Let's Tango! O2 to be produced

[Bigmet]

Very good news with this morning's Danish: the Gresley O2 2-8-0. So from no native LNER heavy freight power two years ago, we have the O4, O1 and now the O2 announced to accompany the purchased WD 2-8-0s which ran as LNER O7 for the last couple of years of the company's existence. So, all it needs now is 'someone' to announce a Q6, and that neatly rounds out the eight coupled picture...

[D605Eagle]

Q4

[Bigmet]

I have seriously looked at carefully taking a saw to an O4 to get to a Q4 (this is on behalf of a friend whose hand tremor has cut short his modelling activity) and reckon a good result is possible. Said friend is thinking about it. I think he is torn at the thought of a very good Bachmann O4 model getting cut up, even in a good cause!

[D605Eagle]

If you do go that route, keep an eye on Hattons, they keep selling off O4s very cheaply indeed.

[Bigmet]

You read my mind. I have a couple in the bank, standing ready for whatever befalls. If one them doesn't go Q4, then eventually there will be both an O4/7 and O4/8

[bike2steam]

If one them doesn't go Q4, then eventually there will be an O4/8

(liberally edited )

You mean summat like this ?? I suppose it's asking too much for an S1 ??

[D605Eagle]

I suppose it's asking too much for an S1 ??

Yes.....But I'll have one! Is even longer than a GWR 2-8-2T so cornering might be ermmmmmmm interesting!

[Bigmet]

If one them doesn't go Q4, then eventually there will be an O4/8

...You mean summat like this?...

That's the baby! Mine will look like it has driven through a manure heap and been left to rust for a fortnight...

[D605Eagle]

Are you going to use anything from Bill Bedfords stable? I saw he did a 3D print of an O4/5 boiler/firebox about 9 months ago. No idea if hes done a production run or done any other O4 variants.

[Bigmet]

Got a heap of Bachmann B1 body parts from long ago worn out split chassis models, so that's what I will be carving up instead of buying anything new.

[6C]

Very good news with this morning's Danish: the Gresley O2 2-8-0. So from no native LNER heavy freight power two years ago, we have the O4, O1 and now the O2 announced to accompany the purchased WD 2-8-0s which ran as LNER O7 for the last couple of years of the company's existence. So, all it needs now is 'someone' to announce a Q6, and that neatly rounds out the eight coupled picture...

You missed out the O6 - from the Darlington-built batch of course !!!

I believe the Q4 originated the 'Tiny' nickname which was latter passed on to the 04

[D605Eagle]

Very good news with this morning's Danish: the Gresley O2 2-8-0. So from no native LNER heavy freight power two years ago, we have the O4, O1 and now the O2 announced to accompany the purchased WD 2-8-0s which ran as LNER O7 for the last couple of years of the company's existence. So, all it needs now is 'someone' to announce a Q6, and that neatly rounds out the eight coupled picture...

You missed out the O6 - from the Darlington-built batch of course !!!

I believe Hornby have already done them. IIRC isn't that 8F those poisionous GWR lot are destroying to make yet another generic western heap (as if we haven't got enough already) an ex O6?

[Bigmet]

I missed out the O6 deliberately through not being very interested in it: the LNER got rid as fast as it could, preferring the WD. Neither were Doncaster much taken with the 8F when they were compelled to build it under WD direction, and discovered it was more expensive (over-engineered) than the freight locos they built. It was Doncaster that persuaded Riddles to drop the expensive Belpaire nonsense and make the WD 2-8-0 with the cheaper round top boiler among other things.

[bike2steam]

I missed out the O6 deliberately through not being very interested in it: the LNER got rid as fast as it could, preferring the WD. Neither were Doncaster much taken with the 8F when they were compelled to build it under WD direction, and discovered it was more expensive (over-engineered) than the freight locos they built. It was Doncaster that persuaded Riddles to drop the expensive Belpaire nonsense and make the WD 2-8-0 with the cheaper round top boiler among other things.

Oh my, that's a little contentious when the WD was based on the 8F, but cheaper, quicker to build (fabricated parts replacing cast) version - dont forget the O2 was considered before the 8F as a WD design, but was rejected because it was THE most expensive 2-8-0 to build, and maintain - something to do with a third cylinder .

[Bigmet]

The O2 was also a lot better tractively, three cylinder starting, you get what you pay for. Very little price difference 8F to O2. The tapered Belpaire boiler with its higher first cost and maintenance excess over the simpler round top about balances out the third cylinder. What clearly wasn't on for a wartime product was the conjugating gear, the detail design of which was not completely solved at that time, meaning that it required extra maintenance effort from skilled fitters, which just wasn't going to happen.

Far and away the the largest saving that Doncaster persuaded Riddles to go for in the 'cost down' of the 8F to get to the WD was the round top boiler: cheaper in first cost, lower maintenance, more than adequate power output for a loco not generally expected to do more than 40mph under wartime conditions. The 8F boiler would at the limit out-steam the WD's round top by about 10%, but that extra capacity simply wasn't required for the design requirement.