting the valve rods. The rocking shaft was also behind, and this gave an indirect drive to the valve via a spindle link. This arrangement proved highly successful and was used on virtually all subsequent MS&LR/GCR locomotives and Gresley's J38s and J39s.

The design was also ordered by Parker's successors, Pollitt and Robinson, resulting in a total of 131 N5s being built between 1891 and 1901. A total of twelve batches including the experimental batch were built. Four of these locomotives worked with other railways. Nos. 754-5 were sold by the MS&LR to the West Lancashire Railway in 1894 and painted purple. The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway took over the West Lancashire Railway in 1897 and retired the two 9Fs in 1914. The other two were ordered by the Wrexham Mold & Connah's Quay Railway (WM&CQR) in 1896, and were numbered 17 & 18. The Great Central Railway (GCR) absorbed the WM&CQR in 1905 and renumbered these two engines 409 &. 410 respectively. This brought the GCR's total roster to 129, all of which entered LNER ownership in 1923. It should also be noted that the WM&CQR hired three further 9Fs from the MS&LR/GCR between 1896 and 1901.

Class N5/3 No. 9311 at Lincoln in 1948; Larger side tanks, Ross pop safety valves, and footsteps at front
With construction occurring over eleven years and twelve batches, they were built with a number of boiler of variations. The main trend was a general reduction in the heating surfaces of the boilers. The last six locomotives were built with what would become LNER Diagram 21. This boiler design was eventually fitted to all of the N5s. This boiler was one of the first that Robinson experimented with super-heating, and a total of ten N5s had super-heaters fitted between 1915 and 1923. All of the super-heaters would eventually be removed. The last was removed in 1943, although No. 5410 was withdrawn in 1936 before its super-heater was removed.

The first N5 to be super-heated was No. 771 (LNER No. 9311) in November 1915. This was also rebuilt to increase the coal and water capacity. The smokebox was extended to take the new super-heater, but the side-tanks were also extended to be inline with the front of the new smokebox. The tanks had openings to allow maintenance of the valve motion. The sides of the coal bunker were raised, and the back was curved at the top. The radial trailing axle was replaced by a pony truck, allowing tighter curves to be negotiated. When the super-heater was removed in 1930, the extended bunker, tanks, and smokebox were retained. The GCR classified No. 771 as 9O, and the LNER gave it the sub-class of N5/3 in 1938. It is thought that the modifications were to allow No.771 to haul a shuttle service between Chester and Connah's Quay. However, it only worked this service for fourteen months before being re-allocated and never hauled another passenger service.

In common with most of the GCR locomotives, the original chimneys were replaced with shorter chimneys and domes to fit within the LNER Composite Loading Gauge. Unmodified locomotives were given the sub-class of N5/1, whilst the modified locomotives became N5/2. These modifications occurred between 1925 and were completed in 1938. The N5/2 designation was eventually dropped. The N4s and N5s became the GCR's standard shunting and trip working locomotives. After finishing the last N5, the GCR only built specialised shunting locomotives, e.g. for dock and hump shunting. At Grouping, the N5s were distributed amongst twelve sheds, with large allocations at Gorton and Mexborough. Shortly after Grouping (1923), the LNER purchased large numbers of ROD O4 2-8-0s which displaced older J11 0-6-0s onto the Mexborough trip working duties. This dispersed Mexborough's N5 allocation throughout the GC system. The displaced N5s tended to take over J58 and J59 saddle tanks which were being withdrawn at the same time.

In the late 1930s, the J11s also displaced many of Gorton's N5s to other duties. Some moved to Trafford Park where they hauled passenger services, and replaced J10s on their shunting duties. During the 1940s, a number of N5s were allocated to the GN Section. N5s allocated to Bradford hauled passenger trains to Halifax via Queensbury. Copley Hill had an allocation that acted as the Leeds Central station pilot, but also hauled a number of local services during World War 2. Retford and Newark also had allocations for shunting work.

Withdrawal

The first withdrawal occurred in 1936, but only eight had been withdrawn by 1945. The remaining 121 locomotives all survived into British Railways ownership (1948). The rapid introduction of diesel shunting locomotives during the 1950s took their toll and withdrawals of the surviving N5s in the late 1950s was rapid. Many were stored during this time. Two of these stored locomotives were moved to Tyne Dock for banking duties, but this appears to have been unsuccessful as they were moved to New England after a few months.

Sheffield (Darnall) had the last large allocation, and these were replaced in 1959 by diesel shunters. Nineteen N5s survived at the beginning of 1960, and all were withdrawn before the end of the year. The last N5 was withdrawn from Gorton in December.

Preservation

The last N5 was withdrawn at the end of 1960, and none of these pioneers of the Belpaire firebox survived into preservation.