A different shade of blue: Modelling the diesel era of the Great Eastern

In the words of the great Monty Python, "and now for something completely different":

It is perhaps presumptive of me, for which I apologise in advance, but I would imagine that most people joining a society dedicated to a pre-grouping company are likely to have their interests firmly rooted in the steam era; I myself am here because of my fascination with the railways of East Anglia in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, particularly those in my home county of Norfolk. However, I am of an age where my childhood memories of the GE mainline are not those of steam powered workhorses, but are actually of Anglia Railways liveried Class 86 electric locos! I also grew up in a time and locality that aligned with the then fledgling Mid Norfolk Railway and so my childhood influences from the "real" railway were those of diesel locomotives shunting the yard at Dereham. This particular influence has never left me and so my contribution to this showcase is not one of blue steam locos, but in fact blue diesels. What follows are modelling snapshots of the "blue era" of British Rail, spanning three time periods, covering the 1960's, 1970's and 1980's.



First up we have the late 1960's, represented by Norwich based Class 03 shunter D2175:

D2175 was allocated to Norwich 32A from 11/11/1967 and was one of the earlier locos to carry BR blue, denoted by the fact it still carried it's D pre-fix despite being painted in the new corporate livery. It retained this form for a number of years, as can be seen in this photo taken at Yarmouth on 24/07/1972:  D2175 Yarnmouth 24.07.72 | MasonPhenix19 | Flickr . The inspiration for me to model the loco came from a segment of colour footage showing the loco at both Dereham and Yaxham sometime in 1968 - This can be viewed here:  Watch Threat of Closure online - BFI Player .

The base model is a ready-to-run Bachmann Class 03 on which I've done the following modifications:
- Renumbered to D2175
- Added BR arrows and loco data panels
- Added overhead electric warning flashes
- Removed the radiator feed pipes off the nose (as these were a later feature)
- Repainted the nose grille black
- Fabricated and fitted bonnet steps out of plastic u-channel strips
- Fitted an etched 32A shedplate on the bonnet
- Attached a shunter's pole to the bufferbeam
- And finally, weathered by hand

   

The model admittedly retains it's NEM couplings but this is to ensure compatibility with my rolling stock until an alternative arrangement is found. I have acquired and done detailing/weathering work on quite a range of period appropriate wagons as I have a particular interest in the late 1960's pick up freight scene of Norfolk, with Class 31's trundling up lines long since closed to passenger traffic; a small selection of these wagons can be seen with D2175.

    

   

 

The brakevan seen is a pre-weathered Bachmann model that I have detailed by adding vacuum pipes as well as side and tail lamps and a screw link coupling to the rear end.

 

Finally, and of particular note, is Conflat A TDB708135, a Norwich based shunter's running wagon that, whilst in a slightly later yellow livery, was too good a find not to acquire and pair up with D2175. I have weathered this wagon and added a brake pipe to each end.

 



We move forward now to the mid-1970's, represented by 37003:

37003 has two notable links to our region; the loco started life as D6703 and was part of the 'prototype' batch of English Electric's new 'Type 3' locomotives. Delivered new to Stratford, the loco entered traffic on 28/12/1960 and played a key role in changing the status quo on the GEML, plying its trade until transfer to Wath in September 1967. The second link is a more recent one, as the loco was preserved in 1998 by the Class 37 Locomotive Group and is now based at Dereham on the Mid Norfolk Railway. It is this latter event that inspired me to acquire this model.

The base model is a limited edition ready-to-run release by Bachmann, commissioned by the C37LG in 2010, that had sat in my collection for a good decade before I decided to do some detailing work on it earlier this year. The detailing pack supplied by Bachmann is somewhat lacking, with Bachmann only supplying a screw link coupling hook, multiple working cable and an oversized air pipe for each end, with no vac pipes present in the pack.

A suitable reference photo was sourced showing a fresh looking 37003 outside Doncaster works in 1976 ( 1976 - '37 at the Works.. | BR EE Type 3 (Class 37) 37003 at… | Flickr ) and this highlighted several details I would need to consider:
- The loco was still fitted with frost grilles at this time (these were supplied by Bachmann)
- The loco still had all four of its EE works plates (one per cabside)
- The air pipes for the bogie cylinders were picked out in white and notably visible under the bufferbeam; this was something I wished to replicate.
- Earlier photos from 1974 suggest the loco was still fitted with a steam heat pipe despite having lost its boiler circa 1967, but this was gone by the time of the 1976 photo I would be working from. As the loco was not yet fitted with air pipes, the loco would need to be modelled in vac only condition, with the hole for the air pipe supplied by Bachmann needing to be "capped off".

In order to get around the visual issue with NEM couplings, a wire coupling loop was designed to be drilled into the bufferbeam but to sit behind the cowling to hide the join. The air pipe hole was capped off using cuts from thin plastic rod, pushed into place and painted black. New bufferbeam pipework was cut and shaped from lengths of thin wire, with a bent attachment point on the end to superglue it behind the bufferbeam and allow it to hang forward under the cowling. The additional pipework for the bogie cylinders was made by cutting lengths of wire to 22mm, bending the ends to hook into the redundant snowplough fixing points on the bogies (a relic of an older tooling) and suitably curving these to sit over the NEM socket (the bottom one of the three curving more than the top one). Vac pipes were then sourced and fitted, as were the coupling hooks. Finally, the frost grilles were attached using acrylic satin varnish, as were the EE works plates.

 

 

As a final, shameless note on 37003, I must confess I am actually on the committee with the C37LG as their Publicity Officer. We are currently undertaking a substantial engine rebuild to rectify a number of mechanical issues, alongside a full body restoration to bring the loco back to "as built" condition. This is being done under the guise of what we are calling 'Project 3-60', of which you can find out more by following this link:  The Class 37 Locomotive Group (c37lg.co.uk) . If you would like to see an old GE workhorse returned to its former glory, please consider supporting our cause. Thank you.



Completing our time travelling exploits, we now move forward to 1987 which is represented by celebrity loco 37116:

37116 was a long term Stratford machine, having been transferred there in January 1975. In 1987 the loco was treated to a fresh paint job and a unique livery, being displayed at Norwich Crown Point open day on 30/05/1987 ( Class37.co.uk ) in a striking variation of BR 'Large Logo' livery, whereby instead of having full wrap-round yellow ends and a grey roof, the loco simply sported a yellow bonnet and front window surround. The livery was embellished with the Stratford 'Cockney Sparrow' motif. I have a soft spot for unique livery variants and so this GE machine was another must for my collection.



The base model is another limited edition ready-to-run release by Bachmann and the process for detailing was very similar to that on 37003, albeit with a number of detail differences:
- The top bogie air pipe was red, rather than white.
- The loco was fitted with air brakes and so would need an air brake pipe on the bufferbeam.
- The loco was fitted with longer main reservoir pipes which, by this date in history, had yellow taps rather than the white used on earlier period locos (such as 37003).
- No EE works plates or frost grilles featured on the loco by this point in history.
- My reference photos included patchwork repairs on the vac pipe with blue tape and so this detail was added.

The air and main res pipes were Hornby parts, being a much finer representation than their Bachmann counterparts. Interestingly, much like 37003, there was a discrepancy between boiler and bufferbeam attachments; in this instance 37116 was still fitted with its boiler, but this had been isolated on 18th February 1983 and as such there was no steam heat pipe present.

 

 

 



And so, with our final time period covered, all that's left to say is "That's Yer Lot!". Thank you kindly for taking the time to come and have a look at some of my work and I hope you enjoy the rest of the GERS Modelling Showcase!

Best wishes

James