So 76009 has finally rolled out the paint-shop and had its final fittings applied.

So it is already to be pressed into service.

It's first outing is scheduled to be at The Tring show next weekend.

http://www.tdmrc.co....adRail2011.html

Here are some pictures of the finished engine.

I am quite pleased with the pipe work around the boiler.

I purchased Alan Gibson fittings, mainly because I didn't realise that Comet did these as well and in a pack.

Some of the Gibson parts I couldn't use because they just wern't right for this standard. Remember that BR Standards are quite often anything but! So I had to make from scratch new fittings. The other thing I found is that the lost wax brass casting are a swine to drill with a 0,5mm drill. This I do to try and get a good location for the pipes that are soft copper wire from Eileens.

The whistle was also the result of disatisfaction. The only Horizontal whistle that I could find on the market is by Comet, but it looks too long. So I made this one up with some 1mm O/D tube on 0,5mm wire. It looks more like the photos of the prototypes.

Finally I added the rubber seal between the cab and the tender.

The first batch of standards had a terrible draft that went down the drivers neck and caused a lot of coal dust to be blown around the cab. This was eventually resolved with a redesign of the cab and the introduction of type BR2A and BR1B tender. The latter of which had a heavier axle loading than the engine!

The interim solution was to fit the drafty Standards with a rubber seal between the cab and the tender. I made this out of thin paper (computer paper) that I folded every 1mm. I noticed that the prototype did not have many folds and this made life easier for making the arch shape at the top of the seal. When I had a nice springy paper seal I then painted it black. this cuased the whole thing to go a stiff as board... so the bits that I had missed with the first paint were filled in with black ink. When dry I worked the seal by 'wiggling' it in and out so it got back some of it's spring before glueing onto the tender.

I then had to add some more weight to the front of the tender as the seal actually lifted the front wheels off the track.

Finally after the final fitting and test run, a coat of matt varnish is sprayed onto the top of the engine and tender to try and give a uniform dusting of light paternaster. No heavy weathering as the layout s set in June 1960.

If anyone gets to Tring please say hello, and if you take a picture of 76009 please post it on here.