A few months work, Ivatt Class 2, J17 and loads of tiny bits for a Coronation (no not that one)

Entry posted by Fen End Pit in Ivatt 2MT December 23, 2023

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Blimey I've not put anything on the blog since August. I must be slacking...

There has been a fair amount going on but not much progress to write about.

Progress on the Ivatt has been good, however I felt that the original Brassmasters pony truck, a work of art and perfectly good product, was in a different league to the rest of the EasiChas I had been designing. Discussing with the Brassmasters at Scaleforum we decided to try to design an 'EasiPonyTruck' with the aim to making an easy to assemble unit which would better match the rest of the kit. The revised version uses just two main parts together with wire sprung bearings for the axle.

The original unit needed lots of tiny etched parts to make up the springs on the front and rear but I decided this could be more simply dealt with by a little 3D print.

The complete loco is now running around Clare and looks rather good hauling a goods train.

One of the best features of having put a new High Level motor and gearbox in the chassis is that the footplate can be cut away between the frames like the prototype. This gap has a couple of addition bits of bracing which are just visible when the boiler is in place.

The J17 project continues with the delivery of the second set of test etches. So far these have gone together well. One of the major design changes has been the decision to split the etches between nickel-silver and brass. There is now quite a difference in price and also some parts, notable the cab roof were a bit tricky to roll in nickel-silver. Also I've decided that rather than produce the tender as a single part, etching the outside frames and buffer beams will make for a stronger model. This also makes the tend much easier to print and clean up.

Please note that isn't the tender riding too high the holes in the side frames are to locate the axlebox print and deliberately don't match the centre height of the axles. This version of the boiler has the vacuum brake pipe so this was one of the fitted J17s. I've also modified the 3D model to produce an earlier non-super heater version with a Ramsbottom safety valve rather than Ross Pops.

In fact it is fair to say that I am getting quite a collection of J17s now...

Other activities have included making a front end for a Wickham DMU at the request of a fellow member of the GERS who want one to go with some etched sides he had. This was a bit tricky with lots of compound curves and difficult shapes. I think I've made a half-decent fist of it and people I have shown it to have at least gone 'ah, a Wickham' so hopefully I'm not too far out.