Entry posted by buffalo
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Not so much to show this week, I've had less free time and have been using it to add some of the small fiddly bits. Now I've reached the point where I need to wait a few days for some new supplies from Eileen's. These include some brass channel section that I hope to use in producing the little brackets on the buffer beams that hold the electrical connection cable when not in use.
The first photo shows most of the new additions. Starting from the rear, the bunker step is quite prominent in the one photo I have of the rear end of 58047. The screw reversing gear has been added inside the cab, but the floor and backhead are only temorarily placed in position to check their fit. I need to build up the detail on the backhead but only have a couple of photos of prototypes, neither of which is of a push-pull fitted engine. There are two injectors on one photo but only one on the other. However, 58047 has clack valves on either side of the boiler so, with my limited knowledge of how these things work, I'm uncertain what needs adding to the backhead.
The next addition is the tank filler caps. As I mentioned last time, the castings in the kit are wrong in almost every respect. Most Johnson tanks have an almost flush fitting cap, so I've tried to reproduce these from brass sheet and lace pins. Also on the tank top are the brackets for holding fire irons. There is one just in front of the cab made from a lace pin and the more curvy one in line with the front of the filler cap was made from some boiler band strip. It is rather delicate, so only time will tell whether it survives or needs to be replaced with something a bit stronger.
The other new parts are at the front. They are the vacuum regulator apparatus, sandbox filler caps and a vague representation of the sandbox operating levers. I've not been able to find a photo showing the latter in any detail but, like several photos, they give the impression that there is something there. All of these can be seen more clearly in the second photo, although this also shows more solder that needs cleaning off. As is often the case, it looks worse in the photo and the use of Bar Keepers Friend for cleaning has the effect of darkening both solder and white metal.
Looking at that second photo and thinking about the sanding mechanism, I can see that I'm going to have to add a representation of the control rod. There is a rod visible on photos of engines with the front sand boxes passing between the tank and splasher on this side, just above footplate level. I am fairly certain this is the sanding control. Whatever it is, it is another of those cases of something that you might not normally notice, but once you know it's there, its absence sticks out like a sore thumb.
Incidentally, my request for information on how the vacuum regulator worked seems to have fallen on deaf ears. If anyone knows, I'd appreciate any information you can offer.
I'd like to add the builder's plates to the sides of the bunker and the tank capacity plate to the rear. So far, though, I've not found a source of suitable etches. Does anyone have any ideas, please? Thinking about the builder's plates led me to realise that I knew very little about 58047's history. The ealiest photos I have show the engine in 1951 with this number but with LMS still on the tank sides. I've not been able to find the numbers it carried in LMS and MR days or where it was build. Again, any information, references, etc. would be appreciated.
Nick
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4
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