Last time I finished while I waited for araldite to cure.
The gearbox had its motor fitted and was test run for about 15 minutes at full speed, then low speed and in both directions. All was well.
The rebuilt axle had one wheel mounted and trued in the lathe. Gearbox, gear-wheel, axle boxes etc followed and the second wheel pushed home to gauge.
The chassis was reassembled, but without the cylinders and valve gear, and taken to ‘Bowton’s Yard for a test run. – Locked up solid!
Vi
Oh dear! Old age is really having a go at me; it’s not the K3 at all, it’s the O6: - FOOL.
Some readers will not understand “O6”. During the second world war, the government (ROD? MOS? WD?, not sure) had the LNER build about 60ish LMS 8Fs. The Southern built some too; and each of the ‘Big Four’ had some on loan. It appears that the LNER purchased some of these and classified them O6 and they appeared as such in the stock book. Those on loan, the LNER called “WD® 2-8-0”. They had 68 O6s and 6
The C13s are in the “Wait till Autumn,- Dave” box but I decided to get down to solve the J10 hiccup running
It was indeed the split axle that had failed so a new one was made but when back to trial running stage there was still a tiny jerk when slow running. Not only that but occasionally there was a short which shut down the DCC – Bu****!
In fact it was the shorting that gave me the answer, because while looking for were this occasional short circuit could be occurring I noticed some b
What with C13 chassis and this etching drawings thing, I’ve been flitting between workshop and computer room like a (blue something) flea.
First let me tell about the drawings-for-etching saga.
Regular visitors to this blog, -(which is supposed to be about building a very light-weight, portable, EM layout, but which rarely seems to mention that project!) – will be aware that I like my rolling stock to have sprung suspension.
They’ll also be aware that I have religiously used the Bill B
The new milling machine is installed and the workshop juggling is complete, but I still need a tidy up session. I must thank all who joined in the forum session I started ; each in some way helped my choice. One member asked for pics of the machine but I don't know how to put pictures into a forum section so I decided to dump 'em here.
I think some of you will be happy to take a peek into 'Honley Tank'.
This shows the Petol/Taig machine, the beast which caused all the commotion and reshuffle
Not much to say about actual progress with the C13s except that the inability of my tiny Proxxon miller to hold one of the bodies, (I needed to mill away some metal to make the body clear the wheels), decided me to buy a larger milling machine. The full saga of this purchase is in forum "Skill and Knowledge - kit and scratch building - milling machines"
Housing the new machine means a total re-hash of the workshop, so I'm in DIY mode rather than modelling mode.
Sorry ; off to do some sawing.
I decided that I would take a rest from modelling over the Christmas period. The usual health niggles during winter months (“it’s your age” says my GP) have made that a longer break than wanted, and getting Honley Tank (workshop) to a comfy temperature here on the Pennines takes time and costly electricity.
To limit that cost I’ve been computing away like an idiot, driven by this urge to produce etching drawings. So I have been active, but in the warmer climes of our ‘office’. That used to b
I’ve not laid hand on either of the part-finished C13 chassis for the last few weeks. One or indeed, two “other activities” were referred to last post but since then the computer has been active with me trying to grasp the skill of producing drawings for etching.
My tutor has said that I’m nearly there and that I should draw something I would like to actually send off and have etched. This needs careful thought because there is an initial charge around £50 - £100 to set up.
I have decide
The C13s are very much on hold but I’m not having a rest, just otherwise occupied.
I’m flogging my way towards learning Corel Draw and producing suitable drawings to send to an etching company; very slowly getting there.
Then the computer goes daft and I need to hire assistance. No sooner is that seen to than I find sewage swilling around the manhole on our patio; currently waiting for my tame plumber friend to come with his rods.
I know you’re not interested in all that but, just in case you
Back then to two C13s
Sorry folks, the original version of this page lacked logical layout. I have now edited it and I hope it is a more sensible read.
Since showing you the mainframes I’ve been playing with the lathes and produced some all-metal driving wheels and also some trailing wheels.
C13s were actually 4-4-2 tank engines but my two chassis will actually be 4-6-0s, but only the front two of the “6” will be coupled and the rear axle will be free. Perhaps that’s still 4-4-2, I’m
I promised to take some pics of the stuff I entered in our competition at Manchester MRS.
First is a solo pic.’ (taken for my stock records in case of theft!) of the Airfix crane that I talked about some months ago. In real life it looks rather more careworn than in this picture. I’ve decided to cheat reality a little and I now have “Gorton Shed’s track maintenance train” to run up the Hayfield Branch, (see Pic. 2).
This train is shown here still on its display unit for the show.
The next
July to October is a long time for nothing to be posted on a blog; - Sorry.
The effects of age on our bodies - mine & my wife Margaret's that is, - is taking its toll, and there have been rather more important things than railway modelling to capture my attention in recent months. Octagenarianism is approaching much faster than did teenagerism!!
We had a visit of EMGS friends and their wives - mainly comprising the ExpoEM North team, and Honley Tank was alive to three, finescale layo
The ‘lift-off’ bridge was always intended as a way of disguising the baseboard joint and will never be a fixture on the layout. Accordingly its weight is of no accord, unlike any thing that is such a fixture.
Plasticard was always intended too, mainly because of its ease of welding, a feature which would allow using flat pieces to build up a girder-like structure. In fact, it’s not strictly ‘Plasticard’. Some few years back I took out a bath during a modernisation of our bathroom. The bath side
From my last blog, Dave raised the lack of batter on the foam-board retaining walls and I explained that, because the baseboard is so narrow (300mm), any width dimension is at a premium. About 50mm is taken up by the space needed for the point servos and surface wiring; if the walls sloped then this would increase the space taken between servos and the closest track. The best material to give strength + lightness to the walls is foam-board and that’s another 6mm taken up! So vertical walls with
Last time I promised a few pics showing progress toward permanence:
That’s the finger-muckying, embossed tunnel mouth and retaining wall.
The left-hand sheet of green foamboard is the 10’ high retaining wall, above which will sit four houses. Actually they are only half-relief house backs and I found the models in my “Possible future use box”, already made from a period when I investigated the kits produced by Metcalf.
On the right is further ex-supermarket foamboard forming the basis of a
Having proven that my scenic ideas for Wheegram Sidings would allow the two boards to fold with no conflict, I have started on more permanent work.
There are still some ideas needing proof; about how the servos, indeed all above-board bits & pieces, could be hidden and yet remain easily accessible for repair and maintenance.
Of course, Mr Sod’s law will ensure that no repair or maintenance will be required as long as the required work area is easy to access. Should I totally hide the
This blog was originally intended to be about my building a new, very light-weight, quickly setup, exhibitable layout which when folded would easily fit into my car boot. It was to be in EM gauge rather than in S4 or P4, the track/wheel standards I have been working in since ……, well a very long time ago!
I much prefer scratch building locos but there is little doubt that age is attacking any skills I may have developed over the years and it may be that I will need to fall back on less preci
With the 5 new PMVs sent on to the Paint Shop, Honley Tank’s Assembly Shop started on the refurbishment of an ancient locomotive crane.
What that really means is that a few months ago my good friend and next-door neighbour gifted me a nearly completed Airfix, 15T Locomotive Crane; one of the old 3/- plastic kits. How many of you remember it? Here’s the box:
The kit was complete except for the rigging, but of course with the original moulded plastic, ‘oo’ gauge wheels and painted wit
Silly of me to have posted some pictures without information yesterday, so here’s the words to explain the pictures.
The top two show the beginnings of one of the LNER PMVs, based on a Parkside kit. As is my wont, they were not built as the designer of the kit intended. Almost all my more recent rolling stock builds ride on Bill Bedford sprung ‘W’ irons, have a removable underframe built onto a new floor and underframe and body have a single, central screw fixing using a ballast weight as th
I posted this the other day but forgot to include information about the included pictures. Today I have added that information to the original words. Here is the lot!
Winter weather, minor ill health for both Margaret & myself, - (old age really!) and lack of modelling confidence is the reason for not having posted on here for about three months. Age is not as wonderful as we believe when younger; it’s certainly interfering with my modelling skills and my length of concentration span and
Hello and sorry for the lack of posting.
Age keeps interrupting my modelling progress due to minor illness that keeps me out of the workshop far more frequently than I’m happy about. It also seems to be causing me to have reduced concentration span, which, unless I realise that my concentration has diminished, leads to error, or at least less precision.
Mid-January I decided to have a shunting session on ‘Bowton’s Yard. Partly to give some running tests on the two new PMVs – still in their
Hello again and happy New Year.
Christmas always limits progress in “The Tank” and increasingly I find that age too has its effect on progress.
However I have managed an hour or two there, and the Q4 chassis is getting fairly close to its first running trial.
The pics show left and right sides but with only front and third axles in place.
Fairly evident is the colour coding for the axleboxes (bearings if you prefer).
The tin-plated wires showing through the horn way for the second axle, are
Modelling's been knocked on the head due to preparation for some festivity or other. The scratch Q4 is well underway; more about that next year!!
Meanwhile, have a good christmas.
My B1 at Birch Vale:-
MCHNY,
Dave
