Tag: 4-6-0

IN THE WORKS #4

Posted on by steamlococollection in Lord Nelson

LORD NELSON CENTENARY – 10 AUGUST 2026

Hi everyone, hope you’re all well.

Tuesday 10th August 1926, the weather – generally cloudy, the temperature – between 17 and 19 degrees Celsius. Richard Maunsell, the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Southern Railway, and a party of Directors have made the trip from London down to Eastleigh to inspect a new steam locomotive that has recently been completed at the Locomotive Works.

The engine is unlike anything seen on the Southern Railway or the London & South Western Railway. At 69 ft 9¾ ins long, it is the largest locomotive ever built at Eastleigh; it is also the most powerful, with a tractive effort of 33,500 lb. Yet the locomotive weighs only 1.5 tons more than a North British Locomotive built N15 ‘King Arthur’.

John Elliot, the SR’s Publicity chief, had suggested that the new locomotive be named ‘Lord Nelson’. James Clayton and Harold Holcroft had decided that, to leave space in case more N15 ‘King Arthur’ class locomotives were built, the new locomotive would be numbered E850, the Southern employing a lettered prefix to indicate the workshop responsible for maintenance at this time. Outshopped in ‘works grey’, ‘Lord Nelson’ was ready to set sail.

Sadly, this isn’t the blog post in which I announce the release of the ‘Lord Nelson’ add-on. However, work is continuing, and I am glad to be able to share some new renders showing the current state of progress.

As you can see from the renders, much has been added to the model. The smokebox went through several iterations, but this shorter smokebox with the piano cover over the inside cylinders is how all of the Nelsons, bar No. 860, were built.

Lord Nelson was unique in being the only Nelson built with the LSWR style lamp brackets, an odd decision considering that the engine was designed to run on both the Western (ex-LSWR) and Eastern (ex-SE&CR) lines.

Just behind the left smokebox lamp bracket you can see the tube cleaning connection. This wouldn’t be used when cleaning the tubes of the engine itself, but rather would be connected, when the engine was in steam, of course, to allow the cleaning of the tubes on another engine. The same kind of connection can be seen in this British Transport Film Wash and brush up – British Transport Films – British Rail steam loco maintenance – 1950s (from 11:15).

Other points to note are the Maunsell chimney with a capuchon. There was at least one chimney that had no capuchon and moved around the class as chimneys were exchanged. The dreaded lubrication pipes have also been added; the Rod and Pipe arrangement drawing really helped here.

On top of the firebox are the two Ross Pop safety valves and the steam manifold, which provides the steam for the whistle, injector steam valves, ejector, and the soot blower. The soot blower is an interesting device. Its purpose was to allow the crew to remove any deposited soot from the firebox tubeplate while on the move. Only ‘Lord Nelson’ was fitted with a soot blower, and it was likely removed when boiler 850 was exchanged for no. 822 in December 1930.

Many Maunsell-designed locomotives featured pull-out injector steam controls, instead of the more conventional wheel. Note also the double-handed regulator and the large oilboxes bolted to the backhead. If you’ve been in the cab of ‘Lord Nelson’, you might notice that the right-hand side of the cab looks markedly empty. The production engines were built with a cab which had a flip-up toolbox on the fireman’s side; ‘Lord Nelson’ was later modified to match.

I wanted to finish this update with an exciting announcement about how the add-on is going to be released. Rather than releasing it as one giant add-on with every livery and modification, the add-on is going to be released in a series of era-themed packs. The first will be the ‘Centenary Pack’ and will focus on just No. E850 from the time it left Eastleigh Works in August 1926 up until its first General Overhaul in February 1929. I’ll go into more details about the era-themed packs in a future update, but in short, I hope it will make it easier for you to get the variations/liveries that most interest you at a lower price.

Keep an eye on the website and YouTube channel as I’ll be posting more as we get closer to release.

Until next time…

IN THE WORKS #3

Posted on by steamlococollection in Lord Nelson

LORD NELSON PROGRESS UPDATE 29 MAY 2026

Hello everyone, hope you’re doing well. Nearly June already?! While work has been continuing apace on the Lord Nelson, other things have also kept me extremely busy, and I just haven’t found the time to do the renders and write a blog post, so apologies for that. Now, though, my focus is fully back on the Nelson, and I have a bumper update for you this time.

In the last update, I showed the completed frames. Next up are the bogies, cylinders, wheels and motion.

First, let’s focus on the bogie with two renders showing the bogie as fitted to No. 850 when it was brand new in 1926, and the bogie which is fitted to it in preservation.

Original Nelson Bogie
850 Lord Nelson Bogie as preserved

How many changes can you spot?

Across ‘Lord Nelson’s lifetime, there were at least 6 changes to various parts of the bogie. But that’s just No.850; across the entire class, there are over 10 variations.

The next renders show the completed work on the motion, inside and out, as well as the cylinders.

The steam-powered clutch for the reversing shaft, located on the fireman’s side of the engine, was a rather complex object to model, as being mounted between the frames makes it very difficult to photograph. However, I’m glad I persevered, and I intend to animate it on the finished model.

There are slight differences between the Maunsell and Bulleid cylinders (the Maunsell ones are shown in the renders). The original Maunsell single blastpipe is shown. Like the ‘H’ and ‘Z’ class add-ons I have previously released, the smokebox door will be animated, and you will be able to peer into the smokebox, so getting the blastpipe and inside cylinder top right is very important. I could make life a lot easier for myself by not modelling the inside of the smokebox, but where’s the fun in that!

You might also notice the short cylinder cock pipes. These only appeared on No. 850 and only for the first month of its existence. When the engine entered Eastleigh Works for painting toward the end of August 1926, the pipes were extended and secured via a bracket behind the front footsteps.

The Rod and Pipe drawing makes it much easier to ensure the numerous pipes are in the right place and are the right size. However, I must confess I’m dreading modelling the lubricator pipes!

Finally, I can’t fail to mention the nameplate. The letters will, of course, be 3d and for every other Nelson besides ‘Lord Nelson’ itself, the additional ‘Lord Nelson Class’ part of the nameplate will be included.

I’m really pleased with the level of detail I’ve been able to include thus far. The next job will be the smokebox, boiler and cab. I’d better get cracking then!

Until next time…

IN THE WORKS #2

Posted on by steamlococollection in Lord Nelson

LORD NELSON PROGRESS UPDATE 12 DECEMBER 2025

Hello everyone, hope you’re doing well.

I’m delighted to be showing off the first WIP renders of the Lord Nelson add-on. The first item I always model is the frames. Everything is either attached to or rests on the frames, so getting them right is paramount.

In the previous “In The Works”, I mentioned the numerous variations and modifications made to the Lord Nelsons during their working lives. Those modifications extend even to the frames. When ‘Lord Nelson’ was being built in 1926, great care was taken to ensure that the locomotive didn’t exceed the weight limit set by the Civil Engineer. Such was the attention taken that No. E850 actually emerged from Eastleigh Works, weighing 0.75 tons less than the drawing office estimate. Therefore, when the first production batch was being built, certain of those weight-saving measures were deemed unnecessary and the frames of Nos. 851 – 865 were different to Lord Nelson. 850’s frames were later modified, but it still retained a couple of unique elements.

After the frames are complete, work moves onto the front bufferbeam, rear dragbox and the frame stretchers, which help keep the frames nice and square.

Notice the underhung laminated springs and substantial rear dragbox. The hinged cover on the running plate provides access to the expansion and die block, making lubrication a little bit easier. The two valves bracketed onto the rear dragbox are where the water pipes from the tender connect to the locomotive. On top of the valve is the connection to the water feed controls in the cab.

Next time I’ll show the front bogie. If you think the frame variations are bad, wait till you see the bogie variations!

It’s worth mentioning that sometimes I’ll have progress to show, but which I don’t feel justifies a “In The Works” post. Anything that falls into this category will be posted on the SLC Facebook page and a dedicated development page here on the SLC website for the Lord Nelson add-on. This development page will also provide links to all “In The Works” posts about the Nelsons.

Until next time…

IN THE WORKS #1

Posted on by steamlococollection in Lord Nelson

LORD NELSON RESEARCH

Hello everyone, and welcome to the first ‘In The Works’.

Work on the ‘Lord Nelson’ add-on is well underway and I look forward to sharing some renders with you soon. However, long before I sit down to set up the drawings and start the actual modelling, research needs to be completed.

Research can often be overlooked; a bar on a progress chart, a passing comment. But research provides the foundation on which the add-on is built. But how do I go about doing research?

The first step is acquiring research material, this takes the form of books, photographs, drawings and magazines. Of course, obtaining a copy of every photograph and every book to mention a particular class can be a) expensive and b) not every item will contribute significantly to my research so a balanced view is required.

The next step is to start transferring all of that data and observations into a Spec Sheet and a Data Sheet

The Spec Sheet lists all the variations and livery changes I’ve identified across an entire class. The Data Sheet is where I dive down into the details and list all the variations for each individual engine, when they took place and any other observations.

Going through the books I have often reveals small discrepancies with information; dates might be different, engines might have a change listed in one book that isn’t mentioned in another. I have to work out which is the accurate narrative, not an easy task!

This whole process, of course, takes time and concentration. For the ‘Lord Nelson’ add-on, I estimate the process took about 3 months, but that doesn’t mean that I stop looking for further photographs and details, I’m always on the lookout for more information just not with the same intensity!

So how many variations have I identified? Discounting any livery-related changes, I have so far identified over 170 different modifications, some small and some large. This will mean that the ‘Lord Nelson’s will be the most detailed add-on I have produced, and that’s not including trying to create 3 different sound sets, different simulation setups, as well as trying to convey all this information in a easy to read manual!

Still, it’s all part of the fun.😀

In the next ‘In The Works’ I’ll share the first WIP renders of the add-on.

Until next time …

SLC Update 5 August 2025

Posted on by steamlococollection in Announcements, Lord Nelson

Hi everyone, hope you’re well and enjoying the summer.

Anniversaries. There have been several of them recently:

  • Flying Scotsman marked its centenary in 2023.
  • Several preserved railways have been marking anniversaries.
  • 2025 marks 200 years since the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (can’t forget the big one, can we?!)

There have been several SR-related anniversaries as well. N15 ‘Sir Lamiel’ marked its centenary in June 2025. The sole N, no. 1874, is 100 years old in September.

If you’ve followed the blog for a while, you’ll know that I am a big fan of the ‘Lord Nelson’ class. In August 2026, no. 850 ‘Lord Nelson’ marks its centenary. What better time to have an add-on on the class available! Thus, I am excited to announce that the next locomotive add-on from SLC will be the Lord Nelson class!

For a class of only 16 engines, the ‘Lord Nelson’s have a complex history. There are lots of variations to include, as well as some details that haven’t been identified before!

As I build the add-on, I’ll be making more use of the blog and the SLC YouTube channel. All future add-on updates will be under the banner ‘In The Works’. These will be a mixture of posts here on the website and videos on the YouTube channel. So make sure you’re subscribed to both so you don’t miss out.

But that’s not all. My interest in railways isn’t limited to just Train Simulator Classic. So there were will be several other series appearing on the website and YouTube channel.

Like many other developers, I’ve built up a large library as I research projects. Some of these may not be so well known. So in the blog series ‘Behind the Cover’ I’ll look at some of these lesser known publications.

‘SLC Scaled’ will be focused on my model railway adventures; repairing/maintaining and otherwise mucking about with model trains. This will be primarily on the SLC YouTube channel, but there may be the occasional written article on the website.

Finally, in ‘Behind the Lens’ I’ll share my visits to various railways and museums as well as mainline steam.

There’s no schedule for any of these series. They will be posted when I have something to show/write about. Hopefully, though, they’ll be more interesting than the 6-monthly I’m still working on an add-on style updates of late.

So much to look out for and I hope you’re as excited as I am.

Until next time…

SLC Update 17 May 2020

Posted on by steamlococollection in Lord Nelson, SECR H Class

Well, I haven’t done one of these in a while, let’s see how rusty I am!

It’s time for a long overdue blog post.

I can only apologize for my year of silence. Rather than creating a complete locomotive and then adding the variations and liveries, the way I tend to work is to create all the variations simultaneously; that way I can check that everything fits together correctly. The downside is that I don’t have any complete in game screenshots to show until shortly before the model is complete.

The ‘H’ class has been a bit of a rollercoaster to create. I’ve mentioned previously that some of the variations and changes which will be included with the add-on have never, as far as my research has been able to ascertain, been identified. The Search Engine archives at the National Railway Museum have been very helpful in ensuring that items like the pipes for the Westinghouse brakes, vacuum brakes and steam heat system, are in the correct places.

However, while examining some original drawings last year for the Lord Nelson add-on, I took the opportunity to look at the drawings of the cab, tank and bunkers for the ‘H’ class. The result of this was that I realised my model did not match the stated dimensions. In some places the difference was less than 1/4 in but in others was close to or over 1 in. At first glance that might not seem a huge amount, but the dimensions of the cab affect the position and dimensions of other components which in turn impact other parts, and soon what started as a 1 in difference has increased to 2 maybe 3 inches. Therefore, I took the decision to rebuild as many components as was necessary to reduce the dimensional differences, which in the end, resulted in around 75% of the model being rebuild or modified. But the results were, I think, worth it.

The SE&CR austerity grey livery, has quickly become one of my favourites, there’s something purposeful and workman like in it’s appearance.

I can’t give an exact date of completion for the add-on as there’s a number of new techniques that I’m testing in addition to the normal development cycle.

However, work has not been solely focused on the ‘H’ class. As I mentioned previously, research on the Lord Nelson class has included viewing original works drawings. Cataloguing the variations for any locomotive add-on is a time consuming task, but with the Lord Nelson’s it’s made even harder because of the more than 200 photographs I have to go through, many of which don’t have the date or year the picture was taken. But in the meantime, I decided to make a start on building what components I could with the aid of the original works drawings I viewed at the NRM. The first major component to be nearing completion is the cab for No. 850 when it was brand new in August 1926.

While this blog post isn’t a “The H class is now available”, I hope it’s given an insight into why things take longer than I want them to. I’m continually learning new things as a developer, where would the fun be if we didn’t keep learning.

One aspect of Train Simulator that I’ve been dabbling with recently is scenario creation. You may have noticed that there is a new section on the SLC website for scenarios. Here I’ll be uploading occasional scenarios that I’ve created and hopefully you’ll enjoy playing.

Until next time

James (SLC)

SLC Update – 1 February 2019

Posted on by steamlococollection in Lord Nelson, SECR H Class

Hi everybody. I thought it was about time I wrote another blog post, so here we go.

Work on the ‘H’ class continues apace. January has been a busy month with a lot accomplished. Unfortunately though, I don’t have any in game screenshots to show in this blog post.

One reason I’m so excited to be bringing you the ‘H’ class is because of the little gems of new information that I’ve been able to uncover. There is precious little published, detailed, information on the history of the class besides D. L. Bradley’s The Locomotive History of the South Eastern & Chatham Railway from 1980. However, looking at photographs of the class during their working life has revealed several variations which have, as far as I have been able to ascertain, have never before been revealed in books or magazine articles.

It’s much the same story with the ‘Lord Nelson’. Research, which has included visiting the National Railway Museum to view original works drawings, has turned up a number of new variations/changes which haven’t been mentioned before.

Hopefully I’ll have some screenshots to show in the next blog post so keep checking the website.

Till next time

James (SLC)

SLC Update – 4 April 2018

Posted on by steamlococollection in Lord Nelson, LSWR T9

Hi everyone,

It’s been a while since the last blog post, so I though it was about time I gave an update of what’s been going on in the SLC workshop.

LSWR T9

It’s now been 2 months since the release of the ‘T9’ and a big thank you must go to everyone who’s purchased the add-on, and also to those who have offered feedback.

As a result of said feedback I’m currently working on what will become V1.3 of the ‘T9’ add-on. While there will be a number of minor niggles fixed, the vast majority of the update will be adding new sounds and scripts. If you’ve purchased the ‘T9’ and have any feedback, then NOW is the time to send it in.

As well as the new sounds and scripts already mentioned the update will also add the 2 variants of the Drummond 3,500 gallon six-wheeled tender. Work on the 14 ft. wheelbase version is progressing well and a couple of renders are shown below.

I don’t know how long it will be before the update is released, so keep checking the blog for further updates.

Maunsell Lord Nelson

It might seem odd that in 2016 I was showing renders of a nearly complete Lord Nelson model and now seem to have reverted to the early stages of construction. The fact is that I’ve completely restarted the locomotive and tender models due to new research and new 3D modelling techniques that I’ve learnt while building the ‘T9’.

Work on researching the locomotive modifications is nearly complete, and work is well underway on the 4 different tenders.

Previously I’ve shown the progress on the flat-sided 5,000 gallon tender, which was the the usual style of tender coupled to a Lord Nelson. However, two Nelson’s, Nos. 852 and 853 were coupled to six-wheeled 4,000 gallon tenders from new until 1930. The 4,000 gallon tender was based on the flat-sided 5,000 gallon tender. This type of tender could be seen in various incarnations coupled to the Maunsell Moguls & Schools classes throughout Southern Railway and into BR days.

Hopefully it won’t be too long before I can show the first renders of the locomotive model.

That just about wraps up this post, thank you for reading.

Until next time …

James (SLC)

SLC Update – 8 February 2018

Posted on by steamlococollection in Lord Nelson, LSWR T9

Two blog posts in a week! What is going on!

Many thanks to everyone who has purchased the ‘T9’, it seems to have been received quite well and I’m always grateful for any feedback that you send me. Don’t forget you can get in touch via the contact us page on the website or via email: steamlococollection@gmail.com

As the result of said feedback, I’m pleased today to release V1.1 of the ‘T9’ add-on.

The following changes/additions have been made:

  • Incorrect Facing BR First Emblem fixed

Sincere apologies for this blunder.

  • Added Incorrect BR Second Emblem tender

Photographs that I’ve not come across before have shown that most the of the ‘T9s’ to receive the second emblem, received the incorrect emblem with the lion facing forward on both sides.

  • Added section in manual regarding adding T9 to a scenario

Apologies for not adding this to the manual in the first place. There are also instructions on how to get the crew to appear in the cab.

  • Added see-through coal rails for LSWR, Early SR and Maunsell E liveries

The No. 120 preserved liveries are unaffected.

  • Modified Tender water bounding box

Hopefully any issues with filling the tenders should be gone.

  • F4 hud water level indicator fixed.

This turned out to be a conflict in the control part of the locomotive blueprint, all sorted now though.

 

I’m also pleased in this blog post to show of the first renders of the Maunsell 5,000 gallon flat-sided tender which will be included in the upcoming Lord Nelson add-on. These tenders were also coupled to the ‘S15s’ and a number of ‘N15s’ during the years. Work has also started on the smaller 4,000 gallon tender and I hope to show some renders of that in the near future.

15_January_2018_0115_January_2018_02

Thanks for reading and until next time …

James (SLC)