CHARLIE: A Southern Railway Q1 for 31/2in. gauge: Nick Feast machines the valve chest, valves and valve gear. PART 12

摘要

It was very enjoyable to meet current and prospective builders at the recent Model Engineer Exhibition and yet more Q1 reminiscences and anecdotes were gathered from former railwaymen. This is all priceless information that will be impossible to collect in years to come. I thought I had heard all the Q1 stories but, at the exhibition, a former Bricklayers Arms depot man told me the reason for the steel plate that was added to the middle sandboxes soon after the class was introduced. Drivers were responsible for attending to the many oiling points on their locomotives in BR days and this included the inside motion. Rather than go underneath some drivers used to stand on the coupling rod and lean under the boiler. One day it seems a Q1 was accidentally 'shunted ' by another locomotive and the unfortunate driver who was standing on the coupling rod with the toes of his boot hanging over - well you can imagine the rest. All the class was modified so that the shield on the bottom of the sandbox prevented any risk of trapping. A notable early 'health and safety' guard.