MAP66

Glad your enjoying the build 🙂 Sounds like an Interesting project you have there, I would love to be able to create and print off parts but my tiny brain would never be able to understand the software for creating the files 🤪 Maybe you could post your progress on here, it would be good to see how you tackle the compensation. Its all new to me, but looking at the instructions there are beams involved in this build as well, so could be good to compare notes when getting to that stage. In the meantime, I'm sure you will enjoy the quality of the HL kit and good luck with the build.

Quite addictive this chassis building, once you have taken the plunge. I will probably hit the buffers soon and come to an abrupt stop when it starts to get complicated. Until then I’m taking advantage of the initial easier steps and you re-join me at a critical moment joining the frame sides together. First step was to remove all the frame spacers from the fret (parts 4 to 8) see below image. Top row from left to right - (4) front spacer (5) motion bracket (6) Midway spacer P4W Bottom row (7) Outside frame spacer P4W (8) rear spacer P4W The kit allows you to build a chassis to 00, EM or P4 gauges. Thankfully, and very thoughtfully you have the plan drawing of the actual fret, the parts list and with me building to P4 standards, P4W is also actually stamped into 3 of the frame spacers, more on that later. So little chance of installing the wrong spacer. Even so, I still wrote the numbers in black marker on each part. Part 4 is the front spacer and it requires bending along the fold lines and the hole opening up to accept a 1mm steel rod (included in kit) I used a broach to open up the hole, before fitting between the frame sides. Thankfully, these parts have location tabs to ensure it’s all lined up to the corresponding slots within the frame sides. It was then just a case of soldering in place. I then hit a problem, as I next soldered in place part 8 (the rear spacer) which somehow made the chassis go slightly askew at the rear end. There was nothing for it but to de-solder the spacer, file away all the excess solder and give it another go. However, before re-soldering, I slotted in part 6 (the mid-way frame spacer which held the rear end square and this seemed to help when soldering in place the rear spacer again. After overcoming that small dilemma, the rest of the frame spacers went in nicely. It’s worth noting again that this is a P4 build and the spacers marked P4W (parts 6,7 & 8) place the outer side frames 1mm further apart allowing 0.5mm clearance at each side of the rear wheels. Anyway, here's how it's looking after all that, you will also see that I have also now attached the 4 cosmetic axle springs to the side frames. In the process of soldering one of the axle springs, while being clamped in place. Next stage - Assembling the etched rear wheel carriers. 🙂

I would very much encourage you to buy the HL chassis kit based on your own experience, I wouldn't base it on any inspiration from me as half the time I haven't got a clue what I'm doing 🤣 and the other half is pure luck. Seriously though, that sounds like a good shout, maybe a bunch of us will end up building the chassis? Thanks for the heads up re. the Torre Station thread, I was surprised that there was another 14XX build on the go and even more surprised to see that I was at the same stage of the chassis build as @MPR except I assembled the main frames in a slightly different manner. I also struggled with it and needed to de-solder the end spacer. I'll post more on that next update.

Thanks Bill, That's all very much appreciated, it is very much slow and steady wins the race. For me it's a case of reading the instructions for every step several times over before plunging in. If I am confused over something, I take a break and think about it and only return when I have an idea of how to do the task in hand. Funny you mentioned this as its absolutely true. I found myself doing something out of the ordinary with a wooden clothes peg. I hasten to add that I was still fully clothed and the chassis build benefited from the experience 😄 When it comes to the more complex stages of the build, I will undoubtedly be flummoxed and will need some advice on how best to tackle such things. Its very re-assuring to know that help is out there when needed.

I couldn’t wait any longer, being dissatisfied that it still did not resemble a chassis but instead two pieces of flat metal, I swiftly moved on to the final task required before I could assemble the chassis. As I was making a compensated chassis, you are required to make the hornblock cutaways which is a task undertaken much more easily with the main frames not assembled. My weapon of choice was a fine fret saw to cut down the centreline of each cutaway and then to bend the tabs back and forth until they snapped off. I then dressed off the edges with a file. Below is the image of the side frames I posted yesterday where you can see the work in progress. The top frame has one hornblock cutaway with the other showing the centre cut line in progress . The lower frame is yet untouched and shows how it would look if you were fitting a rigid chassis. So now it's just a case of finishing off the cutaways and then soldering the springs in place. Then it will be chassis assembly time.

I'm OK with that, I only have one gear and that's slow 🤣

Blimey, your going to be kept busy next year. At my pace, that lot would take me a lifetime to get through 😄 look how long it's taken me to do one autocoach and that's still not entirely finished. I'm a bit more organised in the workshop area now, so maybe I can get a bit of a spurt on. I would dearly love to get this chassis built and running and then move onto the body shell and finally get the completed 14XX coupled up to the coach and plonked onto Tyteford Halte. That would be a good day 😁

Thanks Neal, I hope you enjoy the build, have you tried a High Level kit before? I'm intrigued about your projects, tell more please.

Thanks Keith, yes, I've been putting this off for over 3 years now, with the house move and now having a dedicated room for railways, I finally had no more excuses to delay. So far so good, but then again I have only got through 2 paragraphs of instructions 🤣 Long way to go yet and it will soon get very, very heavy (Hornblocks) and all sorts to get my head around HO, HO, HO soon be Christmas.

Exciting times, herewith and without further ado, I present for your entertainment the actual start of the chassis build. Strap in, it’s going to be a bumpy ride as I intend to give a blow by blow account of the build, warts an all. This documented approach should serve as a good reference for me, as I’ve never built a chassis kit before and hopefully it will also serve as some use to others as well. There’s a lot to get through, no less than 8 A4 page sides of written instructions with about 4 pages of very detailed diagrams. Plus, and this is very useful, there is a drawing of the main parts fret with all parts numbered with an accompanying numbered parts list. Being new to this, I have decided to follow all instructions to the letter and in the same order as written. Let’s begin… With the main parts fret laid out perfectly flat on a hard surface, using a sturdy craft knife, I removed the main frames (parts 1 &2) from the fret and went about removing any cusps on the edges with a file. Having done this, and referring to fig1, I carefully punched out the rivets onto the main frames using the indentations on the reverse side of the frames as a guide. I accumulated a number of specialist tools a few years back in anticipation for moments like this and it was very satisfying to use the Rivet Press from GW Tools for the first time. It did what it was meant to do and I now have some nice rivet detail, see image below… The next stage was to release the axle spring backing pieces from the fret (part 3 x 4 sets). They are each folded in half along the etch line to make them thicker and then soldered. I tinned the inside faces before folding and then once folded, I sweated them together. See image below… You are then required to solder the 4 springs in place on the chassis. Which, as you can see from the above image, will be the next step. So, that’s it for the first instalment. I will try and update every few days or at least one weekly update. Next post, I will be attempting to assemble the side frames together, which involves several frame spacers and more soldering, could be fun – let’s hope so? 🙂

My word, 2 incline tests! I didn't even know about the first one and now there are 2. Would it be against the rules that even after much fettling with no success, that I then raise the incline to 90 degrees to the horizontal in order to get the chassis moving, gravity assisted (but with wheels still seized?) 🤣 Forgot to mention earlier, but thanks again Neal for providing the link to the small metro builds thread, I'm going to gradually work my way through all the content, picking up all the juicy tips along the way. Me being ever the pessimist (refer to first para above) with occasional optimism, would it be OK to share any achievements I make with this build on the Metro thread?

Thanks Andy, the comment about the side play is very timely and useful as the kit mentions two types of frame spacers for P4. So I can now use the one which provides 1mm of play (0.5mm each side). When If I get to a rolling chassis, I will try the incline test 🙂 but if it grinds to a unceremonious halt, I will keep quiet about it. Thanks again Neal, sorry about the delay in responding. For the past few hours I have been searching through the remainder of my railway bits and pieces as I'm sure I had another chassis jig from Comet. Finally came across it sitting in my tray on the new bench! So my theory about now being able to find stuff more efficiently has immediately failed. Let's hope the chassis build doesn't suffer the same fate 🤪

Thanks for the tip on the jig. That's the part I'm most concerned about as this will be a P4 build and so getting it to run true is critical. And just to make life easier for meself, I'm going for the compensated chassis option as opposed to the more straight forward rigid chassis. Out of interest, did you still use the Poppys jig with the screw in spacers, or was this part of another jig?

Thanks Neal, much appreciated. I've been looking forward to the day when I could tackle this build, lets hope I don't stuff it up after all that 😄

Well, here we are again and progress is good within the railway room. A lot of sorting has happened and items of interest and extreme usefulness have been recovered, identified, re-categorised and finally stuck somewhere where there is a chance that I will find it again. Out of the organised chaos, new carpet tiles have been put down and two separate work areas have been created and are ready for use. One will be for plastic and card construction, general modelling and painting. The other will be dedicated to doing train stuff. So, with all that out of the way, I can finally make a start on the ‘High Level Kits’ 14XX chassis build. Here are some before and after pics of the railway room… How it was, still with the old carpet. Ta dah, new carpet tiles down but still more sorting out to do. View from the other end of the room. That's Tyteford Halte sitting on the bottom of the 3 shelves. This is where the train stuff will happen. I cut an old internal hollow door in half and turned it into a tool rack by drilling hundreds of 5mm holes at 25mm centres and then brought a pack of cheap hooks to hang the tools from. Here's a close up of what's happening on the bench. We have the chassis kit laid out showing the main fret (side frames and axle springs already removed) and 3 bags of detailing parts with very, very comprehensive instructions. The motor and gearbox shown in the 2 bags on the right are not included but are available separately. You also need to get the wheels, more detail on that later.

I was thinking of ways to keep this thread less auto coach and more something else as it has been going on for a bit now. So, in an attempt to shake it up a bit, I have decided to intersperse it by making a start on the 14XX. The auto coach will need to connect up to it eventually anyway and as it’s now almost complete it would be good to set it aside for a bit and fire up the soldering iron instead. There is also an ulterior motive here, as for this to happen there first needs to be a workshop re-organisation, so that the layout build can continue and this in turn will provide a new separate work bench for loco building. Before and after pics to follow in due course.

As we enter the month of remembrance, a little something in 4mm scale conveying a full scale message.

They might have mistakenly put HO sheep in OO scale packaging. I guess this could happen?

Thanks Neal, I did think about incorporating Tyteford but decided it will remain on the shelf, this thread still has legs to run as the 14XX still has to be tackled. The new layout needs a new thread started as its too big to live here. Although the new layout is 00 gauge, I do intend to run a separate single track branch line, end to end in P4, so that the auto train and railcar have a place to run. Thanks also for the heads up on your helix experience, It might turn out the same for me (hope not) but I'm giving it every chance by using third and forth radius for the twin track helix with up trains entering on the outer fourth radius and down trains descending on the inner third radius. Time will tell if it's successful or not.

The coach is slowly filling up, we have from left to right Michael Bradshaw (railway traveller and enthusiast), George ‘Goodnight’ Shearing (ex-prize fighter turned toolmaker), Beatrice Bush (horticulturist and 1938 winner of Tyteford in Bloom, Arthur Bush (not as green fingered as his Mrs).

Thanks as always Keith. At some point, I will start a new thread for the new layout, but I really ought to get this auto coach finished first 🙂

Its nearly a month since my last post, so apologies for the lack of modelling activity on my part. I have been active in other areas with a spot of decorating and some gardening projects are thankfully now finally finished. Then there’s my secret project, more on that later. I did however, manage to paint a couple of HO scale seated passengers before I got distracted elsewhere. There will be roughly 10 to 12 passengers in total, so a way to go yet, occupying both the smoking and non-smoking compartments. Here’s how the first two look, a much better fit than their OO scale equivalents. That secret project I mentioned? Well, I am in the early stages of actually building a layout. Never thought I’d live to see the day. The house move last year has made this possible as our new place has an annexe which I have bagged for my work space and layout. I will eventually get around to starting a new thread for the layout but for now, here is a teaser… This is the first of what will be two Helix to enable a lower level for the through fiddle yard. The start of the lower level is seen to the left. The upper scenic level will be 3.5 circuits up from the base level and exit in front of the window about 300mm higher. And here's the business end where all the fun happens. It requires a bit of a sort out but you can see my bench on the left and the layout will run the entire length of the room along the right hand wall and the second helix will be located in front of the end window. Between the two helix there will be a scenic run of roughly 18'. So there's scope to perhaps run some prototypical length goods and passenger trains. 😁

I am also guilty of owning a copy of said book, I think a few of us will be thumbing through the pages again in a trip down memory lane. Which makes me think, this is not just Model Railways, this is 'Marks & Sparks' Model Railways 😄 tasty stuff.

The recent wet weather prompted me to inform the little people, waiting on the platform, to expect delays to services. “Don’t make us laugh”, they chortled, “the auto train is already running 6 months late and it’s not down to the weather”. Well, that’s me told then. Anyway, who are they to judge, I took a look down the other end of the platform and Fred and Arthur still haven’t finished those fence repairs! What a liberty.

I did a little bit more, not a lot, but every little helps when attempting to drag this coach over the finishing line. The latest work involved removing the moulded plastic cab door handles, passenger door handles and luggage door handles and replacing with 0.4mm brass wire. I then fitted the brass steps to the underframe from the detailing kit, 2 at the cab end and 2 at the loco end. Not sure if I have positioned them correctly, I just went with my interpretation from the dodgy drawing. I also fitted the brass grab handles to both sides of the cab. I also gently bent back the brake and steam hoses at the cab end and tethered them to the underframe. I think this was common practice when the hoses were disconnected and not in use to stop them flapping about in the breeze. I’ve attempted touching up the coach body work and parts of the gold lining by hand painting, it sort of looks passable (with the lights off and at a distance of 50 feet). The coach paintwork has now taken on an overall dullish tone. This has led me to the decision of giving it all a rattle can spray of satin varnish after decals have been applied. The aim is for the varnish to bring it all together in a mid-sheen finish and hopefully disguise some of the blemishes. If and when I get past that stage, it will be time to finally install the glazing, install the passengers and then screw the underframe to the body and pop the roof on. Some progress pics below... Loco end showing luggage handles and brass step which has been primed. The passenger door handle is just in view to the extreme right. The coach body is not seated correctly to underframe in the photo as it is resting on internal wiring. Cab steps and grab rails and a view of the hoses held back. Whoops, how did I miss that wonky buffer! Head on view of what's going on underneath.