Interlocking

Introduction

I’ve always craved some of the four-coupled passenger tanks of the Brighton Line – the fact that they are not represented at all in model form has always been something of a mystery to me, as anyone modelling the BR(S) central division is likely to want a large share of them.

The one emollient to this omission is that there is a resin body shell available which can be mounted to an RTR chassis to provide a convincing representation of a D3, the apogee of the four-coupled design with a trailing bogie instead of a single trailing axle.

I’ve always had mixed success with locomotive kit building, so as a halfway house I am hoping this helps me regain some confidence as well as providing a much needed alternative to my E4’s.

The Prototype

The D-class tank locomotives were the passenger equivalent of the E-class, with two larger diameter coupled driving axles for higher speed on the lighter loads.

Originally decked out in Bill Stroudley’s ochre livery, the D3’s appear to have lost their names and been repainted into Marsh’s brown colours around 1906.

The D3 was produced by Billinton in the late 1890’s to replace the aging D1’s, whose 0-4-2T’s and light weight was proving problematic on the ever increasing passenger train sizes. The D3 shared mechanials with the C2, and a boilder with the E4.

The Model

The basis of the model is a Hornby M7 married to a Golden Arrow Productions bodyshell.

There are a number of parts not supplied with the kit which will need to be purchased separately:

• Salter Safety Valve Stems and Levers: (Alan Gibson 4M923)
• Westinghouse Pump (Alan Gibson 4M602)
• Westinghouse Brake Pipes (Alan Gibson 4M702)
• Short and Medium Handrail Knobs (Alan Gibson 4M53 and 4M54)
• Buffers (Alan Gibson 4904)
• Lamp Irons (RT Models) ✅
• Smokebox Darts (RT models) ✅
• Whistle (Alan Gibson 4M606)

Right now, I also have an SER O-Class which needs some parts, so I am consolidating the requirements into a single order to avoid the faff of payment and delivery to AG from whom the remaining parts are found.