Source: Preston Docks Bagnalls

For those of you unfamiliar with the prototype, the idea is that the build should result in something which looks a bit like this, but with a Giesl Ejector:

The body is now complete (see the thread over in the 'UK Standard Gauge Industrial Group') and primed, but I haven't any pictures of it in it's current state. I acquired some rather nice nameplates for it at EXPO EM (from AMBIS Engineering), so it will eventually bear the name 'Carnarvon'...

We now come to the chassis, where work has been somewhat slow. A couple of pictures for now showing the crossheads, cylinders, and some small deviations from the original design.

The design of these components is quite good: everything is self-jigging from the frames as will become clear in due course, but the piston rods were way overscale at 1.5mm (4.5" full size, 3" is much nearer the mark). They were also supplied as steel rod which looks nice but is a bit of a pig to solder. Having thought about it, thought again, prevaricated and so on, I used 1mm Nickel silver rod and 1.5mm OD x 1mm bore tube instead (both from Eileen's - usual disclaimer). More of the tube was used to bush the now heavily oversize bore in the cylinders.

The crosshead itself is a little problematic, being assembled from several little bits of etched brass with the little end of the connecting rod sandwiched in the middle pivoting around a 16BA bolt. All very proper, Guy Williams, sort of stuff. I couldn't make the 16BA approach work - I was little uneasy about having to file off the cheesehead bolt from the back in any event - and substituted a brass lacepin, having blackened the small end of the rod in an (almost successful) attempt not to solder the whole thing solid. The first took about five goes, the second only two. Persistence reaps its rewards! That said a nice brass casting would have been much easier.

Adam