Progress has slowed recently due to warm weather and some health issues. However, the loco is now complete except for the smoke deflectors and cab side cinder guards. The tender is well advanced, the main outstanding tasks being fitting the axlebox/spring castings and completing the front platform and draw bar.
Here we see the current state of play.
Dave.
The model continues to develop.
The boiler is now fixed to the footplate and all the lubrication pipes, lubricators and atomiser are done, as is the brake ejector and associated piping - except the steam pipes from the cab.
Here's the current state of play.
Dave.
Progress continues at a slow(ish) pace. Since the last entry, the main visual change has been fitting the boiler (still loose at the moment), which required the removal of quite a lot of resin to pass over the motor and sit down on the splasher tops/footplate.
Recently, I've been working on the lubrication system, sand boxes/fillers and some initial boiler fittings.
Here's a couple of overall views of the loco in its current state.
Dave.
Apart from the motor/gearbox torque restrainer and the pick-ups, I think the chassis is now complete. The last cosmetic items fitted were the front foot steps and bracing struts and the two injector overflow pipes.
All the parts have been re-assembled, partly to check the assembly sequence. After inserting ten 14 BA screws into the keeper plate, I discovered that the eccentric strap cannot be fitted into the sheaf unless the axle is partially withdrawn from the horns - somewhat frustrating but
Quite a bit of progress has been made on the chassis. Despite some setbacks, this has now reached the stage where the inside and outside valve gear is all complete and temporarily fitted. The outside cylinder/valve gear assembly still need the rear cylinder relief valves re-fitted (I had to remove them because they were interfering with full forward travel of the combination levers) and drain cocks to be added.
Here we see nearly everything reassembled to see how it looks and check for any
Since the previous post, the brake gear, under cab pipework and the basic footplate have been assembled and temporarily assembled, as shown in the last photo. This is the current state of play.
Pipework underneath the cab - complete except the injector overflows.
Chassis and footplate assembled.
Dave.
Previously posted as a future project, this has turned into the current project.
Quite a bit of progress has been made with the chassis which now has the wheel sets in. Still rather a lot to do, but it is coming along.
Here are some views of the frames with the wheel sets, including the inside crank.
Dave.
Having run out of steam getting the Black 5 chassis painted and not sure how to proceed with the Ivatt tank, I thought I might do some planning (scheming) and some preliminary work on a future project - a Brassmasters Re-built Royal Scot.
To add interest and a bit of a challenge, I decided to fit the model with working inside valve gear. The kit provides most of the prototypical frame stretchers but makes no provision for the inside cylinder or valve gear. My representation is not going to
After contemplating sprung intermediate buffer, due to practical considerations, an executive decision was made - fixed W/M buffers!
The tender is now complete and has temporarily been connected to the loco. The latter has had some fine strips added to the rear edge of the fall plates, to bridge the gap to the tender.
Still got to fit locating pins to the loco number and shed plates but, otherwise, I think it's finished ready for painting.
Here is the finished loco, face to fac
The tender has now acquired four sets of steps and all the springs and axleboxes and is beginning to look the part. Intermediate buffers and hoses still to do. Buffer heads will be fitted after painting.
Dave.
Not much progress, but the loco and tender are now connected. The loco and tender kits are from different periods of design and manufacture and the adjustable draw bar supplied with the loco is far too long for the later tender. The fault really lies with the tender because the draw bar pivot is far too close to the buffer beam whereas the earlier tenders were about scale in this respect. The more recent tender is not easily modified to correct this aspect, so the only solution was to make a hyb
I see it's been over a year since my last posting on here. To be honest, I find the constant pop up adverts which now appear a constant irritant, so am less inclined to participate.
Anyway, I have made some limited modelling progress during the gap. Nothing on the layout, but work has been done on locos.
We left the Ivatt tank at the stage of making the injectors. This and all other work on the chassis is now complete. It is currently stripped to its component parts, ready to be painte
I was very please to accept an invitation to run some stock on the Manchester Model Railway Club's "Slattocks Junction" P4 layout recently. As the layout is set on the Manchester to Rochdale line, it is the perfect setting for my locos as I hope the photo shows. Besides railways, in various scales, I have a great interest in the cotton mills which dominated the landscape of my native Oldham during my childhood so, I have been pleased to be able to help in some small way with encouragement and so
Following on from the fitting crews and fire irons to various locos it's back to some rather more fiddly modelling in the form of the injectors for my Ivatt Class 2 tank. These injectors have quite a distinctive shape and I am not aware of any commercial source of realistic representations of these items. To overcome this lack, I decided to try and represent the injectors and their mountings using multiple layers of custom etchings, produced to my sketches by Rumney Models. I use the word "fiddl
Close on the heels of the BR Std Class 2 tank, I've now completed the finishing touches to my Fowler Class 3, 2-6-2 tank, which has remained almost finished for some years. The work required was the same as on the Standard, namely adding coal to the bunker and a crew in the cab, together with fixing the cab roof.
Having said these are the finishing touches, I realise that I still need to add fire irons to the rests on top of the RH tank. This also applies to the Standard and to the tender o
Last time I took my Jubilee. 45701, to run on the NLG test track, it refused to move and showed a fault message "AU5" or "AUS" on the controller. I thought at the time that maybe a pick-up had moved in transport or that there was a chip fault. Anyway, try fiddling with the controller I could not get it to move so it was put away for a future time.
Last weekend, I was chatting to "Barrow Road" at the Leamington show and the subject of a visit to run suitable locos was mentioned. Now, a Jubil
Finally got round to adding the crew and fitting the cab roof, as shown below. I think it's finished, now.
Not sure whether to move on to the Ivatt 2 tank or the Class 40 next.
Dave.
I thought it was about time I got back to some modelling. My arm/shoulder is still recovering, but i have sufficient movement to use small tools, etc., without over stressing it.
So, I decided to fit the DCC chip as part of the finishing off process. This required separation of the chassis from the body, taking care not to damage the paint or weathering. That's not to say some minor touching up will be required by the time I've finished. The chip used is a Digitrax DZ126, the current neares
Unfortunately, I will be taking a forced break from modelling for a few weeks, having broken my right arm, just below the shoulder joint, when I tripped and fell heavily on concrete, on Tuesday. Never to be recommended, but this does seam to be a particularly bad time to be incapacitated, what with the build up to Christmas and New Year. Prior to my accident, I had progressed the Std 2 tank by fitting the cab glazing and adding coal to the bunker and had started to paint the [Modelu] crew member
I left the Class 40 with the bogies wheeled and the loco test pushed through some of the yard throat point work. Since then, pick-ups have been added and the loco rendered operational, though not without some trials and tribulations. My clever plan for the pick-ups proved a bit too clever for its own good. The mounting bus-bars were just fine as were the simple phosphor-bronze wire pick-ups for the inner wheel sets but those for the outer driven axles gave lots of problems with shorting out on t
I've made some further progress with my PenBits sprung bogies for the Class 40. The modified Bachmann drive gears have been fitted to the new Gibson axles and the pony truck frames have had the axle bushes opened out to 2.4 mm ( from 2 mm) to accept the extended axles that I recovered from my part-completed Lima Class 40.
Here are the three driving and pony truck axle (for the second bogie) The gears have been drilled out by a friend to be a good push fit on the axles, but I applied a smear
Work on the sprung chassis for the Class 40 has progressed with the PenBits etched brass kit assembled and work on modifying the Bachmann drive units and bogie frames started.
The PenBits chassis went together perfectly, with virtually no adjustments required other than minor filing to get various sliding parts to give a nice fit. This was mentioned in the very comprehensive assembly instructions available on the PenBits web site, so came as no surprise. I didn't bother trying to download or
It's been a little while since my last entry about the BR Standard Class 2 2-6-2 tank. This has now been painted and lined and is in the process of being weathered by my good friend David Clarke.
Whilst this is underway, I've been doing a few slightly different things, for me, anyway. First, I've assembled a Lanakshire Models tender sprung chassis and fitted it to a Brassmasters outer frames and footplate unit to go under a Bachmann ex-LMS Fowler 3500 gallon tender, destined for a Crab.
Well, it's cooled down somewhat recently and I've finally got down to a bit more modelling after nearly two month hiatus. The final details still outstanding were the lamp irons and fixing the smokebox front. I actually did the latter a couple of weeks ago during the hot weather and failed to spot that some Araldite has squeezed out and covered some of the rivets round the top half of the wrapper. I have been worrying about what to do about this and had come to terms with leaving it for fear of
Phew! Superb weather but rather too nice to be stuck indoors doing any modelling. Even now (ten past eight), my modelling room is uncomfortable as it gets the sun all afternoon and evening. So, I've been mainly out in the garden reading and having my meals al fresco. Looks like this might carry on for a few more days. However, I did make some further progress with the Standard 2 tank before it got so hot. Using the second batch of custom etched parts from Rumney Models, I've made the cab roof, l
