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The National 2½" Gauge Association |
Over the years there has been steady flow of interest in LBSC's locomotive Ayesha. Members who were able to visit the Model Engineer Exhibition at Sandown Park just after Christmas 2003 will have seen that through the kindness of their respective owners, we were able to show both Challenger and Ayesha on our stand. These were the two locomotives featuring in the 1924 saga of 'the battle of the boilers'.
Both before and during the time I have been responsible for the Association's patterns there have been enquires about building Ayesha. Some members have gone as far as purchasing copies of drawings or reprints of the articles that appeared in English Mechanics magazine in 1931 but I only know of two locomotives that are actually being built. One of the main problems has been the lack of suitable castings and the incompleteness of the published design, compared with what we would expect today.
The Association's custody of Ayesha, while the owner moves house, has enabled a more detailed study of the locomotive to be made than is possible by just having a look at it while it has been on display at exhibitions. The locomotive is based on castings supplied by Bond's o' Euston Road for their GNR Atlantic believed to be from a design by Henry Greenly, shown on drawing BS 300/A. It would be quite natural for LBSC to use this as a basis for his Marsh Atlantic, as he had been employed on that railway in his youth. The Bond's design is shorter than scale length, to accommodate the rather sharp curves on some scenic railways of the period.
The GNR Atlantic is difficult to reproduce in miniature because of limited clearances between the driving wheel flanges employed in 2½" gauge. This means the size of the driving wheels has to be reduced and or other dimensions modified to maintain the main proportions of the original. As a result LBSC's Ayesha is considerably shorter than scale length and is not really a very good basis for an accurate model of either Ivatt or Marsh Atlantic.
It was discovered that the design published in English Mechanics is not the same as LBSC's locomotive. Ayesha herself was reboilered in late 1937 and other modifications have been introduced over the years, so is not in its totally original condition.
To resolve some of these issues some of the group involved in the recent Sandown exhibition met to discuss what the Association should do about the situation. Following this meeting a number of other members were contacted to see how they viewed the situation. To contact everybody would have cost me about £100 in postage, so the letter of enquiry was restricted to those who we knew had purchased copies of the articles in the past or those we thought might be particularly interested in this project. The proposition was basically, do we provide a design based on LBSC‘s locomotive as it now exists. Do we provide castings for the 1931 design that purports to be Ayesha and is not, or do we provide castings and drawings for an Ivatt Atlantic, with enough detail to enable those who so wish to build the Brighton version?
There was a very good response from those contacted, with much useful additional information and suggestions. Views and suggestions from any member who has not been contacted would still be most welcome.
The replies indicated that there was a substantial demand for a replica of Ayesha as she now is but incorporating any features that LBSC would have adopted, had he been in his prime and alive today. A significant group would like to see a modern design for the Great Northern Ivatt Atlantic, even incorporating balanced slide valves. A smaller but significant number of members would like the LBSCR Marsh Atlantic. It is good that we are all individuals and do not think alike!
Some drawings have already been created, by one of the team. They show what a modernised version of Ayesha, based on LBSC's own engine, might look like. The other dictum that has gone through our thoughts is that the locomotive should be within the scope of a builder whose main or possibly only machine tools are a small simple lathe and a drilling machine. To this end water jet cut frames and other components that lend themselves to this process and are being studied. Castings for the buffer beam incorporating the guard irons, Averill cylinders and the wheels are envisaged. The original Ayesha incorporated cast tender frames that we believe were of Bond's origin. Enquires are being put in hand to see what the cost of a lost wax casting would be for this item. Items like axle driven pumps, tender hand water pump, smoke box door, the chimney, dome and so on, may well come from the Association's existing range of castings. While the team are all very enthusiastic about this project, it is not a simple one and will take time to develop. We all have other commitments and demands on our time and the team would welcome your views and offers of help.
When the designer is happy with the accuracy and practicality of the drawings and patterns, an announcement will be made in the Assocaition's bimonthly newsletter.
The Greenly designed "J-R" Atlantic drawings were published by Bonds o' Euston Road, and the Association has obtained blueprints of some of them. The patterns for the J-R manufactured castings have not survived, and so no original castings are now available.
To complete a locomotive, suitable transfers will required unless the builder is adept at painting the appropriate logo, company name and running numbers. The Association stocks suitable Maunsell livery (1923-37) SOUTHERN transfers, but no LNER ones, although these are thought to be still available from Maidstone Engineering. Builders wanting other styles could resort to making their own using a computer, colour inkjet printer and special Decal paper.
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