By Peter Stokes
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I had been considering building a loco for a long time. Other members at Wortley kept asking me when I was going to start and I also needed a legitimate excuse to escape into the workshop/garage. After all my two youngsters, Daniel and Eleanor, needed a train! I saw an 0-4-0 battery powered diesel shunter on display at the Model Engineering Exhibition at Harrogate in the spring and it looked a suitable challenge. According to the information on the leaflet, “this loco is straight forward to build and suitable for the less experienced modeller or alternatively as a quick build for the more
experienced.” I’m not to sure which category I fitted in to but after a very brief discussion, the plans were soon in the post and the project was underway.
The actual building of the loco took about 5 weeks to complete and was straight forward apart from one or two (actually ten) mistakes on the plans. A great deal of midnight oil was burnt whilst the loco took shape. “Dad, is it nearly finished?” and “You’re not going into the workshop again, are you?” was a nightly ritual I had to bear. The hardest part was casting the aluminium radiator as the pattern was reluctant to come away from the sand. With a little gentle persuasion an acceptable
casting was realised. The machining of the wheels was subcontracted out to a fellow member of the society. The inaugural run was arranged for a Tuesday evening early in June. The loco was coupled up to a passenger truck and the batteries were connected up. Without a hitch the loco surged forth pulling the builder and his family. After a couple of circuits of the Wortley track, the loco was proceeding alongside the river just after Heron Bank when one of the front axle box retaining
bolts sheared and the axle box dropped off!! “What a stupid design having the axle boxes on the outside of the main frame” some passing tracklayer was heard to say. A new retaining bolt was fitted solving the problem and the loco was soon back on the rails.
A driving truck was urgently required to carry the second battery. Whilst the driving truck was being built, the loco was stripped down, cleaned and painted. At the same time all the axle box retaining bolts were carefully given the Loctite treatment! The driving truck design was based on a cross between an existing Wortley box truck and the passenger truck. The suspension caused the most headaches as it proved difficult to find suitable compression springs capable of being soft enough to carry Daniel and Eleanor and also capable of supporting two adults. Eventually after a number of trials a compromise was reached which enables the truck not to derail on the Wortley track. The driving truck was completed in July. During September a Sigma Sport cycle speedometer was fitted to record the speed and the mileage. Up to the end of 1998, Skimbleshanks has successfully completed some 38 miles on the third of a mile track at Wortley. Both children and Ann appear to enjoy driving Skimbleshanks. The Stokes family are well ‘chuffed’ (electrified?) with Skimbleshanks.
Why on earth is it called Skimbleshanks?’ you might well ask. ‘Cats’ the well known
T.S.Eliot/Andrew Lloyd Webber musical has fond memories for both of us. Our house was an ex-police house so we decided to call it Macavity’s, after the criminal cat and guess what....... Skimbleshanks was the railway cat! After all the loco’s almost purrfect!