A tale of TWO Claytons! Narrow Gauge Battery Loco Build

[@musclecat1005]

"Intimidatingly high standard." Me when I see your models.

[@GWilliamsonModels]

Cheers 😅

[@killiankeane7259]

If the people behind Minibuilds see this, your design work is excellent and I'll be watching your career with interest! As usual George you've built those up beyond RTR standard

[@TheHoveHeretic]

Small industrial battery locos are certainly an underrepresented sector of the hobby .... and these look wonderful.

[@GWilliamsonModels]

Cheers, yes I hope they see the positive comments about the model. For a first product, it really is very nice

[@gbhtrain1325]

Very nice looking models, I wasn't even aware that they existed until now. At least now the Tattoo has a running buddy. Poor little engine lol, Sir Handel can't come out soon enough

[@GWilliamsonModels]

I agree! I WANT SIR HANDEL NOWWWWW

[@darreno9874]

The locos look great, I used to drive one of these locos underground they are 1.5 ton battery electric locos, they didn't have the cab roof though. The black details on the body are lifting points to swap batteries. My most unusual ride was squating on the rear of a waggon for ten minutes because the head room was so low. God bless

[@GWilliamsonModels]

Oh that’s interesting to know, I couldn’t find much info on it. So do the batteries take up the whole block at the front?

[@chrislaunders8283]

@@GWilliamsonModels Yes it is a detachable battery unit, so they could be taken off to charge and a full one put on keeping the loco in service while the other battery was charging. the other box was the controller with the forward/reverse/speed handle on the top.

[@chrislaunders8283]

Ours had the cabs, they had a "bash plate" to the full height of the battery on the front.

[@TheHoveHeretic]

Wow! It's so rare to get first hand info about actual day to day operation of any of the "smaller stuff" (even the routines of operating the Quarry Hunslets seems largely unrecorded). Thanks so much for that. May I be really cheeky and ask what the battery charging arrangements were please? It sounds as if these might be a modelling detail worth including. You mentioned exchanging battery packs, but was a hoist or pulley system used to lift batteries? Was the charging point some covered area? Was there a hard standing or raised platform? Were connections to the charger similar to the sort of croc clips used on car battery chargers? In an earlier incarnation, I was used to the semi-portable metal boxes, which normally lived on a heavy shelf at the back of a tyre bay, with two current indicators, for 12v lead-acid car or van batteries up to about 200Ah IIRC ... but it was 50 years ago). That was a light enough demand to run from a conventional single phase 3 pin socket, overnight charging being the norm, batteries lifted manually, with a simple adjustable handle. There's so much once 'day to day' stuff I neglected to record over the years, much of it so commonplace it never occurred it'd form part of a historic record some day .... mind you, so do I nowadays!! I've an old volume with shedload of photos of (mostly BEV) battery locos in industrial service, including one system at a brickworks where ramps and treadles were used to stop driverless trains. The drivers' job (if 'driver' was even his main job!) being to shunt trains together, throw a lever and off the whole kit'n'kaboodle would trundle until the lever hit the ramp at the other end, bringing it all to a clanging halt. With no continuous brakes, I'm guessing routine operations weren't much above walking pace Luckily, one such system lasted long enough, "jubilee" track and all, to enter preservation at the Chalk Pits Museum, Amberley, where it makes quite a contrast with the manicured passenger line with it's highly polished steam locos!! It nicely complements their amazing collection of small industrial IC locos and wide range of waggonry.

[@chrislaunders8283]

@@TheHoveHeretic I worked in the underground loco garage at Maltby Colliery in South Yorkshire for several years, out batteries had a thick (30mm ?) ridge down the middle with a hole towards each end so they could be lifted with a frame slung below a travelling overhead crane, the batteries were stored on racks with rollers set into them so batteries could be manually pushed along with little effort, they were set at the same height as the mounting on the loco so only had to be lifted a little, the chargers were just steel cabinets about 3 ft wide, 2 ft deep and 4 ft high, the top was a few inches larger all the way round and was spaced up a couple of inches to allow ventilation for cooling, the tops had downward angled lips so nothing could fall/run into the charger. There was a large ammeter and a timer control on the front. The charging cable was about 2.5" diameter and had a large brass plug on the end interlocked so the plug had to be fully inserted into the battery socket before the battery isolator and then the charger could be turned on. Our loco's and chargers were all white. I have a photo of one of the loco's underground I could send via email or some such if you were interested.

[@gs425]

Brilliant. Love how small these are. I'd consider permanently adding a wagon with extra pickups and have them running super slowly

[@GWilliamsonModels]

Yes that’s not a bad idea, possibly even the one that the YMG repainted

[@LindseyTate13]

I genuinely think it’s really neat how you can use them on both layouts though.

[@GWilliamsonModels]

Yeah I was pretty pleased when I saw it for that reason!

[@MakeItWithCalvin]

Balls, I love these little companies making things for the hobby market that otherwise would go unnoticed. I also remember when Plaza Japan had a huge eBay presence, a great place to buy things from!

[@GWilliamsonModels]

I do like how it arrives packaged in Japanese newspaper

[@T0blerone1a]

Dare I say cute? two very nice little critters, very nice, thanks George

[@GWilliamsonModels]

They are cute, so tiny!

[@megablasternation769]

Thanks for showing us these, i had already discovered them due to there (early) website. But now after seeing the models, i definitely intend to by 1. Please keep up the great videos.

[@GWilliamsonModels]

Yes please do support them, it would be lovely to see more like it

[@megablasternation769]

@@GWilliamsonModels I agree.

[@TheHoveHeretic]

That duo look just fantastic George. Great prototype from Minibuilds. It's amazing how changes in where a dab of black goes changes their appearance quite do much. It's really good to see so much love invested in the 'unglamorous', workaday kit. I hope @chrislaunders8283 didn't mind, but since he was familiar with these beasties during their working lives, I've asked for a few pointers on daily operations like charging ... well, we model coal staithes, water columns etc. so charging arrangements seem worth knowing about. 🙂

[@GWilliamsonModels]

I’d love to know more about them, like how they were charged etc. interesting stuff! Cheers

[@NathanielKempson]

I read the thumbnail as "Building Two Claymores" and was VERY concerned. XD

[@GWilliamsonModels]

That’s another video 😅

[@spottotea]

@@GWilliamsonModelsOh dear!

[@matthewsnowdenshunterguy3352]

Best video yet!!!! These look fantastic

[@GWilliamsonModels]

Cheers, appreciate it

[@matthewsnowdenshunterguy3352]

@@GWilliamsonModels ive enquired about one 👍🏻

[@MrPaulhopkins]

Really nice work. You might want to try a brown wash on the dirty model as black over yellow can look a bit harsh. It warms the finish a little.

[@GWilliamsonModels]

Thankyou, I’ll have a dabble with that

[@viriconiustheengineer8354]

Lovely. The answer to tricky paint corners is for the kit designer to not print it as a one piece, but as separate components. Just cos it can be printed as one part, doesn’t mean it should. Just built another Clayton battery loco kit in 16mm (nice one from LocoRemote)

[@GWilliamsonModels]

Oo I’d like to see it in 16mm. But yes, separate parts would help with painting

[@KennysChocolateMilk]

Are you going to do alf? PLEASE DO ALF!!!! And are you going to the Awdry Diorama this year?

[@GWilliamsonModels]

Alf isn’t far away, possibly in a couple videos time. And yes, I’ll be doing the Awdry diorama challenge :)

[@kupferbergbahn7952]

What finely detailed models! Made even better by your painting skills, might I add. What resistors did you use on the chassis? I have some of these chassis that I want to use them on.

[@GWilliamsonModels]

I think I show the pack of resistors that I used. Possibly 75ohm? I’m not 100% that they’ve done enough, so I may swap them at some point

[@HeraclesTheBudgie]

These look incredible, and seems quite easy to fit into a motor! Do you know how to order these or the price, seems like only way is email at the moment. Moulding looks superb and the you have wonderfully painted and weathered these models!

[@GWilliamsonModels]

Yes they have a website - search on google for mini builds trains, or mini builds Clayton or something similar!

[@lewistyrrell4881]

Great video. When do we get to see Alf?

[@GWilliamsonModels]

Alf is on the way, just bracing myself for the chassis modification 😅

[@anthonywright4056]

Sorry George they are battery electrics not diesels.

[@GWilliamsonModels]

No I’ve corrected the title - I didn’t realise it was battery when I made it

[@anthonywright4056]

@@GWilliamsonModels None the less they are super little models and well done to the manufacturer to bring such an obscure prototype to market. My 009 journey began in the 70's where the choice was Egger HO stuff or kit bashing Airfix Pugs onto poor N gauge chassis until the first of the white metal kits arrived. 3D printing has been a game changer and the detail now possible is fantastic along with the RTR stuff makes it great times for 009 and the hobby in general. Sadly, for my eyesight and sanity I've moved up to 16mm and into the garden. Keep up the good work.

[@GWilliamsonModels]

@@anthonywright4056 yes it’s a lovely thing to see models like this available. They are tiny though, and I’ve got 7 1/4” to make up for it 😅

[@emagenevanhorn1543]

:you his models had very high standards :me WAIT BUT YOURS HAVE HIGH STANDARDS TO🫤

[@GWilliamsonModels]

Yeah Tbf that’s me all over