Wiring completed
It is fortunate that in 1948 Ruston Hornsby made extensive use of electrical components used in cars of that era. The enduring popularity of classic car restoration means that many of these components are still produced, meaning that Queen Anne’s electrical system can be restored to its original condition. In particular, brass bound armoured cable would be very difficult to imitate were it not still being made (although at a premium price).
The electrical system is very simple and the photographs below show the various components wired up to the control box and working. Similar armoured cable has also been used to connect to the battery, starter and dynamo.
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| The front light |
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| The rear light |
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| The cab light |
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| Control box and wiring |
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| Note LH horn switch by cab opening |
Colour Schemes
Recently some colour photographs of Queen Anne in its original green livery have been obtained. The green colour is certainly not the standard “Deep Bronze Green” as used by Rustons before WW2 and later on. Some of these colour photographs can also be seen on the revised “
Queen Anne History” page.
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| An early view at the loading dock |
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| A later view in 1979 or 1980 |
Prior to donation to the Strathspey Railway in 1980, Queen Anne was repainted with the whisky advertisements on a chocolate brown background.
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| Getting ready to leave Longmorn |
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| Some more of the Longmorn staff |
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| The new livery with chocolate brown background |
Some time after arrival at Aviemore the background was repainted in a beige shade. This has been confirmed by sanding down the paintwork and by comparing the lining above the rear advertisement, which is lower down after the beige repaint. All this may seem a bit pedantic, but modellers seem to be very particular about liveries.
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| Note brown background and lining on rear panel |
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| Later beige background and different lining |
One outstanding item in the restoration of Queen Anne is the restoration of the bi-fold louvre doors on the bonnet sides. These were replaced with flat panels when the locomotive was repainted with the Queen Anne whisky advertisements in 1980. The louvre doors will take some time and effort to reproduce due to the rolled edges and punching the louvres themselves.
The Queen Anne style flat doors would be much easier to make and in view of the fact that Hornby is producing a model of Queen Anne in its as-donated livery, it has been decided to initially restore the locomotive in the same form as the Hornby model. This would be contingent on financing the brown background paint and the vinyls for the whisky advertisements.
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| The Hornby Model |
The ultimate goal is still to return the locomotive to its 1948 condition, but restoring to “Queen Anne” condition initially may help generate more widespread interest in this restoration project in view of the imminent release of the Hornby model.
