An Unexpected Veteran

[Old Man Aaron]

Separated from my workshop, and with the railway on hold until I can escape these temporary living arrangements, I wasn't planning on doing another loco this year.

But for the chance tip-off that a pair of WWI Baldwins were available at a price I couldn't ignore, I finally had an upside to modelling 32mm in Australia!

On the left is a Wrightscale, the other, Accucraft.
While I'd sworn off the latter brand, the pair were cheap enough I'd not lose money moving it on, if it turned out to be another Accu-Dud.

06/06/2026
While we don't have a Baldwin at Woodford, we do have the other Western Front 4-6-0T..

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The Wrightscale is as you'd expect, a work of art.
And also as you'd expect, a nightmare to work on.
Runs beautifully on air, but the filler clack under the footplate is stuck open, and I gave up getting to it when I realised the tanks and boiler also needed to come off, after half a day's battle to remove the cab and bunker.
Re-assembled, I'll save that one another day..


The Accucraft on the other hand - if it works - I thought might make a good birthday present for the nephew - to live in my shed for safekeeping, of course..
Unfortunately, a frankly long-overdue falling out with his mother, put paid to that idea. Think "Harry & Megan"...

Well in any case, after years of watching others run their Accucraft locos almost trouble-free, I seem to have finally got a good one!
Burner is quiet, stable and lights easily. Engine is well run-in and ticks over smoothly on steam.
And weathered, no less. Not a half-bad job either.

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More to come..

[LNR]

Good to see you back into it Aaron, be watching with interest.
Grant.

[Peter Butler]

A heart warming story Aaron, congratulations on having some good luck, you deserve it!

[Old Man Aaron]

23/06/26
Oh look, it's the 1970s, and every loco needs a tacky diamond spark arrestor stuck on, because apparently everything is a Wild West Train.
Seriously though, you knew this loco wasn't going to remain stock for long..
It's another sugar mill bash.
Like the Hunslets and Simplexes of the Great War, a handful of Baldwins found their way to the canefields.
The last example in Australia later ran at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast from the 1970s, through around 2020 - Shedmate to the Perry that now calls my local heritage line at Woodford, it's home.

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30/06/26
Besides improvised workshop facilities, I don't feel like spending a year on this one - would also like to bring it to the WinterSun Steamup in a month's time, so I'd best get going.
I've fancied doing a loco without headlights for a while, so now's the time for that.
Besides a quick turnaround, I'm trying not to disturb a well-running loco. The burner in particular I didn't want to touch, but it had to come out to get the cab off. The paint was impervious to thinners and paint strippper. Only acetone (barely) worked.

My old-school copper soldering iron was very helpful in extending the cab.
Need to keep an eye out for some smaller ones at a sensible price..

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01/07/26
I always fancied those weird visors on the Baldwins and other European locos - Hell, I nearly bought a stainless pair for my Model A headlights.
I digress once again..

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[Old Man Aaron]

Much appreciated gents, very kind of you to say.


01/07/26
Very happy with how the visors came out. I can also confirm they make excellent decorative covers for your big toe nails - not that I'll post that photo here, apparently foot pics are worth good money!

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Extending the roof itself came out a bit sloppy - I really need to invest in a pile of toolmakers clamps, and a benchtop sheet roller.
Planning a batch of Hudswell 0-6-0s down the line, as it were, I'll need them for that project anyway..

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The roof will be clad in corrugated iron, and iron-faced dumb buffers fitted. Paint green and weather the hell out of it, requisite chuffer and TTD valve spindles on order..

[GTB]

Lucky you, an Accucraft that runs well!

How did you learn how to use a non-electric soldering iron? I watched my father use the things, but I never picked up the knack. Now that Accucraft seem to be using stainless for bodywork, we'll probably need to use a TIG welder to kitbash the things......

A tip for the future. Septone Paint Stripper is industrial strength for panel beating work and it easily removes the paint that Roundhouse and Accucraft use on their steam locos. Evil stuff to use though, as it contains dichloromethane and phenol. I bought my tin from the local SuperCheap Auto branch.

You can never have too many clamps for model building. I had to make a batch of small toolmakers clamps in brass, as I could only find steel ones. The small brass 6" sash clamps available through the model trade are also useful.

The extended cab and spark arrestor have made it look like it would now be more at home on a cane tram than on the Western Front.

Graeme