85A MODELS

Precision-Moulded Railway Models

THIS PRODUCT IS DISCONTINUED.

Last manufactured in 1998. This web site is maintained as information for existing owners only.

For the kit instructions click here


assembled kit photo


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Complete kit in 0 Gauge with working ready-to-run chassis. All-plastic construction - just glue and paint needed to complete - no soldering.

(Track, rolling stock and power-supply not included. This product is not a toy and is not suitable for young children.)


CONTENTS:

This site is divided into 5 zones:

1. Our commercial literature and ordering information.

2. Our updates and additional information for existing owners. This zone also includes the complete kit instruction sheets.

3. Some links to other sites of related interest.

4. A general forum about our Hunslet model, with the latest hints and tips for construction, modifications, additional detailing, prototype information, etc. If you have something which you would like to pass on to other modellers, please let us have it.

5. A picture gallery of finished Hunslets - including yours?


ZONE 1: ABOUT OUR HUNSLET KIT

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Model Specification:

0 Gauge (32 mm track gauge).
7mm/ft scale (1:43.5).
12 volt DC 2-rail.

The frames and body are comprised of superbly detailed injection mouldings, which assemble to form a very rigid single unit. Special attention has been given to achieving thin visible edges, so that the engine has the delicate look of a metal model. The mouldings carry full rivet detail, and the bracketwork on the frames and behind the buffer beams is fully modelled. Detail fittings include four handrails and full brake rigging, and the maker's plate can be read with a magnifier.

Wheels have turned steel rims with detailed moulded centres. These show the different balance-weight position on the centre wheel and the correct axle-end diameter. The steel axles are of split construction for electrical pickup, linked invisibly to the rim on the back of the wheel. The wheels are profiled to Gauge 0 Guild fine-standard dimensions, unless alternative wheels to coarse-standard dimensions are requested to special order.

Coupling rods have full oil-box and knuckle detail and are moulded in an unbreakable material, as are the working buffer heads and some of the smaller fittings.

The powerful and popular Mashima 1833 motor is mounted invisibly in the firebox, leaving full daylight under the boiler and backhead detail in the cab. Gearing is 40:1 to provide excellent and responsive slow running, which is aided by the reliable split-axle pickup system.

3-link couplings and some coal for the bunker complete this fine model.

DIMENSIONS:

Overall length over buffers: 176 mm (25ft 2in)
Wheel diameter: 25.1 mm (3ft 7in 10-spoke)
Wheelbase: 35 + 31.5 mm (5ft + 4ft 6in)

Wheels back-to-back: 29 mm (28 mm or 28.5 mm to order)
Weight: 340 gm (12 oz)

Minimum track radius (continuous running): 750 mm (30 in)
Minimum track radius (yards and sidings): 500 mm (20 in)


Hunslet Locomotive Kit contents:

The chassis/frames/footplate unit is supplied complete, working and ready to run. The body is supplied as a set of just 7 main mouldings for simple assembly with adhesive. All detail parts and fittings are included, just glue and paint are needed to complete. Coal and special lubricant are included, and the sturdy box is large enough to contain the finished model. All parts are supplied unpainted.

The kit contains delicate scale-size moulded handrails, for which all the holes are ready drilled. If required, alternative metal handrails and knobs can be supplied to order, subject to availability. (These are supplied in addition to the moulded ones, not instead of. They are somewhat overscale, but more robust if rough handling is expected.)

A colour photograph, exploded diagram and full assembly instructions are included, written with newcomers to modelling in mind. Click here to read these now.

The coupling rods fitted to the chassis unit can be supplied pre-painted in red to order. They are normally supplied self-colour black.

Background Information:

In the 1920s the Hunslet Engine Co. of Leeds, England introduced a range of industrial shunting engines to this basic design with cylinder diameters ranging from 12 inches to 18 inches. They were all very similar in appearance, each class just a little larger than the preceding one. These locomotives found use in docks, collieries, power stations, brickworks, factories, quarries, gasworks, ironstone workings, etc., and many of them lasted well into the late 1960s or early 1970s, with several surviving to the present-day on preserved steam railways.

We have modelled the middle of the range 15-inch class, which was first manufactured in 1923. An engine with sufficient power to handle heavy mineral loads but on a wheelbase short enough to negotiate sharp yard curves. It is an attractive and workmanlike design, at home shunting sidings and yards everywhere.

Starting in 7mm ?

If you are a newcomer to Gauge 0 or thinking of starting then here is the ideal kit to get you started. A reliable working engine will be your first requirement, and here it is - with a ready-to-run working chassis the difficult part is done for you. This finely-detailed scale model is the perfect engine for a small starter layout such as those featured in the Gauge 0 Guild's planbook "Small Layouts", and will have a place on your railway for years to come.

No time for modelling ?

If you are looking for something less daunting than a complex etched locomotive kit then here is your answer. This kit can be assembled in a couple of evenings and requires no metalworking skills or soldering work. If you can put a wagon kit together you can now build an engine - and know that it will run first time.

Well-established in 0 Gauge ?

If you are an established modeller in 7mm, what could be more agreeable after a time-consuming modern metal kit than this easily assembled locomotive? With a working chassis straight from the box, you could have a running engine painted and lined in a few days. Or take your time, using it as a basis for modification or extra detail work, with no worries about the subsequent running qualities. Every 0 Gauge railway can use this attractive Hunslet shunter.

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ZONE 2: UPDATES AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR OWNERS

Click here to read the complete kit instruction sheets, including the parts list and exploded illustration. These sheets were revised in mid-1997. Owners of earlier editions will find several new points of interest.

UPDATE FEB 98 :

The following points were omitted from the kit instructions, or have arisen in feedback from customers.


EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE LOOSE-FILL PACKING CHIPS

( i.e. the crumbly yellow flakes of padding material inside your parcel. The material we are currently using looks very much like potato crisps! So keep it away from young children and dispose of it carefully. When we next re-order this, we will attempt to get it in a more sensible colour.)

It is possible for this material to mark the surface of plastic models and mouldings after prolonged contact. Seal it inside a polythene bag if you want to use it as packing for your model.


We hope to make this site a general forum about our Hunslet model, with the latest hints and tips for construction, modifications, additional detailing, prototype information, etc. If you have something you would like to pass on to other modellers, please let us have it (by post br email). We also hope to have a picture gallery of finished Hunslets, so if you have a photograph of your model which you would like to show to other modellers, please send it in - we will return it undamaged. All contributions to the site will be duly credited, of course, unless you say otherwise.

We shall be including as many links to other sites of 0 Gauge interest as we can fit in - if you have your own site or know of a useful one, please let us know.

This site is currently under construction, so if your first visit is a little disappointing, please try again soon.


ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS TO THE AXLE PICK-UPS

A note for experienced modellers intending to modify the electrical connections:

If additional wiring to the pick-up assembly is required, make any new connections to the unused forward-facing tags. Soldering to the rear-facing tags in situ can spoil the working of the pick-ups on the centre axle. If the existing wiring to the rear tags needs to be disconnected, this should be done by cutting the wires, not by unsoldering them.


CONTINUOUS DISPLAY RUNNING

This model is designed and intended for domestic and hobby use. If required for commercial display purposes please ask for our advice.

If this model is run at full speed for long periods (for example on a club test-track, or as part of a window display), the motor will become noticeably warm. Although we have not had any cases of motor problems due to overheating, if heavy use is anticipated you may want to bear the following points in mind :

Do not exceed our recommended maximum running weight of 12 oz. (340 gm), or run the model continuously around curves of less than 30 in. (750 mm) radius. Do not load the engine with a train so heavy that wheel-slipping occurs.

Attend to regular maintenance and wheel cleaning, and ensure that the gears and axle bushes are properly lubricated with the special grease supplied. Do not attempt to lubricate the motor - it is maintenance-free.

Many model controllers have a maximum output well in excess of the nominal 12 volt rating. For continuous running a regulated power supply is preferable.

Leave an adequate air-space around the motor when adding weights in the tank space, and avoid blocking completely the air-flow through the tank.

If modifying the cab-to-chassis fixing, or adding weight below the cab, avoid blocking the air-flow under the cab floor into the motor space.

The blind hole in the base of the chimney can be drilled through into the smokebox space to increase air-flow.

Painting the motor matt black will help to keep it cool.

If this model is to be used only for normal intermittent layout running and shunting purposes, air-flow and motor cooling will not need to be considered.


MODIFYING THE KIT

In designing this model we opted for a one-piece assembly to give the maximum strength to the finished structure. This does not mean that the motor becomes inaccessible - see the notes about motor replacement in section A.

But some modellers prefer to be able to dismantle the body of the model from the chassis, and this is not difficult to arrange. The smokebox should be fixed permanently to the chassis, to provide a clip-in front fixing for the separate one-piece cab/tank assembly.

The cab/tank part is then fixed to the rear frames with a bolt through the cab floor. A rectangular piece of thick plastic card (with a hole for the bolt) will need to be fixed between the rear frames. If infrequent dismantling is expected, a self-tapping screw directly into the plastic of the cab floor will be adequate; a thick piece of plastic card cemented to the underside of the cab floor will give more purchase for the screw.

Avoid over-tightening the fixing screw, which could distort the frames, causing the rear axle to bind.

It may be desired to leave the upper cab detachable to allow access to the cab interior. Bear in mind that this modification will reduce the rigidity of the finished body structure. It will be necessary to cut away the front of the upper cab to clear the top of the backhead when engaging the curved rib into the tank, and to chamfer the ends of the rib. Alternatively, the backhead could be fixed only to the upper cab so that both detach together.

We do not recommend the fitting of a flywheel to the upper motor shaft. Unless perfectly balanced, it is likely to cause premature wear in the motor bearings. If a flywheel is fitted, it will need to be angled to clear the interior of the saddle-tank. The flywheel must not be larger in diameter than the motor if the body parts are not being made detachable (see above), and removal of the motor through the frames is to remain possible.

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ZONE 3: LINKS:


Historical Model Railway Society.  An excellent starting point for model railway sites worldwide.

85A MODELS - home page.

TEMPLOT Track Design Software

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ZONE 4: HUNSLET FORUM:


David L O Smith of Bedfordshire has very kindly supplied the following notes:
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"Airedale" - 15" Hunslet

7mm scale model built by David L O Smith from an 85A Models kit

Photographs by Martin Nellist (picture gallery nos. 2 and 3)

Airedale was the first of the 27 'standard class' 15" by 20" 0-6-0ST locomotives built by Hunslet of Leeds between 1923 and 1947. She was delivered to Airedale Colliery in North Yorkshire in July 1923 and worked in the region until the mid 1970s when she was withdrawn to be rebuilt and restored to her original condition on the Yorkshire Dales Railway.

Inspired by published photographs of Airedale (Industrial Steam, Bradford Barton and Industrial Steam, Ian Allan), I chose to model her in her LMS livery of the late 1960s by which time she had acquired a number of features that made her rather non-standard but more appealing as a model. Most notable are the Wakefield lubricators on her left hand running plate, which are driven from a return crank on the centre driving wheel. These actually work; well, they don't actually pump oil, but each contains a 3mm diameter ratchet wheel and pall spring so that the hand wheels rotate stepwise rather than just oscillate to and fro. This was not my original intention but a neighbour commented that oscillating lubricators were easy enough in 4mm scale, in 7mm scale they ought to work; so, I rose to the challenge. The same neighbour produced about 40 colour photographs of details of Airedale, in partially dismantled condition, and of other 15" Hunslet locomotives, so I felt I really ought to do rather more than just assemble the kit. Numerous alterations and additions were necessary, but I will mention only the most obvious or those that I found particularly challenging or pleasing.

The return crank to drive the Wakefield lubricators required a special crankpin, but whilst I was at it I removed the coupling rods, drilled out all the integrally moulded crankpins and bushed the holes. I plugged the holes in the crank bosses in the wheels and drilled and tapped them 12BA to accept my standard crankpin arrangement of 12BA screws, tophat bushes and 14BA nuts opened up to 12BA. Thus, I have achieved robust metal crankpin bearings whilst retaining the excellent moulded coupling rods. The return crankpin, which drives the lubricators through a set of links, is retained at the correct angle in the wheel boss by a special tophat nut, let in from the back of the wheel, which is tightened with a small peg spanner.

As the first of the class, Airedale does not have the single tank to smokebox flange that is characteristic of the production run but retains the two separate flanges that were characteristic of the earlier Hunslet locomotives. Removing the representation of the single flange from the tank was relatively easy but removing it from the smokebox without loosing the subtle shape of the beading was much more difficult. The moulding of the smoke box was so accurate that I was able to machine away the representation of the flange by 'picking up' on the exposed beading on one side and carrying it through to the other. I turned a wooden mandrel to mount the open (ie boiler) end and supported the smokebox door with a running centre in the tailstock. The machining had to be done by hand, a part revolution for each cut, as the flare on the smokebox saddle prevented machining complete revolutions. Although this procedure took some time, the result was near perfect and produced a continuous beading that passes behind the two new small flanges.

Unlike the production run of the class, the tank filler on Airedale is further forward and opens away from the chimney. I was able to retain the moulded lid but the turret, which was integral with the upper tank moulding, had to be filed away and a new one turned up and fitted. Other original differences, such as the rounded edges to the buffer planks, the beading to the cab side sheets and larger sandbox lids and bases, were more easily achieved.

Modifications that Airedale probably acquired during her working life, such as different draw plates, short safety valves, front steps on the running plate on the right hand side, protrusions on the sandboxes (anyone know what they were for?) and patch plates on the side frames, were also modelled. The large buffers presented a problem as I wished to retain the excellent springing arrangement but was certain that simply attaching larger heads would not suffice. I elected to machine new heads from large drawing pins that had been silver soldered onto 1/32" diameter steel rods. The original plastic buffer heads were drilled and machined to accept the rods and large heads, and representations of the rivets that held them together were added. The buffer stocks were drilled out to clear the tail rods that protruded beyond the foam rubber springs so that the buffers could be assembled as originally intended. Thus, I was able to retain the original springing arrangement but achieved secure buffer heads that would not droop as they were supported by tail rods.

Some additional detail that I chose to add included representations of the cylinders and drain cocks, inside motion (in the space between the frames below the boiler), sand pipes and sanding gear operating rods, window glasses, open roof ventilator, and full in-cab detail (with all that photographic information, how could I not?). As my model operates on an outdoor railway and will be well handled, I enclosed the axles and gearbox with a cover plate and replaced the plastic hand rail mouldings with 4mm scale handrail knobs opened out to accept handrails made from suitable piano wire. Working from the published photographs, I made up the details such as the lamps, oil cans, shunter's pole, shovel and ladder that adorn the running plate and add character to the model.

I can confirm that removing the axles and motor is not a problem with the design. Having dismantled the working chassis to make modifications, I replaced the remnants of the heat sealing lugs with 12BA studs to retain the motor and electrical pickup assembly with washers and nuts.

I used a Badger 150 airbrush to apply Humbrol paint and a Bob Moore lining pen to apply the lining, only the black edging was brushed. I lined the wheel bosses by mounting the wheels between plastic centres in the lathe (Unimat 3), placing the lining pen on a steady in the toolpost and gently turning the wheels by hand. All the surfaces were sealed using Floquil flat finish. The model is assembled by screwing together all the component parts (only the two parts of the tanks are glued together); this required quite some planning and extra work but made the painting and lining so much more straight forward.

Model Serial No. 955106
David L O Smith - Gauge O Guild 2430

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As anyone who has seen this model will know, David has made a superb job of "Airedale", and we are delighted that he has taken the trouble to provide these notes. Just take a close look at the pictures!

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ZONE 5: HUNSLET PICTURE GALLERY:

These pictures of finished Hunslet models have been kindly supplied by their owners. Why not send in a photograph of your Hunslet for inclusion here?

These pictures are shown here exactly as supplied - we haven't re-touched or computer modified them in any way.

The pictures can also be viewed in two larger sizes (bear download times in mind) :
Full-Size = (approx 150KB) intended to fill the screen at 640x480 resolution (generic 14" monitors).
Maximum-Size = (approx 450KB) intended to fill the screen at 1024x768 resolution (most 17" monitors).

N.B. Copyright in these pictures remains with the photographer. If you want to make any use of these images other than simply viewing them on the screen you must first obtain permission from the copyright owner. We would be happy to forward any enquiries.

Warrior by Jack Warren 1. "Warrior". This model was supplied ready-assembled to Jack Warren, who painted and photographed it. Click to see this picture full-size. Model Serial No. 930702.



Airedale (LH) by David L O Smith 2. "Airedale", built and painted by David L O Smith, photograph by Martin Nellist. Click to see this picture full-size or maximum-size. Read David's notes about this superb model in the Hunslet Forum. Model Serial No. 955106.



Airedale (RH) by David L O Smith 3. Another view of "Airedale", built and painted by David L O Smith, photograph by Martin Nellist. Click to see this picture full-size or maximum-size. Read David's notes about this superb model in the Hunslet Forum. Model Serial No. 955106.



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Martin. (GOG 3779)

revised 12 July 98.