My Locomotives: LNER O2

Recently built Nu-Cast white metal kit of Gresley's Heavy Freight 2-8-0 Class O2 locomotive, bought at 2012's Warley Model Railway Exhibition, Birmingham NEC UK.

The locomotive was primarily solder assembled in preference to adhesive, because in my opinion, for easiness / speed / correction. Not withstanding that many joint imperfections and gaps can be filled with solder during the build progress and then filed out. Although I have to say this course of action does ruin your files, so buy cheap.

Unfortunately the supplied chassis was fabricated for the XO4 'open frame' or similar motor being the norm at the time of the kits production, obviously with the disappointment that part of the motor and worm are visible under the boiler, a situation I plan to rectify in the future with a High Level gearbox and 126:1 gears. The motor will be placed in a trailing position driving the rear axle opposed to the second axle as present, thus concealing her from view.

Chassis ready for locomotive haulage, testing for clearance's, short circuits, valve gear/coupling rod binding.

Loco Body, Chassis, Footplate and Tender ready for Paint Shop 

Currently she is equipped with 50:1 gears with a 30 year old Tri-ang XO4 motor, and surprisingly, following a running in period of some 20 mins in both directions there has been no hint of trouble, e.g. over heating, although she's somewhat noisy.

To enable her to run on my DCC system I have hard wired a TCS MC2 decoder and to enhance her slow running characteristics, making full use of the gear ratio mentioned above, and limiting her top speed I have created her own speed table using JMRI's De-Coder Pro software also with modification to the acceleration/de-acceleration CV values.

I have also, as with all my locomotives, increased her weight to 18 oz (510 grams in today's money) ) excluding the tender, which I believe would knock spots off any RTR steam outline loco on haulage.

Locomotive brake gear and wheel balance weights not supplied in the kit have been added, together with a crew, headlamps, smokebox number plate, early BR totem's and running number (each number being applied individually) and Kadee couplings both front and rear.

In Service

Please enjoy, letting me have any comments/improvements etc, at your leisure.
Thank you.
Graham DA Hefferman. (@yellowwellies)