I saw a GWR Smokey Joe in railway modeller over 20 years ago. There was no description of it in the article but it looked the part, so much so I assumed it was available as such.

Haha ... I love the idea of incorporating a Scottish childhood favourite into your GWR layout. I just had to go off and see "how close" your "fictional story" came to being true. The answer... feasibly close. Smokey Joe (a Caley) was built in Glasgow by Neilson and Co. Neilson can be traced back to 1836, and was acquired by the North British in 1903. The Caleys were built to specifications laid out by the Caledonian Railway, which were more modifications to an existing 0-4-0 that Neilson had off the shelf. Neilson built and sold locos to railways and colleries all over the country and the world during that time. One of Neilson's clients was the Taff Vale Railway (TVR), who ordered a number of 0-6-2 locos, including no.85 which is still with us. Therefore you have the connection between the builder of Smokey Joe and the GWR through the TVR. A look at their loco fleer reveals that the TVR definitely only ever owned two 0-4-0s, which were built in 1876, but these were built by Hudswell Clarke and both entered into GWR ownership so they appear in GWR records too. As to how many 0-4-0s welsh colleries had actually ordered and whether any were built by Neilson to a similar spec to that of the Caleys, requires a deep dive into Neilson's archives. In 1923, the GWR acquired 29 0-4-0s, including a Peckett named Hurcules from a Cornish tin mine, but none of these 0-4-0s were built by Neilson. That said, the GWR acquired many Neilsons from the TVR, so the family link is there with your Caley. It is well within the imagination that an 0-4-0 Neilson could have worked in GWR territory somewhere and then scrapped , and if that hadn't have happened, then your fictional representation could have been feasibly close to being a reality. Hope this helps.

Hi I had the same idea many years ago, to date I have done 2 Smokey Joes & 4 Jinty loco's all ex BR stock all in GWR livery, look forward to seeing your results, all the best!

Great video looking firward to seeing the end result. Ive got an 80s pug, and one of the major improvements in running I got was from sorting the gauging so well worth a try

I seem to remember one of the 264 class was allocated to a WR shed in the early 50s - I presume in the midlands somewhere - but I can't find the reference which I thinkhad the number mentioned... anyway - nearly prototypical ish

Great video. I love Fictional locos. Who cares really, if it looks great then it's worth the effort, time and cash.

Come-on' Man. Chip ON the Motor ? . Gets it Nice and HOT ! Fun Tach May not melt or conduct too much heat .... . Pristine Town. No dust, litter, dead broken branches. no stains on surfaces. . . SOooo realistic ! Put the Tender with it's extra pick-ups back on.

The older 040 pugs are ridiculously over powered.. the newer ones I think have a resistor or something that makes them less like mini rockets