drduncan

And a tantalising glimpse of part of a GWR 2 plank wagon….

I’m a fan of Alex Jackson (AJ) couplings. They are very cheap as they are made from guitar string and very hard to see. There are jigs available to make firming them very easy. They do need care in storage and transportation as they can be knocked out of alignment if they are carelessly handled. Heres the business end and more into can be found at: https://www.mmrs.co.uk/technical-articles/alex-jackson-coupling/ Regards Duncan

I’m using a 36inch radius to work out the swing of the bogie, if that is what you mean. Duncan

For mine, what I’ve been doing if a fancy solid spring shoes is smear a little filler across to give it a flat surface. I’ve been toying with doing springs with solid shoes but there is very little information as to when they stopped being used. D

Ah, but they are specific to a certain coach/wheelbase/bogie combination. The plan is that when the coach prints are released the jig is part of what comes in the box. D

No I haven’t, but I shall! Thanks for the tip. D

A mixed result for todays efforts. The first track panel is glued down very successfully, but the ballast not so much… Most of the ballast came up when the track was hoovered. So it will be a case of redoing with dry ballast and then adding dilute glue to it 🙁 On the plus side the broad gauge M2/L7 coach negotiated the point without the bogies jamming on the footboard. Duncan

Well, whilst waiting for ballast to dry, I worked on the Broad Gauge M2/L7 test piece. The jig worked well but I think I need to open up the marks for the axle box cut outs to allow the bogie to swing. This was exacerbated by the lower footboards supports mounting sockets being about 1mm too close to the coach centre line. I got round this by stepping the supports to move the footboard out. But it was bloody fiddly and not something I’m anxious to repeat. I think I can solve this by redesigning the jig and moving the holes for the support wire 1mm up the jig… We shall see if the redesigned jig makes the other side easier! Regards, Duncan

@wenlock Ask and ye shall find…

Get behind me, oh foul temptation… Duncan

The prints look lovely, as does the photo at Par. When I've been carving my 3d prints around I've successfully used dental type burs in a minidrill or similar (a parallel sided spiral flute one being particularly helpful when used in a drill press almost as a mill... but I digress). Where I have had problems - in other words the print breaking/shattering - is when I've been using drills oir reamers in pin vices, especially when the print is thin. So' I'd advocate great caution in drilling the portholes and I think using a minidrill might be best, counter-intuitive though this may seem. And yes, I think it should be either a Dean or Churchward 3000 gallon one with short coal plates. Regards, Duncan

So I’ve finally managed to prise the footboard jig off it’s supports. The idea is that you can use it to quickly cut to length… And then add the cut outs using the marks on the jig as a guide… And use it to position supports bent up from 0.3 or 0.5mm brass wire… Definitely going to do one of these for the 46 ft E19 and F1! Duncan

I have bitten the bullet and struck down the first track panel. It has been layed onto cooydex as this is a flexible rubber based glue and should not harden solid there seemed no point using a sound deadening underlay and then adding pva on top…. The ash ballast substitute is ash… from a wood burner, sieved and then sprinkled and brushed into place. The books are to make sure nothing moves and everything remains in contact with the glue and underlay until it’s all thoroughly dry. Then I can see how much ballast actually stuck and how much hasn’t… Duncan

Dave, very nice indeed! Now you have this new passenger train, you’ll need a loco….time for that River class? Duncan

Dear all, I have been asked a question that has flummoxed me: what years did DCE orange departmental engineering orange lining appeared on BR blue area diesels. They also has a small regional emblem or flash on the cab doors. They were on a number of locomotives such as class 20, 31, 33 etc and probably in small numbers. Used for engineering duty. Can anyone throw light on this matter? Regards, Duncan

@Schooner What barque model? D

I wish.... Too little space and too little money at the moment to do that! D

The next stage, having noted the flaws on the body and roof (which hopefully filtering the resin and a re-slice will fix) will be to assemble the (wait for it) massive list of 7 (!) components that go into the M2/L7 and check they all fit: 1 Body 1 Roof (might have to redesign it with separate oil lamps if they keep not printing...) 2 V hangers 1 Vac cylinder 2 6'4" Dean bogies... What a lot to put together. Ok, I'll have to add grab handles, end hand rails, and door handles, but that will be after painting - not that this test piece will get that far. And it seems that I forgot rain strips on the roof too. What I am pleased about is that the BG foot steps, which are only 0.5mm thick, came out. I also printed a jig to allow the lower foot step to be easily cut to length and the cut outs for various projections from the bogie filed into it - after the faff of the SG E19 brass footboards (which look great but were time consuming) I had to come up with an easier solution. Unfortunately, it some how printed with 100% support density and I haven't yet been able to persuade it to part company from the supports... The SG M2/L7 which is printing as I type (and seems to be taking its time about it compared to the BG one so I'll have to check that the new Chitubox 2.0 hasn't mangled the resin settings) has combined upper and lower footboards printed as separate components - they are delicate until cured but might work. Regards, Duncan

God, yes. D

I confess that I quite misread that... D

Of course, if anyone wants a curved lever in with their print just say so. D

So progress on the Dean 40ft M2 foreign mails van and L7 parcels - at least the BG version…

The 1 and 2 planks have curved levers because there are unambiguous photos showing them, but as yet I haven’t found a definitive photos of all the different under frame options for the 3 plank round ended wagons to be sure and I wouldn’t want to mislead anyone. If photos turn up that show curved levers on round ended 3 planks I’ll put the curved levers in but I think they are too late for wooden shoes brakes… D

It’s in the queue already. I’m working on a few 40ft clerestories both broad bodies and narrow ones. If it’s the one without duckets it is more likely to be done quickly than some of the other 40ft brake composites… Edit: Ah - the one that I was thinking about was an E7. The current battling order for 40ft clerestories is D2, E6, E7, C2 and then E9, I'm afraid (its a 9 inch eves panel design while the others are 12 inch ones - and BG as well as SG too, so needed for Nampara... The E9 is for the 1900-1914 layout project) D

Resistance is futile! Succumb to temptation! And just you wait, the coaches that are in development will prove a temptation that surpasses any attempts to say no… Duncan