A Dean Conundrum.

[John Candy]

A Dean Conundrum.

I am left with a Dean Goods loco body after removing the chassis and tender for use with other locos.
History : The loco. was built by Roger Marsh for Roger McL, utilising loco chassis and tender parts produced by Walsall Model Industries. The parts were intended to have been part of a Collett 2251 class 0-6-0 but Roger asked Roger to build a Dean Goods.

To cut a long story short, I already have a Dean Goods (I built from a GRS kit) and the surplus tender (a Churchward 3500 gallon) is not a type coupled to Dean's Goods locos (they ran with Dean tenders of 2500 and 3000 gallon patterns).

My solution has been to couple the tender to a Bulldog 4-4-0 (3444 "Cormorant" of the final "Bird" Series) and use the 0-6-0 chassis under a 2251 Colett 0-6-0 (as originally intended) and couple that to new-build 3000 gallon Dean tender.

Still with me or have I lost you?

Anyhow, I am "snowed under" with projects at present, so commissioned Mike Danby to build the Bulldog loco plus the loco body and tender for the 2251 class....... choice was made on premise that they would suit Monkton Priors as well as my own line.

The conundrum? Well, I am left with a surplus Dean loco body which is too good to waste but what to do with it?!!

The boiler and cab can be readily adapted for other Dean locos. The only class that I can see at present which suits the available parts and fits my model period is a "Barnum" 32XX class 2-4-0 tender loco. (the last was withdrawn at beginning of 1937).

Any thoughts?

John.

[John Candy]

A bit more research and with help from RCTS Locomotives of GWR Part 7 (Dean's Larger Tender Locomotives) I have a tentative plan.

The Barnum boiler and firebox were not the same length as the 2301 class( Dean Goods) and the wheels were larger (would have meant re-jigging the cab as well as the splashers).

However, the rather "quirky" 3521 class 4-4-0 had the same wheels (5ft 2ins) as the 2301 and a few carried the same boiler. The coupled wheelbase is 3 ins greater than the 2301 but since a new chassis will be built, the only alterations to the body (above running plate level) will be to remove the sandboxes and leading splashers  (filling the holes left in the running plate) and moving the middle splashers forward a few millimetres to accommodate the longer coupled wheelbase. The only additions to the running plate will be the axle springs which sit in front of the splashers, these locos having outside frames with extended axles and flying cranks.
A new tender will be required and this is definitely a "back burner" project!

The last 3521 was withdrawn during 1931  (a few years earlier than I would have liked) but it will look good at Monkton Priors, alongside the Dean Goods and Bulldog.

John.