The Great British Locomotives Jinty.  The model that started this whole diversion into the late 50s era. When they first appeared (as part of a magazine series) they were so cheap that I brought a second one just so I could do a before and after picture.

Recently I dug it out but I didn’t want to just do another Jinty so my focus has been on its predecessor, the Johnson designed Midland 2441 class. Just for a little bit of clarity before we go any further both classes were referred to as Jinty’s or Jocko’s so going forward, if I mention Jinty’s I mean the later LMS Fowler 3f.

So the 2441 class.  The Midland built 60 of these which were considered as heavy goods tank engines.  They were later rebuilt by Fowler which made them look very similar indeed to a Jinty.  Initially there were 2 distinct types. with or without condensing apparatus. For those interested in these locos theres a good book on the subject, Midlands Engines No.5 by David Hunt, Bob Essery and Fred James (ISBN 1-874103-94-1)

The Model

Work required can be broken down into 2 areas.  Stuff you might want to do anyway and stuff you will need to do to depict the 2441 class. Let’s start with the stuff you might want to do anyway.

The handrails need replacing as do the lamp irons. The Chimney is a bit naff as are the safety valves and whistle.  The coal rail is too chunky and the buffers are somewhat generic. The steps would benefit from something a little more refined.

For the 2441 specific bits the smokebox needs to be shortened and its saddle is a different shape. The Dome is also a different shape (more rounded) although I believe some had the more flattened off type. The front splashers are different too. The biggie is the tank sides which are taller and drop down by the cab area to be a little lower than a Jinty.  The bunker is also lower and squarer with no overhang. The footplate is actually a little longer on these locos and the fairing at the ends is different.

So let’s start with the footplate.  The body of the model separates into 3 parts.  The footplate, tank sides and bunker. The boiler, smokebox and tank tops and the upper part of the cab. Handily everything is plastic so carving it up is easy. I believe that the Bachmann Jinty has a cast metal footplate so it might be a bit more tricky.

The tank sides and bunker are from 30thou plasticard topped with microstrip.  The coal rails come from my spares box (Brassmasters 1f etch) and the steps are from Mainly Trains.  Splashers are also from Brassmasters (1f again) and the buffers and vac pipes are from Lanarkshire models. The lamp irons are from Stenson models.  You can see at the back of the footplate where it’s been lengthened.

Not a lot to do the cab. New rear spectacle plates from Mainly trains.

The Boiler.  I cut the smokebox back and remounted the front piece (which is separate).  It seems that the condenser fitted locos had the handrail below the upper hinge like a Jinty but the others has it mounted above the hinge.  Chimney is from my spares box (Brassmasters Jinty detailing kit I think) and the safety valves and whistles are from Markits. The top of the dome had been filled and blended into a new shape.

When it comes to the tank tops, the drawings show the filler caps to be more central and they certainly would need to be on the condensing locos as theres a big pipe in the way.  However pictures of the non condensing ones show what looks like the bracket at the front of the tank indicating that they might be at the front as seen on the model.

A little bit of fiddlyness for the ejectors. The moulded one is a bit clunky and I believe depicts a combined large and small Ejector. When I did my other Jinty I used a cast detailing part for this from (I think) London Road Models. Some 2441 class locos had these.  The fiddly one depicts an earlier type and is cobbled together from 0.4mm wire with 0.6 and 0.8mm tubing.

The assembled loco (so far)  The chassis is a High level Jinty with the frames altered to be shallower. Otherwise it’s built as per the kit. I didn’t go for working inside motion as you really cant see it at all on these locos.