I have started to rebuild a BEC LNER J52 I got off Ebay quite cheaply,the paint job was not very good. So a soak in Nitromores last night and a wash clean, all there was then to do was picking off the odd bit of paint and glue.
Tonight I have stuck the two body sides/tops to the bunker casting, smoke box and footplate.
I noticed that where the 2 body halves joined, the joins was not very good (the builder had put some filler on them). So I decided to do likewise and will leave the f
Not listed much lately, one of the reasons is that I had a problem with a couple of programs including my camera link,another having new windows fitted to the house (had to tidy up the workroom and stop using for a few days)also sorting out the seedlings in the greenhouse and planting some of them out, but most of all the bench has been full of turnouts for the past 6 or 7 weeks.
EM gauge junction which was built on a gentle curve just to add a couple of complications. Brooke Smith timb
Over the weekend I finished building the loco, the most tedious job was to make the steps from brass sheet. I swapped the split pins for brass hand rail knobs. Fitted etched rear window grills and I fitted some whitemetal steam pipes.
For the past few nights I have undercoated and sprayed the loco gloss black, I will now pick out the buffer beams and other items which need painting different colours and will number and letter the loco over the weekend, then a coat of satin varnish will
I have finished the 2 turnouts I was asked to build, the first was a SMP 60" radius built to a B6 size, Its some time since I have used SMP products, I feel that the Paxoline sleepers are not as good as C&L fiberglass ones as the widths seem to vary a bit (the ones in this kit were quite good)and the material seems a bit weaker than fiberglass. Also the rail seemed to be softer.
I did use the SMP tiebar, but found my normal style easier to fit the blades close to the stock rails.
Not too much done tonight (had to make some jam) The splasher has been filed back, just need to grind the rear back with a mini drill to clear the wheels. Rear step units fitted (nice new castings) along with the cab roof, buffer beam, dome and drivers seat.
There is a dent in the side if the fire box that I have just noticed, it needs pushing out a bit and the point of the dent filled. The hand rail nob holes have been filled ans sanded. Also found the tender bufferbeam, so only a tank vent
I have started to build up the cylinders, they are now glued together and I have started the filling process with Milliput. More filling is required along with rebuilding the cylinder fronts.
I also need to work out whow high the cylinders should be.
They are just a push fit into the chassis / body at the moment.
Next job is to rebuild the crossheads
Tonight I finished the Junction, I fitted the tiebars and gave it a thorough testing, a couple of minor tweaks were needed, mostly to open up the check rail gaps a fraction.
Testing is a bit Heath Robinson with wires crock clipped to the rails.
Photo of it in 2 parts, thankfully it fits back together.
Now to get out the sleeper stain on some Brooke Smith ply sleeper strips
A couple of photos of the junction now all the rails are in place
I must make more room on my work bench, using a building board 4' x 1' is a bit large for my bench.
Next job is to cut the isolation slits with a cutting disc and fit the tiebars, at least I can do this with the turnouts off the building board and they come off in half as they have been built as two units.
Now the moment of truth testing with a loco, loco wheels are thicker than my wagon wheels so there may be
I sanded flat the filler I put into the gaps on the SMP turnout, a lot easier with no rails in the way. Now just have to fit the rails.
Also built the common crossing for the C&L plastic turnout
Just placed on the sleepers, as it does not show up on the paper plan too well.
The V was soldered up in a simple jig (hi tec engineering)
Then the wing rails were soldered to the V with scrap brass shim
2 extra bits of shim hold the frog in gauge, then the ends we
It seems like I have had nothing but turnouts on my work benck for the past 2 months, thought I would share what has been on the bench over the past 2 weeks
Earlier this week I finished a set of 4 EM turnouts using ply sleepers and C&L rail and chairs.
Today I have completed a pair of EM copperclad turnouts again using C&L parts
Both sets of turnouts were a pleasure to make, the copperclad one made a change as they were quite quick to build and see working, where as
The second attempt to secure the gear wheel to the axle seems to have worked, as there is no slipping. I took each wheel off in turn, trimmed and adjusted the pickups, greased the bearings and replaced the wheels.
As I watched the loco go up and down the track the rear drivers were not turning, the 2 small rear wheels were lower than the rear drivers by a fraction so a small amount of fileing sorted this out. The front bit of the footplate where the cylinders go needs building up,as its
Junction still on the workbench
Had a busy week at work and done very little on thursday or friday, but finished laying the timbers.
For ease of posting the junction is being made in 2 parts, see the red line in the right hand side. It would have been easier to build as 1 unit then cut in 2 but this leaves a gap made with the slitting disc which would have to be filled to keep all in line.
Yesterday I have fitted all the 5 V's and the crossover stock rails, with joints made
A few little jobs done to night
The crossover is finished, sleepers gapped, tiebars fitted and isolation breaks cut through the rails. A right selection of locos used for testing, Mainline J72, K's Terrier, Wills Pannier and a Comet Auto tank chassis
The SMP turnout has had the sleepers gapped and filled prior to fitting the rails, the idea is to see if its easier filling the gaps and sanding them before fitting the rails.
Building a C&L turnout in 00 to a B6 size.
This picture shows the lumps of Milliput which I have used to build up the gap on the corner of the coal rails on one side and level up the poor fit on the other side. Also some other bits filling the joins above the buffer beam.
I used a mini drill to level the tender sides on the inside, then I filed the filler flat with the body. I used a razor saw to start the gaps between the coal rails followed by a needle to open up the gap. All looks fine now.
Poor picture but shows the
Well I have given the gears 1 more go, I took the 2 wheels off and took the axle out, degreased all the parts including the chassis and motor bearings. Re-drilled the holes, then reassembled the parts. I dropped epoxy down the holes and rotated them hopefully dragging the epoxy down arround the axle. I will now give it a day to cure.
Had a few bits arrive in the post yesterday. I brought an old Eames Prairie loco some time ago. Someone decided to rebuild the chassis, well they got as far as
With the cast part of the chassis unglued, the first (cast) part now fits flush with the footplate when glued to the main part of the chassis. With no cylinders it still looks a bit high, but it now matches up with the tender buffer height as well as other locos buffer heights
The 4 sides of the tender have been stuck together and I have just used Milliput to fill the gaps and rebuild a broken corner of the sides. Hopefully I will not make as many mistakes on this part of the build
For the past 2 weeks I have been building turnouts for others, I think it was 5 00 and 3 EM ones and repaired a 3 way. So I fancied a change.
A friend gave me a K's GNR Atlantic kit. It had been built and then dismantled. Well on monday once I had finished and posted everything I decided to have a go at it. The motor turned the wheels but the cylinders had been badly built and they faced a bit inwards so the crossheads rubbed against the drivers. After one of the piston rods snapped I decid
I have had some time to do some modelling today, I finished off an EM faceing crossover and gave a K's J72 a final coat of LNER green then picked up the Wills 2 road enging shed I started building last week.
This is where I finished last week with the 1st wall propped up against the mockup. Tonight I managed to build the second wall
I have taken out the first two bays of the mockup just to see how the progress todate fits in with the temporary track plan. The plan is still OK but th
All I seem to do is add a bit more filler and sand it.
This evening I sanded those parts I filled last night.Pity I had not read the other threads first, however this kit had been hacked about a bit and I might have ruined the footplate had I tried to solder it up on its own. Its not a 100% square, the photos make it worse though
Every time I look at the loco I find missing parts, for some reason a lump of the footplate has been sawn off, back with the Milliput.
Also you c
Following a question I have shown my simple chassis arrangements. Its not going to please the rivet counters but then again I do not think they would use a MTK kit. The seats are old MTK ones for a DMU so are not quite correct.
The main part of the chassis is a piece of PCB board,I then soldered 2 coach W irons to it. I made a motor mount from some brass sheet and added a DC10 motor with 30/1 Romford gears. I added 2 square bits of brassbetween the W irons for added stiffness. 8ba bolts so
Re the J52, I put on the wrong size letters and decided to remove them, There was something wrong with the Humbrol paint from the can I used, and in takeing off the LNER transfers it affected the black paint. I gave the damaged parts a sand and have given the loco a respray of black from an older Humbrol spray can. If this does not work then I will have to strip it down and start again
Anyway last night after having the problems with the J52 I decided to do a bit more with the Waggon und Mas
This trailing crossover was on my bench overnight, and after a wet mornings golf and a lengthy drying out session in the clubhouse drinking large hot coffees modelling time this afternoon was restricted. Still I managed to get all the rails soldered up and tested with a wagon.
Just need to cut the rails to isolate the V's and gap the sleepers, the plan was made by someone else (better than my work) and is on a slight curve. Large radius curves (cannot remember the size) which will allow
Last night I tried to get the chassis working with the front bogies. Those early locos builders never took us 4mm modelers into consideration when designing their locos. There are a lot of wheels to get into a small space.
Unlike most kits the front bogie is attached to the chassis from a bolt above the centre of the bogie, there is a cast section which glues to the chassis. It also holds the cylinders.
Like everything with this kit nothing seems to fit. On reflection the cylinders
A quiet 2 weeks plus as I have been on my hols, walking in the peaks and a quiet week in Kent.
Visited both the Peak rail centre which for me was good for photos of a few wagons and the coach preservation shed and The Midland Railway centre at Swawick. loved the Midland museum the shed with the Duchess and Princess along with the replica buildings being constructed.
I have a couple of K's 6 wheelers to rebuild and seeing how the straps and rods fit together will assist
Insi
