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Project NGG 11
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- Updated November 22nd 2004 -


GFE
GFE-Gallery
DAMAG
DAMAG-Gallery
Garratt
NGG 11
0-16.5 Models
"Pig's Nose"
Ruegensche
Kleinbahn
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Garratt Project 'NGG 11'

Initially I wanted to convert an 0-6-0 German War Department tender loco into a Victorian "G" class.
The longer I studied the prototype the more I became convinced that this rather would be a complete scratchbuilt model than a conversion.

So I came back to a previous idea to build the first 2' gauge 2-6-0+0-6-2 Garratt of the South African Railway:
An NGG 11 class Garratt

The below collage shows the rough idea of converting the 750 mm NG loco into a Garratt.
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 Step 1:
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At first I built the two chassis. Since the basic ones have no bogies I had to heavily rework the originals. I decided to make two chassis from four original ones.
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I supplied new larger wheels. The diameter is still 1 mm smaller than the original NGG 11 ones but are the maximum which fitted into the given chassis.
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I definitely wanted to save the smooth running belt driven motor/gear combination. To fit into the bunker covers I had to remove the flywheels and turned the drive at 180 degrees.
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 Step 2:
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Next step was to prepare the chassis for the valve gear.
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Well, doesn't this reveal the shape of things to come?
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 Step 3:
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Valve gear is now completed. Also the pivots for the boiler unit. Here I came back to a very old trick. I used a snap-fastener as pivot so I didn't have to drill through the chassis (which actually isn't possible because of the worm gear which uses the whole space within the frames).
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Next step's finishing the tender bodies.
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 Step 4:
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The tender bodies are ready now. Work on the tenders was much more than I expected. Initially I tended to keep the bodies as they were, but to make them more prototypically they had to be reworked heavily.
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While the front tender of a Garratt is a pure water tank...
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...the rear one is a mixed water tank and coal bunker.
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 Step 5:
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Look at the cab. Building one from scrap wouldn't have been much more effort I suppose.
Anyway, it now looks quite similar to the original cab
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The boiler is a lathed brass tube and was already made earlier. Only the Belpaire firebox is missing to complete the superstructure.
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Work in progress:  Making of the firebox.
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Building completed:
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Last weekend the building came to an end. Next weekend the model will be painted and a week later the finishing touch will be applied.
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 Final work:
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The firebox was a good piece of work. Lots of bare brass, lots of bare copper - though the locomotives in South Africa looked worn in the last days, all things in the cab were bright and shiny. My loco crew makes no exception. Only the area round the firehole looks somewhat shabby.

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Before

After

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The fireman familiarizes with the new fittings..

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It's a pity that so few of the firebox is visible from outside.

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