What's it all about?

This project was born out of a desire to have a mid-19th century loco and it was the lack of commercially available alternatives that forced me down this path.
FR 20 was built in 1863, is a rare survivor from that era and is currently the oldest standard gauge loco still steaming in the UK.
I'm not a skilled or experienced railway modeller but have found the desire to have a go at this project irresistible. So you are welcome to join me and follow my triumphs and disasters as I tackle this precarious journey.

Tuesday, 31 January 2012

Choosing a donor

Shopping around, Hornby seems to have done two 0-4-0 locos over the years, a saddle tanker and a side tanker. Because of FR20’s history I opted for the saddle tanker and started watching a few on Ebay. I couldn’t be sure that one would be a good basis for FR 20 but they were not too dear and I decided to take a chance. Eventually I bought one in Caledonian Railways livery that was in good condition for not a lot of money.


 The model is actually a reasonable representation of the Drummond Y9 shunters introduced in 1882, so I had, in fact, already bought a Victorian loco. They enjoyed very long working lives and even did some main line work with a coal truck to extend their range. However, that was not why I bought one and I had bigger plans for the little engine.

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