Some prototypes are just too much for we mere mortals to resist, even if we can’t completely justify them…
This is a Stephen Harris 35T GLW class ‘B’ tank that I’ve been working on (very slowly) over the summer. My original plan was to build three class ‘A’s and one class ‘B’. I thought I’d do the class ‘B’ first as a one-off.
While there is plenty of evidence of 35T class ‘A’ Esso tanks in Cornwall, I have not seen any photos of class ‘B’ tanks so had no good reason to splash out o
The roof detail goes on...
Choice of Prototype
So far I hadn't really done anything that had limited the choice of loco that I could build, but on reaching the roof that was about to change because this is one place where there were lots of variations.
The pilot scheme locos D6300-6305 were ruled out because they had a different layout for the louvres and doors on the sides and would need a different body etch. They also had a much simpler roof layout than the production series locos
Thought it might be time to say a few word on here about the thing that's been taking up most of my modelling time since last June.
The Esso depot at Hayle North Quay was laid with a kicked back siding. As the quay had no run-round, it could only be worked using a shunting tractor... so my layout needs one of those.
It might have been nice to just get on with building the layout and worry about this later but that's really not going to work - the tractor is too small to have an on-board
A couple of items that have been stuck in the paint shop for a while.
First up is a BD container. This is from a Parkwood kit that was sat in the gloat box for ages. It's sat in a steel bodied high - also from a Parkwood kit. The chassis is a 2mm Association etch.
I've hankered after a container in the later BR 'door to door' livery for a long time and have now finally got round to doing one. It may be possible to get commercial container transfers but I was doing some custom decals for
I'm hopeful that the Hymek (which you may recall had failed prior to Warley) is now on the mend.
In our previous installment, I'd got hold of some spare worm wheels from BR Lines and installed them in the loco but this had not cured the uneven running which I still thought was caused by the wormwheel skipping on the worm (hence the trashed original wormwheel)
We have AbRail coming up on Saturday, so I finally got back around to looking at the problem... with visions of needing to make ne
A quick update on this project.
The chassis is now pretty much done barring a few odds and ends like couplings and attention is now turning to the superstructure.
Again there is not much to say about the chassis build - it went together as per Nigel's comprehensive instructions... although I do prefer to get things running and tested at the earliest possible stage whereas the instructions save the installation of the worm until quite late in the day.
One part that did prove niggly th
I've been struggling for a while to think up a catchy title for this one. It was originally intended as a Christmas project which would obviously have been 'Deck the Halls' but I didn't actually get around to starting that soon so the moment was lost.
For old times sake, I waited until the loft was again at sub zero temperatures before testing the Hall on Taw Bridge. I wanted to check that the coupled wheels would negotiate crossovers successfully (they did) and that it could pull a train -
... but he hasn't done anything at all!
Well looks can be deceiving. Actually quite a lot of work has happened on the 45xx over the past week or so but the overall appearance is not hugely changed. Let me put it another way... here is how it looked a couple of days ago...
When I stopped work on this project I really wasn't happy with the way it was running. The worst issues had been solved but it still had pretty poor slow running and a nasty tendency to stall. All in all not a
Fitting the Cabs
To recap from the previous installment... I think that the cab sides need to taper slightly inwards from the doors to the nose, but the kit seems to assume that this doesn't happen.
I took some dividers and marked 0.5mm in from the widest part of the nose ends. I filed down to these marks and then continued the filing down to the buffer beam level, checking with a square that the edge was truly vertical. The photo below shows a modified end compared with the original sti
A quick progress update on the Chlorine tank. The end stanchions have now been persuaded to go together and have been attached to the chassis, as has the brakegear.
This of course also means that I can now try the tank in place along with some of the timber packing that goes underneath the tank and at the ends. The tank still needs a good clean out to get rid of the residual wax.
The good thing about 3d printing is that it's a piece of cake to create the domed tank end and then subt
...and then there were two!
The second bromine tank has now made it through the ordeal of the paint shop. Now I have a model of the tank that started my interest in Associated Octel, complete with its no nonsense lettering and skull on the tank end... and a further use of virtual modelling to make something real.
Painting and prep... this time I used some IPA on a cotton bud for another round of cleaning the 3d printed tank. The print also needed a rub down with some fine wet &
No I am not about to enter a phase as an Olivia Newton John fan.
What has been going on hereabouts is quite a lot of time spent staring at a computer screen doing what might be called Virtual Modelling. The intention is that this work will (one day) be turned into actual vehicles but there is still some way to go before then.
Having recently finished a prolonged stint producing decal artwork (somehow these things always appear to be a lot less work at the beginning) I decided to spend a
With a little less time pressure, I thought I'd take the time to write a catch-up installment of the account of Grenville's build.
We left things with the windscreen frames and most of the front end ironwork fitted but with a remaining question mark over the access panels on the cab sides.
To finish off the ends, the lower lamp brackets were sliced off and used as a guide to drill 0.5mm holes. Into these holes were pushed some brackets cut from 5 thou N/S strip… these are probably a lot eas
Thought it was time for some first hand research regarding what's so great about the railways of the south west...
We're in coach A
Films are by other peeps...
Wrong sea wall for St Ruth but just to show that other sea walls are available...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc5ox1tZ6sI
Signal checks on the return journey at Goodrington, Newton Abbott and Exeter meant that Britannia was putting in some serious effort by the time we got to Cowley Bridge Junction... and me wit
My workbench sits in a bay window that gets the full sun in the afternoon. I had a bit of modelling time on Friday but it was just too hot to be spending time sat at the workbench. Sometimes I set up in the back garden with something fairly self contained like assembling some bogie kits, but I already have several bogies assembled and waiting for coaches to make use of them.
I've been buying and building a lot of coaches recently to run on St Ruth. I've enjoyed doing this but it's always a b
The full brake has now been handed over to the operating department.
The painting sent somewhat less than smoothly (this is normal for me). A coat of Halfords primer from a can was followed by an airbrushed coat of precision maroon. This went on very well and I was very happy with the nice smooth satin finish... except... there were a couple of bits of dust that embedded themselves into the finish in quite a prominent place.
I thought the best option would be to remove the offending
Stretching the same title a little further, some new metalwork arrived with the postie today...
The main items on here are a couple of chassis for Associated Octel 1957 vintage chlorine tanks. The two etches are different from each other because I want to try two different ways to put a tank wagon chassis together. One is (I hope) conservative and steals as many ideas as possible from other people's designs. The other design is intended (if it works at all) to achieve an even more spide
So far so good with building the first of the wagons from my recent etch - a 1957 vintage Hurst Nelson Chlorine tank.
I was impatient to try out the experimental version so that's what I'm building. So far it is going together as intended and the centre section of the solebars has achieved the skinny look that I was hoping to get when viewed from the top and the chassis seems very strong because it's got metalwork in all of the places where the real thing has metalwork.
The ext
Having a little early autumn interlude in Somerset now that number 3 child has departed the nest. Usual recipe... cottage, log burner, kits, books, local ales, walking, cycling, the odd visit to the local steam railway... 'oh, I didn't realise it was that close, fancy that eh?'.
Also trying to see if I can do a blog post from the tablet, so anything might happen...
Kit assembly with suitable surroundings...
Suitable reading material. I've been saving this book for a suitable occasi
First of all, apologies to anyone expecting 2FS content. Let's just call this a summer special.
Today was a sad and a happy occasion. The builders arrive tomorrow to start work on our house extension. This means that the patio section of my garden line will have to close. Today was the final day, so I had to run a special.
On a happier note, I've been beavering away (re) laying the track on the North side of the garden where the track gets the most sun and consequently would never stay t
As a late December evening draws in, 4574 and her crew prepare to set off for home with just a brake van in tow after having delivered a few wagons to South Yard. The cameraman manages to capture the scene with the train almost silhouetted by the solitary lamp that passes for illumination on the platform these days.
Normally I'd post a seasonal message on the St Ruth blog but what with one thing and another I didn't get chance to do the usual pre-Christmas photo session, so you'll have
Things have been pretty quiet over the winter season modelling-wise. The building work on the house has taken up a lot of my attention, even though it was being done by someone else. We are still progressing with the aftermath (painting, light fittings, yada yada) but I'm finding that I now have a bit more time for the important things in life.
Anyway, with the intention of giving myself some impetus to do dome actual modelling I promised John Aldrick that I would take South Yard to the 2mm
Planning for Hayle North Quay has progressed a bit. I have now sorted out a 2d plan by combining a transparent bitmap export of the plan from Templot with some colouring in done using Inkscape. The overall depth of the layout will be 22 inches at the ends and 24 inches in the middle.
The Octel office block and the whole of the Esso depot have been subjected to quite a lot of fore and aft compression but hopefully I've still managed to keep the character of the place.
I've also also
It’s been a while since my last posting in which I was having a fairly trying time persuading the Atlas chassis to look like a model of something that has been made in Glasgow rather than the U.S. The news is rather better now, I’ve been gradually ticking things off my list of jobs and the loco is now stripped down and ready to go to the paint shop.
A few more details…
The Bogies
You may remember from my previous posting that I hadn’t been able to get hold of the Wo
Yesterday I took all of my various Hayle related bits and pieces to the Supermeet/Skills day at Chelford. It was a great day but it's fair to say that I was ready for some sleep by the time I got home again.
I got a bunch of my research photos printed by one of the online companies. I hadn't actually realised just how many I'd managed to hoover up while researching Hayle. The ones that fitted into the display hangers were probably less than half of the ones printed... and there were sti
