C30T on the Tumbarumba Branch

 

NSW C30T on the Tumbarumba Branch.

One of the disappointing aspects of trying to model the Tumbarumba branch around 1970, was that very few locomotive classes were used.  After about 1961, virtually all the traffic was handled by 48 class alcos, with CPH railmotors for the passenger trains.  Steam working on the branch virtually stopped, with only the occasional steam special hauled with C30T, and the rare standard goods on special workings.

Lachlan Valley maroon livery 3026 with a shuttle train heading to Ladysmith, passes Rocky Hill in 1985.  My photo converted from slide 

Prior to 1961, C30Ts handled most of the goods trains, with help from D50 standard goods..  One had to go back to the 1920, and 30s to find Z19s and Z25s

 

This blog post though will concentrate on the C30T, mainly through photographs, and include a modelling angle at the end.

Pictures from the Tumbarumba and Wagga Wagga Rail Heritage booklets

Tumba rail have been producing a series of A5 sized booklets, showcasing the line, and publishing a number of photographs accumulated over the years.  These are a great resource for my modelling, and I have received permission to include some of the pictures with acknowledgement in my blog.  (Apologies in advance for the poor quality of the scans).

 

3080 at Tarcutta in 1954 -  I K Winney photo

3060 passes Shell Siding in 1960 with a long goods - Barry Lynch photo

3060 just east of Copland street crossing - April 1960 - Barry Lynch photo

3001 at Tarcutta in August 1953 - Jim Powe photo

 

3060 on Wagga turntable - around 1960

Steam excursion.

The ARHS, and Rail Heritage groups run a number of runs to Tumbarumba in the 1960s and  early 1970s.  Some of these pictures have been uploaded to the internet to be shared.  I also have interviewed Pete Neve – who has supplied me with some of his pictures from the 1965 double header trip

1965 tour - at Humula

1965 Tour 3142, and 3020 taking water - at Borambola - Graham Pegg picture

1965 Tour train arrives at Tumbarumba - Graham Pegg

3020 on the Tumbarumba Turntable - Graham Pegg photo

Remarshalled for the return trip. Tumbarumba Potato Shed in the background. Graham Pegg photo 1965

3020 and 3142 returning to Wagga - Graham Pegg photo 1965

 

1965 tour train crosses Mannus Creek - Pete Neve photo

3020 (and 3142 hidden) crosses the bridge just north of Humula - Pete Neve photo 1965

Lachlan Valley steam shuttles to Ladysmith

After the line was cut near Tarcutta by flooding in October 1974, the only steam loco that ventured onto the line was Lachlan Vallery’s C30T 3026.    I was fortunate in being able to travel along the line to Ladysmith, hauled by 3026. 

 

Green 3026 taking water in 1983 - my photo

3026 approaches Lake Road level crossing - my photo

One trip, Tender first to Ladysmith - My photo 1983

After run-around, the train is ready to depart - My 1983 photo converted from slide

Modelling a C30T.

In the early 1980s, Bergs Brass Models had the C30T made in HO.  It was a must have.  I purchased mine from Peter Pan, in Canberra for $285.  I painted my model in colours close to Lachlan Valley, and numbered it 3026.  It was, and still is a solid model, with some shortcomings in detail, an extended firebox into the cab, and openframe motor.   But, this was the only model for some time, until Trax brought out their excellent C30T, with bogie tender around 1988.  Quite a rare model if you can find one

Bergs 3026 - repainted to LVR colours.

Bergs 3008 - bought on ebay around 2017 cheaply as it didn't run.  Problem was the cummutator pickups on the open-frame motor had worn out

3028 - bought privately a few years ago.  Paint job is excellent

Another Ebay purchase, only last year.  The original Bergs 6 wheel tender had been replaced by someone with a brass bogie tender - possibly from a Bergs 32 class.  A far more suitable arrangement, as all the photos, apart from 3026, that I can find, had bogie tenders

Trax C30T.  What a difference in the details!  Samhonga quality model from the late 1980s.

Later, Footplate Models/DJH produced a C30T kit, with Portescap gearbox/ motor, and 6 wheel tender.  I bought a kit at the time, and it sits in storage, awaiting assembly

For those wanting plastic RTR, Wombat Models produced a great looking and running model in about 2017, initially with a 6 wheel tender, but the second batch also included a bogie tender.

Wombat models C30T with 6 wheel tender crosses my model of the Kyeamba Creek bridge.

An opportuntity?

I was checking out the Trains, Planes and Automobile site in 2019, and noticed they had an assembled DJH C30T for auction.  Just one photo – looked OK. 

Picture from the TPA catalogue.  Not even with the tender the correct way around. Hopeless,  Lighting is also poor.  TPA charge sellers around 18% seller commission, and I would expect for that, they would a) test the model, and b) have better lighting for their catalogue images

As I live no-where near TPA’s auction rooms in Katoomba, I could not check in person, so I placed a modest online proxy bid, and waited.  To my surprise, I won the loco for around $300 including commission and post.  Just over a week later, the loco arrived at my place, and I now understood why others did not bid.  Not only was one tender axle missing (TPA lost it), the others were loose.  Many of the tender castings were broken or missing.  The loco body sat high on chassis at the cab end. 

Missing axle on the tender when it arrived al my place.  The poor body to chassis fit is not obvious in this picture

Underside of tender.  The pickup for the wheel is visible, as is the poor standard of soldering

More poor soldering on the drawbar attachment end

The red wire is the link from the drawbar to the Portescap motor. It was routed in such a way that the body would squash this wire when attached to the chassis. 

I had intended to replace the 6 wheel tender with a DJH D50 tender – (I had previously purchased a part assembled D50 cheap), so I wasn’t too phased with a damaged tender.  

The part built  D50 kit.  I had thought I would use the tender of this kit to replace the C30T tender.

As I was fixing the chassis problem, caused by a poorly routed motor wire, I was interrupted on the workbench.  Loosing focus, my shirt sleeve caught the body, propelling it off the workbench,  Thus the body ended up damaged on the wooden floor.   Unimpressed, and  after taking some damage pictures, the whole lot was placed in a clear Klip-it container, almost forgotten until I completed Wagga station

The damage caused by the fall to the floor

Repair

Tender.  In the intervening 3 years, I had sourced a replacement axle.  When I was shorting out one of the insulating bushes on this axle, (drill a hole, and insert a wire that touches both the axle, and the wheel casting), I then saw the phosphor bronze pickup wipers in the tender.  So, the original builder had chosen an inferior method for pickup that only collected power on 2 of the 3 axles.  A good look at the tender shows a shoddy assembly job, but this also explained why the axles were loose.  The solder joins holding the axles were cracked.  Simple resoldering repaired.  However, .in the process of reinserting the axle, the axle box fell off.  Cause easily identified, no tinning on the brass, and the subsequent use of low-melt solder did not provide a firm connection of the whitemetal axle box casting. 

Body.  It was then I found some bubbling paint on the cab to footplate join.  This paint easily flaked off when prodded.  Cause most probably inadequate cleaning of the body prior to painting.  The cab was bent back into roughly square, and resoldered. The funnel, and headlight were glued as I could no longer access the inside of the boiler for a lowmelt soldering fix.   However, for strength, I inserted a brass pin into the base of the funnel, and drilled out a corresponding hole into the boiler. 

Chassis.  I reattached the motor wire in such a way that it was no longer affected the reassembly.  To my relief, the loco mechanism was quite smooth. 

Testing on DC.  After reassembly, the loco runs smoothly.

After repair.  The missing tender balance bar is seen with a ghost image on the brass. Most of the axle boxes had also had the springs missing

Future work.  My original idea to mate this loco with a DJH D50 tender, but unlikely now, as I now have both Wombat, and Bergs C30T with bogie tenders.  And I am now aware that D50s, with original tenders were also used on the branchline, with pictures showing 5040 with a stock special in 1960, and 5163 shunting a returning Tumbarumba train in Wagga  

With all the damage, and shoddy work, I just can’t justify spending significantly more effort on this loco.  I may just touch up the paint by hand, and weather.  Not sure that fitting DCC will be on the agenda  either.  Maybe sell it to raise  funds?

 

Conclusion

Buying a model on the basis of one photograph is risky.  And more so, when the seller does not provide any guarantees on its running quality.  Yes, I spent too much.  Another lesson to be learnt.  But, it was good to at least turn a bunch of parts into a working loco, and it is one more task ticked off my huge list.  And I am back into building locos.  Now, maybe the D50 can be completed. It has sat around for over 5 years

 

Until next time.