SE Finecast 517 0-4-2T
Entry posted by JDaniels
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This has been a frustrating project. Progress has not been helped by having to clear, and eventually sell, my mother's house. She is living with my sister and modelling has taken a back seat of late.
In my last entry I commented on the difficulty in trying to find a suitable prototype. Although a large class the number of individual locos that mirror the Finecast kit is very small. I eventually settled on 848, there is a photo of this loco on the internet and, fortuitously, a photo of the other side in the GWR Journal 75. It looks as though this loco was fitted with a cab in the 1920's so had a relatively long life (relatively meaning 10 or 15 years) in this form. Some locos were not rebuilt to the form specified in the kit until the 1930's. This was also an auto fitted example which I did not really want but the numberplates for this loco are included in the kit. From this one must infer that the (accurately etched) numberplates provided with the kit (which also include 216, 519, 1164, 1427 and 1473 "Fair Rosamund") represent the prototypes covered by the kit.
But they don't. In my last entry I briefly mentioned the smokebox. Looking into this more closely this seems to be significant error as in later years the locos (including 848) appeared to have a drumhead type riveted smokebox. Earlier photos show a flush riveted smokebox that appears to wrap around rather than sit on top of the cylinder casting and it is this that is provided with the kit. I know we have readers with a far greater knowledge of these locos than I and I'd be interested to know the reason for the change. The RCTS history makes no mention of this but comparing the photo with the model it does show up, particularly the lack of rivets.
All of this has dampened enthusiasm to get on with the kit although as you can see from the photo the major part of the body has been constructed. If someone else is about to make the kit my starting point was to file down the floor (which acts as a spacer between the two tank / cab and bunker side assemblies) until the bunker back plate is a snug fit. Do not, as I did, attempt to fix the front buffer beam until the front part of the boiler is firmly fixed to the rear boiler / tank top. The position of the boiler, once fixed, will determine the exact position of the buffer beam as it locks the two sides in place and you would not want it pointing in a different direction from the boiler.
It was quite impressive how accurately the parts all fitted together. Older readers may remember K's kits which could be an absolute pig. In a very early life I worked in a model shop on Saturdays and a regular visitor was one Iain Rice. I remember him telling me that K's kits were taken out of the mould whilst still hot which caused them to distort. Wills (as SE Finecast was know then) kits were always easier to build.
I always use low melting point solder wherever possible. With a low wattage soldering iron (mine is an Antex 25w which helpfully packed up midway through construction) with a very fine tip it is very difficult to melt the white metal castings although you may see from the photo I managed to do this on the inside of the cab side top. It is also important to use a good flux, I use the appropriate Carrs one (can't remember the label colour). One advantage of using solder is that it can be used as a filler. The critical gap between the two parts of the boiler (level with the front of the tanks) was filled this way and sanded down. I'm aware though that a lot more cleaning up is needed.
As you can see from the photograph, I substituted a brass dome, safety valve cover, whistles and some other small items for the white metal versions. There is also a brass chimney, all these came from Alan Gibson. I always think it best to replace any delicate white metal castings such as the whistles, smokebox door dart and steam cleaning lance with something more substantial as you just know they would break off once the model has been painted. I also had a fret of window bars from Mainly Trains and I soldered these over the rear spectacle openings.
The chassis is nicely etched and very well detailed with full brake gear (alternative brake blocks are provided). I think I mentioned earlier that provision is made for CSB suspension and I opted to try this. The only other alternative to this is to have the coupled wheel axles fixed and this was unacceptable. For preference I would have used compensation. Incidentally, the chassis fret also includes some body parts, the lamp and fire irons which is a nice touch. I thought the lamp irons were overscale but comparing them with photographs it is clear that they should be fairly chunky.
This CSB suspension caused a few issues as the High Level hornblocks didn't work with the settings specified in the instructions. The fulcrum points are helpfully marked but if using setting "A" as specified, the beam, in reality a length of spring steel wire, is obstructed by the hormblock guides. As the instructions state that the hornblocks should sit at the top of the cut-out in the frames I could really see no solution. I eventually opted to use the top setting for the beam ("C") and drilled new fulcrum holes above the old ones. The other issue was determing the gauge of wire to be used, Chris Gibbons said this depended on the weight of the body and the steel wire I had was too stiff. Fortunately Eileens Emporium have a choice of steel wire and I found that the thicker wire I obtained from them (still thinner than the one I used originally) looks to provide the right deflection. The wire can be replaced with a different gauge if necessary. Hornblocks were set using a jig (in reality two axles turned down to accomodate the holes in the connecting rods) but I do find that with the crankpins available reaming out the hole to provide clearance means coming perilously close to the edge of the metal. The crankpins are from Ultrascale, as are the wheels.
One big advantage of CSB over compensation is the ability to drive to either axle. The ideal would be to drive to the rear coupled axle (impossible with compensation) and have motor and gears within the tank assembly. For once the Gods took pity on me, and using a High Level Road Runner + Gearbox with a Mashima 1624 motor the whole assembly fitted between the front of the tanks and the boiler backplate with no more than 2mm to spare at either end. As you will see from the photograph, a great advantage of the High Level gearboxes is the ability to place the drive to the axle under the motor making the whole assembly more compact.
A piece of copper coated paxolin is provided in the kit but for the life of me I cannot see where pick-ups could be fitted. Against my better instinct I think I will have to use the Alan Gibson plunger type. I don't like anything that restricts the freedom to check the quartering and free running of the chassis which is why I have an aversion to gears that have to be glued to the axle. I believe though that the later version imposes far less drag on the wheels.
So this is progress to date. I'm pondering whether it would be possible to wrap thin brass round the smokebox embossed with the rivets but I think there would be problems fixing it and it could as a consequence look worse than it does at the moment. One extreme option would be to cut off the bunker and substitute it with one of the earlier versions I have in my spares box.
All of the above means I'm having difficulty in mustering much enthusiasm to get on with the job. I'll do what I always do if things aren't working out; stop and think.
I'll report again once further progress has been made.
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