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| Click on the image to enlarge. |
I recently purchased this fine high-resolution post card image of 23 on ebay for a song. It's a little known image of this Scrap Tank and shows the engine in its early days at Perth, still in its original livery, with the company title in full on the side tanks. There are signs of wear and hard service which would suggest the picture was taken some time after the engine entered service in 1903.
The photo cropped up after I'd finished construction of the engine and resulted in a few retrospective additions, which would have been easier at the outset, nevertheless these details though minor, added a satisfying completeness to the model.
The interior of the cab is partially visible, revealing an upright rod topped by a winder, affixed to the front of the inner bunker which the fireman or driver has his right hand on; I think it might be a water valve. Whatever it is, it was worthwhile adding to increase interest in the cab interior.
Behind the cab step can be discerned the downward extension of the brake column, masked by the crew member. I added this elusive detail, which rarely shows up on photos, along with its link to the rear cross-member, which completed the brake rigging of the engine.
If you look closely at the cylinders I think you'll agree that they are not a pair as the nearside has a rivetted cover and the offside a plain one. I did not model this oddity as I think it was probably a temporary one and in any case my model represents the engine after 1919, in its days in service at Inverness. By this time the livery would have been updated so that only the initials H . R appeared on the tanks and I'm sure the cylinder covers would have been regularised by then.
Of interest also is the buffer beam, which doesn't seem to display the usual insignia, though this may be due to wear. The cylinder drain-cocks are of an early pattern and are not linked together. On the plate between the cylinders there is a curious central triangle of bolt heads; I modelled these just for fun.
I'd be interested to hear from any member who has a copy of this photo or has seen it before anywhere.
