The A.G.A. (Contractors) Company

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Now why would a successfull company like 'Amalgamated Conserves' want to employ a contracting company!? The reason is money! The tramway really needs more engine's and rolling stock but the directors of T.A.C.T. are too mean and a contractor is a cheap option! The A.G.A. (Contractors) Company is a shoddy affair and looking at its steam engine above/below reflects that. The engine is a 0-4-0 wheel configeration and purchased off the War Department after the Great War CHEAP! It started out as a ex. U.S. Army Porter but as bits wore out English bits were added, (it was deemed too expensive to import the proper spares.....See? I told you they are mean up at the factory!) that's why the engine has such a 'rag-bag' appearance. In actual life this engine is rather unique as it is a 7/8" scale Porter running on 18" (or so) gauge trackwork. I was lucky a few years ago to obtain a rare GRS 32mm conversion chassis made for LGB Porters. The steam generator on top of the boiler next to the chimney was intended for a U.S. style headlamp but the contractors are strictly 'Nine to Five' workers and have no intention of working longer than they can help it! The generator now runs a hot-air blower in the cab for Jarrge's (locomotive driver) comfort. ('Jarrge'??!.... Just say 'George' with a Worcestershire 'burr' and see what you get!) The other engine staff are very bitter about this hot-air blower as the T.A.C.T. just said, ...(in response to, ..."what about us?").... "put some woollies on"...which just shows how mean they are! As you can see by the locomotive's chimney its a wood-burner. As the factory needs plenty of timber there is no shortage of off-cuts for fuel for this engine! Better not utter disparaging comments too close to the engine as Jarrge the driver is rather proud of his grotty engine .....(especialy about that patch on the right boiler side... below!!) Engine's of this sort are usually neglected so they get painted a colour that looks like 'dirt'! The choice of 'Mud Brown' as a suitable engine colour seems apt...the dirt does not show up....or the rust for that matter!

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Here are two picture's (one at top of page) of the contractoring company locomotive and as you can see the locomotive scales out not bad at all! The engineman is 5' 8" high and I scaled the cab roof to give him the right amount of headroom. For years I have wanted a LGB Porter in 7/8" scale after seeing a picture in 2001 in the English magazine, 'GardenRail' in a article by Peter Bakke. In the flesh so to speak the locomotive looks brilliant! The icing of the cake was obtaining the rare GRS 32mm chassis! Note the 'Anglicised' additions of the Rosco lubricators on the tank front with their piping going into the cyclinder housing and also the Roundhouse smokebox door and dart. The steam generator came from Brandbright. See the steam dome in the cab?? (with the real 7/8" scale whistle on it?) That come off my Regner 'Konrad' and was suitably 'bashed'! Jarrge the engineman was a ex. 'Dr. Who' character that came in a fancy box of four figures for eight pounds (the most I have EVER spent on figures!) He was suitably 'bashed' and repainted and looks the part. The batteries and electronic controls sit in the tender under a pile of real wood 'logs' that came from this year's pruning's off the Ash tree in our backgarden! (5/06/2011)

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Here are four pictures of the A.G.A. locomotive out at work in rural Worcestershire!