Today I received a second hand copy of the LMS Locomotive Profiles - No. 10, the Standard Class 4. Lots of good information here to back up my selected prototype.
But what is in the book isn't necessarily true for the exact time period being modelled and my best source is actually a photo downloaded from rail-online.co.uk:
http://www.rail-online.co.uk/p144309771/h4eaa682#h4eaa682
This shows a number of features including non-fluted coupling rods. It also shows a steam heating pipe
Eight days ago I bought the Connoisseur Models LMS 4F kit from owner Jim McGeown at the Bristol O Gauge Show. I really could not wait to get stuck into it, so a week later I finished constructing the tender, though it still needs some final filing and sanding before going to the paint shop. The engine's chassis has also been started on, but that will be the subject of another post.
A few comments:
The castings for this kit are simply the best I have seen. The axle box castings needed no fe
I have made a start on the LMS Folwer 4F kit from Connoisseur Models (Jim McGeown). The kit goes together beautifully, just like his Jinty. My plan is to build the tender first, then the engine's chassis, then the engine's "body". I thought I would save further postings on construction until the tender is ready to prime. One of the things about Jim's kits is the quality of the materials in the box. The etches are excellent in both nickel silver and brass, while the white metal castings are among
I have just returned from the Bristol 7mm show and a good day was had. An excellent turnout of traders, layouts and visitors.
My major purchase of the day was my next loco kit, a Connoisseur LMS 4F. I had already bought the wheels and pickups, so the kit is complete with the same motor gearbox as on the Jinty. I also visited several other stands and made new friends along the way.
I also bought a carrying case for the 4F, made by Parkwood Arts. Although I don't need it yet, the exhib
Well, I had some spare time today, so out with the paint brushes. White railings and control handles, Railroad tie brown on the planking and some more American paint colour on the metal sheeting - the same colour Union Pacific paints its smoke boxes!
That being done, I decided to connect up the turntable to my old Digitrax Zephyr. I didn't do any coding to the TMC M1 decoder, just tested the controls. I have taken a short movie but the light levels are too low so it really is not wor
Working to a deadline I decided to press on with the bridge detail with the intention of spraying it with primer tomorrow, At 11:30 p.m. the task was complete and a few photos were taken.
The wooden bridge deck was easier to install than I had thought, using contact adhesive. The stanchions and railing came together even easier. This is always a good sign of kit design and I must say here (and will do so in my final summary) that the kit really does come together very nicely. Someone recentl
While waiting for glue to set on the turntable planking, I turned my thoughts to why I am building a 60ft turntable and not the larger 70ft version.
The answer is simple. With very few exceptions, ten wheelers (American nomenclature for the 4-6-0 wheel arrangement) were the most common passenger loco type in the Birmingham area. Obviously on the Western Region the ex-GWR locos were mainly 4-6-0s, from Kings down to Manors. But on the Midland region we were also used to seeing the less pow
Yesterday saw a start on the bridge detailing. This is interesting as all the photos I have of turntables show subtle differences. On top of that, it is clear that, even in the these days of "preservation perfection" not very much attention is paid to keep turntables in the same condition as the locomotives that they turn. (One exception may the one at Minehead because that has become a prominent attraction because of its location).
Just like in the real, good old days, turntables are utilit
Construction is moving ahead nicely. I attached the wheel assemblies to the bridge to see how things fit. It is a good idea to do this prior to adding details to the bridge - as it is I managed to bend a couple of the railing brackets - but it is also important to check on the alignment of the bridge rails to future approach tracks. According to the instructions the bridge should match up exactly with Peco Gauge 0 track. But as I am using C&L track this might not have been the case. Adjustme
The wheel frame assemblies are basically complete, other than tidying up and attaching feed wires for electrical continuity.
A few comments.
Mainly a result of me not reading the instructions properly, I failed to note that the M1 bolts attaching the insulating plates to the assembly should be countersunk. By the time I had installed the plates I decided not to disassemble them but ground down the cheesehead bolts instead. Strips of electrical tape will be added to provide good in
The Turntable Saga continues after a break of around one month. The last post noted that the back ordered parts finally arrived as I was leaving France. Now back for a week or so, I found myself looking at a half completed kit of parts and was not quite sure where to start.
Then I remembered that the missing parts were the bearings for the wheel frame assembly. These have to be mounted using a total of 32 M1 bolts and nuts. M1 size is almost microscopic and the location of the inside hol
After a fairly lengthy session with the PowerCab I feel confident in writing this brief review.
I used my Broadway Limited Southern Pacific GS4 Daylight as the test vehicle. This is a fully equipped DCC Sound model, the DCC chip being factory installed.
The photo shows the set up, with the GS4 on rollers.
Having not used the GS4 for some time I could not remember if I had set the long address and my initial attempts to fire up the engine suggested that I had not, so I did a CV 8
I forgot to mention in my end of year review that a new DCC system is on the list for 2016. I just ordered an NCE PowerCab which was recommended by the folk at Digitrains.co.uk as the easiest to use when it comes to programming (as well as operating). With Legge Lane II (0 Gauge) the locos will all have sound with greater than 10 functions, so my somewhat ancient Digitrax Zephyr no longer supported all the sounds but worse could not access CVs over a certain number. I found this out when tryi
Moving on with the DJH 4mm Coronation kit, K70, I found a small conundrum concerning the driving wheels. At the time I bought the kit I was able to order everything, including wheels and motor. This is no longer the case, by the way, the choice of wheels is now left to the kit builder.
After some very useful email conversations with Stephen Widdows at DJH, all is now clear with the collection of wheels included in the box.
The photo shows the problem. At the time DJH wheelsets in
Until I get back to France and then Bristol OGG I am at a loss of what to do with Gauge 0 Legge lane II, so I have opened a 4mm DJH kit I bought years ago. It is K70, the de-streamlined Princess Coronation pacific. Mine will eventually be 46235, City of Birmingham, in BR green, late BR logo.
So far, so good. I am building the tender and everything fits except that the pre-formed tender sides don't match anything else. I suppose it is truly dangerous to assume anything, but when a tender
It has been an interesting year, my first since deciding to retire and my first with serious intent to create something worthwhile with my modelling skills. Looking back, it is hard to see exactly what has been achieved, because there have been some significant changes to the designs and philosophy of the two projects that were under way a year ago.
The most significant change was the decision to switch from 00 Gauge to 0 Gauge. This came about because my eyesight and finger joints togethe
Jack Nelson's LNWR Portrayed has a useful diagram of the typical coal chute used on LNWR coal holes. It is Figure 7-6 and shows a rather grotesque bearded figure pushing a wagon of coal from the upper stage into a tender. While at Didcot yesterday I took a couple of photos of the GWR version of the same.
The additional detail may not be quite LNWR but the concept is identical.
Today we visited the Didcot Great Western Society "museum". Hardly anyone was there even though it was a sunny day. Perhaps the £6.20 parking fee charged by APCOA puts people off? The Society has no parking spaces of their own, even the volunteers have to pay to park anywhere near the station, which houses the entrance to the museum.
The principal reason was to photograph details of the Ransomes and Rapier 70 foot turntable to help in deciding exactly where certain fixtures should be placed
While scanning through the trade attendees at Bristol on January 31st, I saw that Slaters intend to raise prices at the end of the year. So a quick order has been placed and they will be delivered tomorrow. Slaters wheels are expensive enough anyway, though much superior, in my opinion, to the 00/EM gauge Romfords I have been used to.
The next loco will probably now be a 4-4-0 tender loco, though I do already have the wheels for a 4F 0-6-0. I have to finish the turntable and lay some trac
My wife and I met up with several members of the Hillingdon Railway Modellers club at Telford in September and we were invited to visit their December 19th Open Track Day. My wife grew up in Hillingdon and we first had lunch with two historians of the area. Then off to the club meet for the last hour of their afternoon.
I never had time to take any photos or videos. Too much good conversation and admiration of the various trains running around the four track Gauge 0 oval. I am delighted
The only damage suffered by carefully packing my Jinty (named Dobbin) in bubble wrap for a long journey on Monday was that the two crew members came loose and arrived "on the floor" of the cab. I had simply glued their boots to the cab floor and this was not enough to withstand the baggage handlers' hard work. So I have thought about drilling out their legs and fitting 1mm wire that can be glued into holes drilled where they stand (for eternity) in the cab. There are several other items that c
The back ordered parts have still not arrived, possibly a combination of Christmas mail and the French security clamp down. But I did do some work today on the deck:
The deck still doesn't rotate on the outer track because I am waiting on the brass bearings to hold the wheels. However, the 20 walkway supports have been added. The first side was easier than the second side as the whole structure started to become a little unwieldy. Plenty of solder was used and some clean up will be requ
Back to being a simple DC locomotive I have decided to finish as much as I can and then take him back to England for a brief visit. Today I added coal, made fireman's tools, painted and fitted driver and fireman figures, added smokebox number plate and so on. All that remains is to add transfers and fit the sprung couplers The cab roof also needs to be glued on.
So, with any luck, Dobbin will visit Hillingdon Model Railway Club for a test run on Sunday, December 19th. The "luck" part ass
Today the decoder started to misbehave. The maximum speed in forward was a crawl, in reverse was a headlong rush to the buffers. The specialists who sold the decoder have not known of such a thing. So I have unsoldered the decoder and gone back to DC with no sound. The loco now performs as it should. This situation needs a lot of thinking about so nothing will be done in a hurry.
The problem as I understand it (from the specialists) is that my Digitrax Zephyr cannot access many of the C
