My painted and weathered Crab was returned home this afternoon and very nice it looks to me. The apparent strange angle of the front steps in the last photo I posted which raised comment was, happily, an optical illusion or due to barreling of the camera lens. Here are some shots of it parked in front of the Jubilee.
Now to fit the DCC chip and front AJ coupling. I'll have to try to source the correct shed plate - Farnley Junction, 55C.
Dave.
Except for the buffer heads and final finishing, my Brassmasters Jubilee in now structurally complete, ready for painting, except...... More problems have arisen, so it's currently a series of ups and downs. Final assembly and attachment to the tender has confirmed that the fall plate(s) will have to be omitted or heavily modified. As modelled, they probably work fine with the Stanier 4000 gallon tender, but with the Fowler 3500 they are too wide and long. This results in them jamming under the
I've previously posted about my ex-LMS Crab model, which uses a Bachmann body on a much modified Comet chassis with a Comet tender. The previous photos showed it with the un-painted tender but it has now been painted and lined, the number changed and the whole thing weathered by good friend David Clarke. Here it is more-or-less complete.
Since the photo, the odd bend in the brake ejector pipe has been improved by correctly locating the vertical pipe through the hole in the running plate
Phew! I'm pleased to say I've managed to partially recover from the recent set backs described last time. First, the replacement illuminated magnifying glass has arrived and is ready for use, so at least I'll be able to see the jobs in hand! This morning I got out the mini drill with a rotary burr and ground away more of the inside of the Jubilee resin firebox such that it now fits over the motor whilst missing the whistle. Getting the front fixing screw in before the new lamp arrived was a tric
Yesterday was just one of those days. A little progress with the Jubillee but a series of set-backs, sufficient to make me want a few days away from it! The progress was in successfully cutting back the rear edge of the cab footplate to clear the front of the tender, fitting the fall plates and some guide pins that hold the pivoted tender doors in place whilst allowing movement on curves. I also fitted the whistle to the cab front, although that bit leads into one of the set-backs.
In antici
Contrary to my last blog entry, the sand pipes proved not to be the only outstanding work. I realised that I had not represented the drive to the mechanical lubricators. On the Caprottis, this takes the form of a triangular swing link driven by a return crank on the RH driving wheel. Whilst I had provided the mounting bracket under the foot plate, I hadn't really thought out how to represent the mechanism or how to actually fix it to the loco structure. This proved to be rather more testing than
My Caprotti Black 5 is now complete except for the sand pipes, which are awaiting so custom etched support brackets. So, whist I wait for them, and inspired by a recent discussion on RMweb about Jubilees, I thought it would be a good idea to dig out my partially completed Brassmasters version. I started this loco at least 15 years ago and put it to one side when I reached a minor sticking point with a cosmetic detail. Up till that point, I had a strict policy of not starting a new model till the
A further trial run took place on Green Street, prior to an operator training session. This showed that the mods I'd made had not really solved the problems with the front bogie, which still derailed on some pointwork and reverse curves. To try to effect a cure, fairly drastic tweaks have been carried out. The front end of the cylinder drain cocks has been bent outwards slightly and the support brackets filed to wafer thin. To give clearance to the rear truck wheels, the slide-bar supports have
The Caprotti Black 5 has been making steady progress over the past few weeks. I started the chassis ages ago but only since (almost) finishing the Crab have I really concentrated on finishing off the Caprotti. The rear sand boxes and all the sand pipes are still to do, along with the front guard irons on the bogie. I joined the Leamingtom MR Society earlier this year and have been able to try the loco out on Clarendon (a bit out of place on an early 1900's LNWR layout!). This has shown up some i
Well, crabs are generally said to scuttle, but that's sideways, so it's not unreasonable that forward progress is fairly slow.
Following the conversion work on the ex_GCR push-pull coaches, I thought I ought to try and finish off some part completed projects which have been sitting around for quite a while. One such is the ex-LMS Crab, which is a Bachmann body on a Comet chassis and a Comet brass tender, together with a Brassmasters detailing kit. The original idea, inspired by the demonstratio
I've now completed the modifications to the two coaches (apart from the AJ coupling at the loco end) and have painted the new bogies and also the coach underframes. Probably at bit of weathering on the sides, ends and roofs, when I set up my airbrush - warmer weather allowing work outside or in the garage, I think.
Here are the coaches in their current state.
First, the brake composite non-driving trailer:
and the 12 wheel driving trailer:
Dave.
Some time ago, I purchased a couple of ex-GCR push-pull coaches from Coachman, following his change of interest from Greenfield to ex-GWR in North Wales. These coaches consist of a 12 wheeled driving trailer, which I believe may have been converted from a steam rail motor, and a brake composite non-driving trailer, which had been converted from a London suburban all first.
This combination of coaches was used on Guidebridge to Oldham services in the 1950's and I must have seen it innumerable ti
It's been rather a long time since my last entry, leading to some queries if I and the project are doing OK. Well, I'm fine but the layout has been in abeyance for quite a while because I allowed the prospect of hand scribing all the cobble to over-face me and off I went on my full size restoration work. I'm still involved with that but have had a bout of renewed enthusiasm for the layout and modelling in general recently.
As a result, there's been progress with the layout, the latest loco and
Not a huge amount of progress since my last post. In fact, I didn't do any modelling at all over Christmas and New Year, but have got back to it in recent weeks.
I had marked out the areas to be cobbled onto 1.2 mm thick mount card using the templates illustrated last time and since then, I've embossed about a quarter of the area needed and cut out some of the shapes to fit round the track and goods shed.
My original intention was to paint the surface before fixing to the base-boards but have
Having decided on the method for creating the large area of cobbled (setts) roadways in the yard, using mount board hand impressed with individual setts, I've spent some time hoping it might do it itself. However, nothing has happened so far and now seems unlikely to, so I've re-started work on this aspect.
The area behind the platform end has had a framework of tapered foam-board ribs erected to give the slope up to the yard entrance (off scene) and a template made from thin card for the whole
In the 6 weeks or so since my last entry, I've been plugging steadily away at ballasting the track, which I finally finished yesterday. It proved nowhere near as difficult as I had feared but certainly was laborious and back breaking work.
My original intention was to use a latex based carpet adhesive to allow a bit of sound deadening but just couldn't get on with it on a couple of test panels. In the end, I used diluted PVA applied with various sized brushes, small(ish) areas at a time, then v
I've been doing some further work on the Dobcross bridge/tunnel which forms part of the scenic break at the exit to the fiddle yard. Recent work has been to add a section of curved wall alongside the steep lane going over the bridge. These days, it is almost completely obscured behind brambles and other thick undergrowth but I imagine it was fully exposed to view at the time the railway is set (mid to late 1950's). It appears in a photo on page 23 of Larry Goddard's Delph to Oldham book.
Follow
I'm having a weekend away frome the layout and thoughts of further ballasting!
Yesterday, I got fairly damp helping spruce up 35006, P&O (304.8 mm/ft scale) ready for the GWR Gala, where it's on display out in the car park (on the loading/unloading track, not the tarmac!). The weather wasn't too kind to say the least. My main job was cleaning up the valve gear and coupling rods and blessing them with Shell Ensis de-watering oil. Hope it worked - I'll find out tomorrow when I'm on footplate
After putting this off for ages and some fairly inconclusive test pannels, I've bitten the bullet and started laying ballast. To ease into the process and learn on the job, so to speak, I've chosen the easyest board first - the one with the single track approach, some of which disappears into a deep cutting and long over-bridge/short tunnel to hide any disasters!
I've used C+L ash for the cess and 2 mm scale light grey for the track. Originally, I intended to use a rubber based carpet adhesive
Since my first post on this new loco, I've made some progress with the cylinders, lubricators and associated pipework.
The Comet kit design incorporates the top part of the cylinders into the running plate etch with the cam boxes and reversing links mounted above. It is intended that the cylinders are attached to the chassis in the normal way. However, completed examples of the model I have seen have struggled to disguise the join line between the cylinders and cam boxes which does not exist in
Faced with the daunting task of laying the ballast, I've taken a break from the layout and have picked up a loco project which I started ages ago but didn't get very far.
It is a Stanier (Ivatt!) Caprotti Black 5 based on a Comet kit. Previously, I'd built up the basic footplate and cab, but without the splashers, and soldered the frames together and marked out for the compensation beam pivots, but that's about it. Anyway, I've knuckled down over the past few weeks and now have a wheeled chassi
The signal box has been modified to overcome the problem mentioned in the previous entry. A 3 mm wide slot was gouged in the underside using a custom made chisel (ground up from a screwdriver). Slots to accommodate the point rods were then cut in the front wall - very carefully, so as not to damage the paint finish applied by Gravy Train.
I had been rather apprehensive about hacking at a fully finished model but it proved not as difficult as I'd anticipated. Let's hope that also applied to the
The final bit of point rodding in front of the signal box has now been completed and is shown in these photos.
A general view:
and just in front of the box:
Unfortunately, I've now created a problem with the wonderful signal box made by Gravy Train. The original had a walk-way in front which was removed because the rodding cranks and signal wire pulleys are in the way. However, there is no slot above ballast level for the rods, etc., to enter the box, so I'm faced with havi
Since my last post back in September, I've painted the remaining track and point rodding with basic colours and recently installed the signal wire posts. There's just the rodding outside the signal box to complete and then I'm faced with the slightly daunting task of laying the ballast.
I'll be using C&L ash ballast in the yard and run-round loop and a mixture of ash and proper ballast for the main line. Photos of the real place suggest the ballast even on the running line was pretty old an
A bit of further effort has seen the completion of the FPL and lock bar with the rodding all connected and the drive to the FPL bolt also done. This means I can now paint the track on the final board and in fact, since the photos were taken, I've primed all the unpainted bits using Halfords grey plastic primer.
Just the rodding connections into the signal box left to do; then the dreaded ballasting awaits.
Here are some shots of the finished assembly.
Aahh! Just spotted
