Model green railway steam locomotive with a tender marked 'HIGHLAND RAILWAY' on a track.

Highland Railway Strath

This was a Superb kit. I absolutely loved building it. The fact that everything went together exactly as it was intended meant that building it was motivating me to add the next part rather than dreading what comes next!

It's really great when you get a decent kit to build and it goes together exactly the way its supposed to!

In this case it was a Highland Railway Strath. Twelve were built in 1892 to a design by David Jones. They were a development of the Clyde Bogie class and several lasted into LMS ownership. The last being withdrawn in 1930.

The kit was designed by Alistair Wright and is now available from Lochgorm models

The first job was to solder the chassis together and offer up the footplate.

A model train chassis placed on a workbench with various tools and supplies in the background.

Close-up of a metal clock movement or watch mechanism on a workbench.

Next job was the splashers and cab. all fairly painless but I decided to do the boiler and smokebox at the same time.

Here comes my biggest criticism of this kit… There is only a single wrapper for the smokebox and because it also forms the cylinders, it’s quite a complicated shape to form. A spare or two would have been very welcome.

I formed it correctly first time but it wasn’t an easy job. Just bending it a little more each time and offering it up. Take your time and it will be fine.

A black wooden surface with a yellow flexible measuring tape and a shiny metallic object with a smudge on it

Industrial metal surface with claw and screw fixtures and a yellow line.

A brass or gold-colored rectangular metal dustpan with a handle opening, resting on a workbench or table surface.

From then on it’s home and dry with this kit. It’s just a case of adding the various details.

A model train on a wooden surface with a brown background.

A blue model steam locomotive train on tracks, with a wooden building and a red container in the background.

Model train engine and tender with a can of paint or lubricant in front of them.

A small green toy train model on a stand in an indoor setting.

A small black and gold model train engine with yellow wires, surrounded by scattered small metal parts and tools on a workbench.

Close-up of a model train decoder placed on a wooden surface with train tracks and electrical components in the background.

Next, solder the valance into position. This was a job I was dreading but went painlessly due largely to my access to a resistance soldering iron. Its great to be able to push the footplate into the curves, tap the footpedal and let the current do its job. I think with a conventional iron this would have been quite a tricky job.

Close-up of a brass or metal model train chassis on a workbench with model train tracks in the background.

Close-up of a vintage brass and metal toy train engine placed on a wooden surface.

Its really great when you have the right tool for the job to hand. And it shows in the results! This loco was my introduction to tender flares. But fortunately I had a very large folding tool that although completely overkill for anything I am ever likely to do, was perfect for the job!

The flare came in the form of a thin strip that needed bending along its entire length. I can’t think of another way of doing this.

A close-up of a metal work surface with blue clamps holding a metal piece, surrounded by tools, wires, and electronic components indicating a workspace for electronics or metalwork projects.

Close-up of a metal saw blade cutting through a black material.

After forming the curve, its just carefully soldered along the top of the tender body.

A model train engine in green and gold on a wooden surface, with train tracks in the background.

Brass model steam train with an engine and tender on a wooden track, connected to a green locomotive at the back.

The painting process was fairly conventional.

Thoroughly cleaned and degreased before being given a coat of etch primer

Model train on a track with a wooden building and other model trains in the background.

I managed to get a tin of Phoenix Precision Highland Railway green! It’s a very nice colour indeed.

Regrettably I neglected to take a picture of the loco in the bare green.

Model train engine with a purple passenger car and a white and black object nearby, all on a wooden surface.

I Then comes the moment I dread! Spraying the gloss varnish so the decals will stick! Suddenly the model goes from looking like a thing of beauty to a toy choo choo!

Decals go on. In this case, Fox Transfers happened to have the correct decals for both the tender lettering and also a sheet of names to go over the splasher. This saved me a huge amount of work!

Coming back to the chassis for a moment, The loco received my usual formula of a High Level models gearbox and a Mashima 10x24 motor. I fitted a 54:1 gearbox. The loco ran a little on the quick side and if I were to do it again, I would fit a 108:1 box instead.

Close-up of a brass model steam engine on a workbench with wires, tools, and small parts around it.

I am very happy with the result. There were some constraints placed upon it. It had to be able to negotiate some tight corners (far tighter than the kit was ever designed for) and so I did have to modify the front bogie and turn the flanges of the centre wheels on the tender.

Due to its fairly unique shape, It’s not an easy kit but it is well designed and goes together well. I would be very happy to build another.

Model train of a green locomotive and coal car on a track.

Model green Highland Railway steam locomotive on a model train track with a wooden train station in the background.

Model train locomotive with a green body and the words 'Highland Railway' on its side, on a track.