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Pugsley

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Blog Entries posted by Pugsley

  1. Pugsley
    Yes, it's been a while. It's been a very long while, in fact.
     
    Following the completion of the 37, I didn't really feel like doing any modelling at all. I think that, perhaps, a part of that was me thinking about how I could top that, and not coming up with anything, so nothing was done. I've now come to the conclusion that I don't have to top it, I just have to do something I'm going to find enjoyable. As a self confessed tank wagon perv it seemed only natural to ease myself back in with some tanks, so to that end, a couple of weeks ago 5 of my Bachmann TTA stash found their way onto my workbench, ready for conversion into some more of the Total tankers previously seen on these pages.
     

     
    The last batch concentrated on the 'Esso' type of catwalks, with the central single ladder at the end. This batch, with the exception of PR58255 all have the other type of catwalk, with the ladders extending down each side from the central platform. Some of the conversions are a bit more adventurous this time as two of the tanks to be modelled (PR58134 and PR58276) are both of diagram TT024A and were built with both chassis and tanks approximately 1 foot longer than the design represented by the Bachmann model.
     
    Here the wagons have been completely dissassembled, including freeing the metal weight, which was glued in pretty well, and are waiting for the surgery to begin.

     
    Here the surgery is complete - the weight has been used to secure the two halves of the chassis back together, before the resulting hole is filled with a combination of Evergreen styrene profile and microstrip. The extra length is evident in the photo - it'll be interesting to see if anyone ever picks it up in person.

     
    Now with the gap in the chassis filled, attention can be turned to removing the unnecessary strengthening ribs on the chassis, in preparation for adding new ones where required from strip styrene.

     
    This picture shows all of the wagons currently being worked on, with all of the required ribs removed.

     
    The one at the top will become PR58241 and has had all of the axlebox, spring and spring mount detail removed to be replaced with a different kind of spring mount, parabolic springs and Timken axleboxes, as can be seen in this picture (the Bachmann model features the SKF type of axlebox):
    http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brttanks/h2890b48a#h2890b48a
     
    Currently, all of the chassis have the new ribs stuck in place, some of which need to be trimmed flush with the solebars, on the two Standard built wagons, the ribs need to be filed back a bit and given a curved profile.

     
    Next steps are to make the brake gear and other underframe detail reflect the various prototypes, before slapping on a bit of paint. Then, after that, attention will turn to the barrels.
     
    It's good to be back
  2. Pugsley

    The End.

    By Pugsley,

    In the immortal words of Jim Morrison:
    This is the end, beautiful friend
    This is the end, my only friend, the end
    Of our elaborate plans, the end.
     
    I'm never going to complete this layout - I've lost enthusiasm for modelling in general and 4mm scale in particular. If anyone is interested in buying an EM layout that is virtually complete track-wise, needing a little bit of wiring, along with various bits and pieces to complete, such as buffer stops, electrical bits plus some other bits, drop me a PM.
     
    Pretty much all of my 4mm stock will be cleared out at some point in the not too distant future - keep an eye on my workbench blog for more details of that. I'd like to give RMwebbers first dibs before the rest ends up on ebay. The 7mm stuff is staying for the time being and we'll see what happens.
     
    it's been a blast!
  3. Pugsley
    In the last post, I wrote about the track and wiring putting me off doing anything with the layout. I don't think that was the case in the end, the lack of progress with the layout was another symptom of my wider modelling malaise but I'm really glad I went down the route that I did in getting somebody else to do the bulk of the track and wiring.
     
    This update is long overdue in a couple of ways. One in as much as that this is the first update to this blog in two years, and the fact that the layout came back to the South West last year, and attended the annual SWAG members day as a last minute 'work in progress' demonstration.
     
    Looking along the length of the layout, from where the fiddle yard will be, down to the end. The VEP is stood where the main platform will be, with the oil terminal off to the left and the bay platform to the right:

     
    Simon has done a cracking job on the track and the wiring, I'm glad I asked him to do it for me. There's a little bit left for me to do in terms of laying a bit of track on one of the terminal sidings and a bit more wiring, then I can get on with the installation of the third rail.
     
    A wider view of almost the whole of the layout:

     
    I don't expect progress to be particularly rapid, there's a few workbench projects I want to get out of the way first, including the tanks that are currently on my workbench, and the 455 which is definitely going to be required for the passenger service on the layout. However, the intent is there and I'm thinking about what I need to do to get it completed for the first time in years, which can only be a good sign.
     
    I need a few more tankers to fill these sidings:

  4. Pugsley

    It's Been a Long Time

    By Pugsley,

    It has indeed been a long time, not only since I actually updated this blog, but also since the 37 project started, all those years ago. It was never intended to take quite so long and I still can't believe that nearly five years have gone by! There haven't been any updates as I didn't want to put any more pictures up until I was happy it was finished.
     

     
    I'm pleased to say that the 37 is complete for now. It's taken a little while to get the lighting right, after its maiden running session a couple of weeks ago, a video of which can be found here:
     

     
    It took a while to get it running as well as I'd like, the small pick-ups that I'd designed weren't quite up to the job, so I've installed some extra ones made of brass wire, which rub on the backs of the wheels. Although the pick up is only on 8 wheels, there are no problems with stalling, which is a relief.
     

     
    The motors are a little notchy at really slow speeds, but I think they're only 3 pole - I'm hoping that a bit of CV tweaking will mitigate that, if not cure it. In terms of the individual motors, the DCC chip has no problem with controlling them, it runs as if it's got a more conventional drive inside. One thing I have learnt though is that it behaves exactly like the real thing - if one axle breaks traction, it spins at high speed and takes the current from the other motors! Working sanders might be the next project
     

     
    At some point in the future I'm going to build another set of bogies for it, taking the lessons that I've learned during this project, of which there have been many. The motor units themselves could be made more compact with different gearing, which in turn would lower the ride height, which is my only minor gripe at the moment - it rides about 1.5mm higher than it should. That's a long term plan, however, as I have several other things that I want to get on with first, the Cargowaggons being the main one at the moment.
     

     
    The only other work has been minor cosmetic works. I've designed, and 3D printed, inserts for the fire pull holes on the noses - I decided to go the solid route as they normally fill up with dirt, so you can't see through them. I also fitted the pull handles from Tom Harwin's excellent 37 detailing etch - if you've a 37 to build, get hold of one of these. I wish it was available at the time I was building the body of mine, but I'd already painted it by the time he'd finished it.
     
    The only other significant alteration I've made is on the pipes - the tops and bottoms of the JLTRT cast pipes were cut off, and filed down to fit inside some small diameter silicone tubing, to give some movement and flexibility to the pipes. The tubing is pole float rubber, which can be obtained from angling shops, or ebay.
     
    It's been an enjoyable project and definitely challenging at times, but then that's all part of the fun. On to the next challenge!
  5. Pugsley

    Finally!

    By Pugsley,

    Hah, I bet you all thought that this project was dead and buried!
     
    Truth be told, I did as well, after being seduced by 7mm scale and shiny technology, oh, and cars. However, of late I've worked out why the layout wasn't really progressing - I find track building and wiring incredibly boring and, seeing as I don't have to do them, and there are many other interesting projects to spend time on, I haven't. I considered ripping up what I'd already done and building a small 7mm layout instead, but I couldn't quite bring myself to do that. So, with my wife insisting that she wanted our kitchen table back, I had to find a solution.
     
    The solution appeared to be to find someone to subcontract the track building and basic wiring to, allowing me to concentrate on the bits I enjoy, such as the scenery and the buildings, etc, to go on the layout once finished. The hardest part was going to be to find someone who was prepared to take on the project, who I felt would be able to complete it to my unfeasibly high standards. So, a chance conversation at the SWAG do last weekend resulted in the layout heading North after the show, to Darlington. Simon, of S H Model Making is going to do the honours as I know that I can trust him to finish the track to my standards (no pressure, if you're reading this, Simon!)
     
    Have I sold out? Probably, but at least this way I have got about 12 months to concentrate on building stock for the layout, so it's going to be a year of 4mm scale, with a bit of 7mm Cargowaggon thrown in for good measure. The first job is to finish the tamper, then the 455. I'm also looking forward to getting back to the tank wagons.
     
    The occasional progress report on the project will appear here, from time to time:
    https://www.facebook.com/SHModelMaking
  6. Pugsley
    Possibly not the best catchphrase to use these days , but I thought I'd start the next 7mm scratch build project with a little quiz. Although there's still a lot to do to the Cargowaggon Twins to turn them into an actual model, rather than a collection of bits, I wanted to get another project under way in the design stage.
     
    I find that after a day at work, I often don't feel in the mood to do some actual modelling, and there's a good chance that I could cock something up through being tired. Hell, there's a good chance I could cock something up anyway! So, an hour or two of slaving over a hot computer seems a more realistic proposition of an evening, and it's much easier to rearrange virtual items than it is to rectify a physical mistake.
     
    So, ladies and gentlemen, I give you this:

     
    It's very early days yet, so I will be very impressed if anyone can guess what it is. Not so impressed to give the winner anything, though, so you'll only have the satisfaction of being correct, which can be very satisfying
     
    This is going to be a slow burn project (aren't they all!), so don't expect updates too regularly...
  7. Pugsley

    I don't believe it!

    By Pugsley,

    Said in best Victor Meldrew voice, as the first bogies is now 95% complete and all appears to work as intended!
     
    The sideframes aren't glued in place yet, merely held in place by the spring pressure and the location of the axleboxes/equalising beams, but it performed successfully in a few hand propelled tests last night. I can run the bogie over an obstruction of 1.5-2mm, with all other wheels remaining in contact with the ground as demonstrated in these pics:

     

     
    The bottle of flux was just rested on the pivot of the bogie to provide an approximation of the weight that the bogie will carry under the loco. I balanced it as best I could, and it shows that the bogies sits pretty level:

     
    The assembly has highlighted a few design issues that I would change if I were to do this again, principally that now the torque reaction arms are in place I can't remove the traction motors. On the plus side, however, this means that I don't have to rely on the axlebox retainers in the kit to keep the axles in place if the loco is picked up. The torque reaction arms consist of a link made from 0.7mm wire, which is soldered into a hole in the motor unit frame for rigidity. The other end runs in an elongated slot, to allow the motor to move up and down, but not rotate under power, shown below:

     
    This pic also shows ride height adjusting screws, which will bear on the plates affixed to the underside of the chassis and the modifications made to raise the pivot plate up, mostly consisting of a block of brass milled to the necessary dimensions. The projections from the cross member are the locators for the brake gear, the fitting of which will be one of the next jobs.
     
    An overview of the progress so far:

     
    It's really starting to look like a 37 bogie! There's still plenty to do, the motors need to be wired up, I need to devise and rig some pickups, the cross-members need to be glued to the cosmetic frames, which also need to be glued to the etched bogie frame. Amongst other things! I'm pleased that I'm finally going to make one of my elastic deadlines now - this bogie will be sufficiently complete to be displayed at the S7 Society meet at Mark on the 8th October (non-members are welcome, I believe).
     
    It's going to be an interesting loco to drive once complete. There's no braking effect from the drivetrain, so coupled with the weight of the loco, which will need to be reasonable to get the suspension performing well, it'll have plenty of inertia once the power is cut. Perhaps I'll only run it on layout with reinforced buffer stops to begin with!
     
    More later in the week, hopefully.
  8. Pugsley

    And So It Begins

    By Pugsley,

    What better to do on a sunny Saturday, then to put some good music on and break out the water mixable oils:
     

     
    So far, I've made a start on the No. 1 end nose and the roof, working along to the other end. This is just the initial colouring, there's more to come once this is dry in a couple of days. The whole weathering job is going to take quite some time, I think, as not only is it much bigger than anything I've done before, I'm going to have to put more in the way of details in, if it's to look as good as I want it to.
     
    More as it happens
  9. Pugsley
    Lack of updates should not be confused with lack of progress, although the two are usually related - I can't write about doing naff all, well, I could, but people would soon stop reading it!
     
    However, in the time I've not been here posting, I have summoned up the courage to actually make a start on painting the 37 and it hasn't been the disaster that I feared it would. It came close to it on a number of occasions though! Mostly problems with paint adhesion, I don't think I cleaned the body quite enough before assembly, and on a couple of occasions I thinned the Railmatch acrylics a little too much, which didn't help. A bit of remedial work with some fine sandpaper did the job though, and now you'd never know!
     
    This is how it looks now:

     
    After masking all of the stripes around the door areas, I was starting to wish that I'd decided to build it as a triple grey example! Still, I'm fairly pleased with the end result, even though it has required quite a lot of touching in in places - I'm not sure Tamiya masking tape is as good as it used to be.
     
    I've also got the replacement brake shoes from Shapeways - these are the best quality parts that I've had in the FUD material, and they arrived within 7 days.

     
    I've now ordered some more, as I was three quarters of the way through doing the first bogie before realising each sprue contained enough brake shoes for one bogie, and I had only ordered one of them.... Mounting the brakes in position has also confirmed that I have some room to add extra pick-ups, so these will also be put in place, which should help with the problems experienced on the first test run.
     
    In addition to the bogie works, a coat of Klear will go on the body next, in preparation for adding the decals, of which the orange cantrail lining is what I'm looking forward to least. Everything else is straightforward, there's the Kingfishers to go on the engine room doors and the numbers are Replica rub-on ones. I'm toying with the idea of putting the OHL warning flashes onto thin plastic sheet, or photo paper, and sticking them on, to provide a little bit of relief, but haven't quite made my mind up in that respect.
  10. Pugsley

    A Quick Update

    By Pugsley,

    I dunno where time goes these days - one minute it's Christmas and the next it's Easter! Still, I can offer a quick update on the 37 project - it is structurally complete and painted, with a few little bits to add before the weathering commences in anger. This is how it is at the moment:
     

     
    The biggest problem at the moment seems to be a ride height problem at the No.1 end, this is currently riding some 2mm too high, which although it doesn't sound a lot, is enough to make it look a little odd. I'm not quite sure what's causing that at the moment, but I'm hoping it won't be too hard to sort.
     
    Some of it has been weathered though:
     

     
    I had to do the fan before fitting the (rather nice) Shawplan grille, otherwise there was no way of doing it later.
     
    Tom - This is about the best I could get of the ripple effect now it's painted. I think I could have done it a bit more now, as the paint has increased the subtlety of the effect, but it's a very fine line to overdoing it!
     

     
    Edit - Image upload now working!
  11. Pugsley
    No, not finished the large 37, or the small one for that matter, but I've achieved something that I hoped was possible, but wasn't sure about.
     
    I was given a healthy dose of reassurance by Andy, here:
    http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/topic/16226-andys-plop-shop/page__view__findpost__p__153226
     
    Which showed that what I was trying to achieve is relatively simple, and all the experimentation I had done (to little avail) with Tipp-Ex and other substances wasn't really necessary.
     
    I think that I've mentioned before that my ultimate goal is to one day take a picture of a model where absolutely nothing gives it away as being a model. A tall order indeed, but I have to have something to aim towards, else I get bored.
     
    To this end, I decided that the sides of the 37 need a bit of texture - so, this evening, I mounted a 3mm carbide burr in the flex shaft of the Dremel and attacked my 37 with it . Removing the tiniest amounts of material, almost randomly, in different directions, whilst constantly looking at photos, the effect intitially looks a bit wrong. However, smoothing with a bit of wet and dry (1200 grit, used wet) brings it all together nicely. I'm rather pleased with this:


     
    It's a very subtle effect (I think it just about shows up OK in the photos), which is exactly what I want, but it is very time consuming. 2 hours has seen me do one cabside and about a third of the main bodyside. I'm hoping that, come the end, it's going to be time well spent.
     
    More soon, hopefully.
     
    Edit - I've managed to get a better picture with the help of a little Klear, water just wasn't working properly. I've also spent another couple of hours on this effect this evening (in the same place) and it's pretty much there now.
     
  12. Pugsley

    The Spaghetti Incident

    By Pugsley,

    Progress continues slowly with the 7mm 37, and I'm currently in the middle of adding all the wiring for lights etc. This is how things looked the other day:

     
    It's all a bit tidier now, but I am running out of places to put all of the wires - and the ones for the cab lights, speaker and cooling fan aren't even visible in this picture!
     
    I've given up casting the brake shoes from the kit - I'm now in the process of drawing up my own and will get those from Shapeways, or possibly give iMaterilise a try, as I've not had anything from them yet. I'm also going to look at adding additional pickups to the bogies as I'm not totally convinced that the original solution is going to work that well - there is more movement in the axles than they can cope with at present.
     
    I've also started creating a length of track, so I can set the chassis up on the rolling road, to get that running sweetly by tweaking a few cv's. It looks like this project will have taken the best part of 3 years to complete, and it's not even there yet - yikes!
  13. Pugsley
    As the pictures in the printed magazine haven't shown up some of the subtle effects that can be achieved with the oil paints as much as I'd like, I've taken the liberty of putting the pictures used in the article, plus a couple of bonus ones, here. I'm not including the words though - this is in addition to the article, not instead of it
     
    Click each photo for a larger view.
     
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  14. Pugsley

    The Current State of Play

    By Pugsley,

    This is how things are at the moment:

    I hate electrical fault finding, but with much reluctance I have broken out the multimeter to try and find out why my 37 disgraced itself a few weekends ago, where it made all the right noises, but didn't actually do anything. I've put the first bogie on its 'custom stand' for easier access
     
    Fault number one was found quite quickly - one of the connections to the centre motor on the No 1 bogie is a bit dodgy, so that will have to be remade. Soldering in that confined space is certainly going to be interesting! I can't drop the motor out, as a bit of poor design has led to the motors being captive once the torque reaction arms are in place. If I ever do this again, that is going to have to be addressed.
     
    Closer inspection of the other soldered joints has uncovered another couple of areas of, shall we say, comedy soldering, which is probably also not helping the cause. Once these have also been redone, things should work a lot better.
     
    On the plus side, the pick-ups are all OK, well, except for the one that has dropped off, but we'll gloss over that.
  15. Pugsley

    A brief glimpse

    By Pugsley,

    After what seems to be a very long time, the heavyweight 37 is finally finished. Unfortunately, I can't say too much about the methods used at the moment, as it is scheduled to appear in a future issue of BRM. So, all I can post at the moment is a couple of teaser pics to prove that I am actually achieving something from time to time:
     


     
    I'll put some more pictures up once the magazine is out.
     
    It hasn't turned out quite as well as I'd hoped as some of the materials and techniques used are a bit experimental, but it's still looking quite good, IMO. It has been good practice for the big 37 though, which I really need to overcome my fear of painting, which is the biggest barrier to progressing with it. Well, that and the fact that the first run didn't go so well, but I think that's down the back EMF being enabled on the chip which got confused by the signals from 6 motors. I now need to build a small length of track to use my rolling road on, so I can hook it up to the Powercab and start tweaking CV's. There'll be more of that in a later update.
  16. Pugsley
    Actually not that kind of resurfacing, more a stalled project bubbling back to the surface for a little more attention. this happens from time to time, and frequently they sink back again, still incomplete, but I'm hoping to actually have this one finished by the end of the year.
     
    Yes, the 37 has made a comeback, now that the distraction of the IZA Ferrywagons is over for the time being. Actually, a fair amount has been achieved since the last update, with most of the wiring in place, the chip installed (although it can be removed for painting) and the speaker enclosure built. This is how things stand at the moment:

     
    I never thought I'd be pushed for space in a 7mm loco, so how crowded it's starting to look in there has come as a bit of a surprise! There is a mini DIN plug to go at the number 2 end, which will transfer the power to the body for the radiator fan motor, cab lights and speaker. Unfortunately it is only a 6 way plug and socket I have, so there will be an extra connection for the cab light common feed, but that's not the end of the world, just slightly less tidy that I would have liked. The miniature connectors on each end of the chassis are for the tail/marker/head lights at each end, so again the body can still be removed completely from the chassis.
     
    One of the reasons for the stall was that I hadn't quite worked out how I was going to secure the bogies, as well as saving up for the sound chip. The real thing uses steel rope to stop the bogies detaching, so I thought that I could possibly use the same sort of process. The first experiment was with stainless steel microbraid from Eileens, which really just is miniature steel rope. It soldered beautifully to the little tubes i bought to represent the crimped joint, but was too inflexible and would have required some form of springing mechanism inside, which wouldn't be easily hidden and seemed like bloody hard work. So came the revelation:

     
    Elastic thread! It's a little thick in original form, but I found that one of the cotton layers came off quite easily, leaving one layer of cotton and the rubber core remaining. I figured that the remaining sheathing would be rough enough to glue nicely to the chassis, and the rubber bit remained springy. So, the final solution is as shown above, which seems to work quite well and engages the etched hooks quite nicely. When the bogies are complete, there is another metal part to be glued to the bogie, under the hook, which will stop the retainer dropping out, which it will at the moment if everything is compressed enough.
     
    Whilst they don't retain the bogies quite in position, they stop it falling all the way out and keep it nice and level when it does drop, if the loco is lifted other than by its bogies. It's not a perfect solution, but it's better than nothing! It also doesn't look too overscale, although I think it is slightly.
     

     
    A close-up of the miniature connectors for the lights. The connection to the decoder will be soldered to the Veroboard and run under the chassis and into the main body thorough the gaps where the motors should be, if the kit was built conventionally.
     
    The plan is to have it running round the S7 test track this coming Saturday, so I need to pull my finger out, although I only really have the speaker to mount and wire in before connecting everything up to get it running. The lights etc won't be installed until the body is painted, so I have a fighting chance at least
  17. Pugsley
    I've not really acheived much of late, I haven't really felt like doing much and the large scale 37 has stalled as there's a few expensive bits I need to buy for it before I can continue. Over the last week or two I've slowly started to feel like doing something, so thought I'd turn my attention to some of the unfinshed projects kicking around the shelves behind the workbench.
     
    The quickest win was going to be the model of 37890, that I started nearly two years ago! It's been mostly complete since June 2010, when it appeared on the Class 37 display, to celebrate 50 years of the class, at the 2010 DEMU showcase event.
     

     
    I've modified the Blue Star socket on the front to look a bit more like the real thing, this just involves rounding the top with a file. I've also fitted the bufferbeam pipework, most of which is from a Hornby Class 50 detailing pack, with the exception of the vacuum pipes, which are of unknown origin (possibly Heljan?) - it's amazing what you discover when rummaging through the bits box!
     

     
    The Shawplan windscreen etch, and flush glazing really help life the Bachmann model, as do the Hornby 50 buffers and pipes. Lowering the ride height and moving the bogie sideframes slightly inward also make a great deal of difference to the appearance. I've also added the handbrake actuators (Shawplan) and chains (Detail Associates). Transfers were from Fox, and the etched arrows and depot plaques were also from Shawplan.
     

     
    I'm happy that this is now complete - just a little weathering now, which I'm quite looking forward to as it'll be the first time that I've used the water mixable oils on a loco. More progress soon, hopefully! I really should build a photo diorama as well - something else to consider.
  18. Pugsley
    As a further distraction from the 37 bogie project, I thought I'd do a little more to the chassis for the Nitric Acid tanks. I'm using Alibre design for this as well, which has a sheet metal function, that calculates fold sizes and the half etched fold areas based on the parameters I specify. It's taken a while to get my head round, purely because there's so much it can do, and I'm not really familiar with CAD, so I'm very much learning as I go along.
     
    There's a few hours work gone into this so far, it would have been quicker apart from the sharp learning curve, so I've redone a few things several times to get where I am now.
     

     
    It's just the outer members at the moment, the next thing I'm going to draw up and add to the assembly are the axleguards (W-Irons), I've just got to work out a foolproof way of locating them, which I think is going to involve etching through and using Scale Hardware cosmetic rivets. All other solebar rivets will be of the usual half etched and punched through variety.
     
    Although this is going to be mostly etched, I'm planning on making as much use of castings as I can, in order to reduce construction time and complexity. I'm aiming for a compromise between the JLTRT speed and ease of assembly and the MMP looks and details. Only time will tell if I can manage it!
     
    Everything appears to look OK size wise at the moment, I've scaled the buffers down and fitted them virtually. They're the right distance apart (scale 1727mm) and there's only a tiny bit of bufferbeam visible on the outer edges, just like the prototype, so I'm happy.
     
    More as and when...
  19. Pugsley

    He ain't heavy....enough

    By Pugsley,

    The second bogie has now reached a stage where I could plonk the loco down on the pair of them to see how everything looked and worked, so I couldn't resist giving it a go! It has highlighted a couple of minor, related, problems that are going to be fairly easily corrected. The bogie pivots need to be cut down a bit further as they currently hit the centre traction motor on each bogie, and the loco isn't quite heavy enough for everything to sit right. The first problem can be cured with a big file, the second with some of this:

     
    Which I think has to be the most economical way of buying lead for weighting models, admittedly it did cost £23 but I won't need to buy any more for a very, very long time!
     
    The threaded adjusters on the secondary suspension have also proved their worth - I've had to jack the side closest to the camera, in the photo below, up by about 1.5mm to get everything sitting level. It might need a bit of further adjustment when I set it up on a marble surface, instead of the cutting mat, but it's pretty much there. This pic does show it riding too high though, which is a combination of the two problems mentioned above.
     

     
    It looks quite imposing from this angle, which also slightly shows the rippled sides, which could create some interesting photo effects, once the loco is finished and I build a photo diorama for it. I also need to fettle the fit of some of the springs, a couple of them sit at funny angles, which is due to being slightly out when the pilot holes for cutting the mounting studs were drilled. If I were to do this again, I'd make a little jig for getting the drill centred in the cast springs, which were used to form the mounting studs.
     

     
    I've also made a representation of the encoder fitted to the refurbished examples, which is fitted to the centre axle, on the side opposite to the speedo, on the No. 2 end bogie. I did toy with the idea of not bothering, but decided that it would only irritate me in the future if I didn't do it. The picture above also highlights the lack of brake gear, which will be added once I've cast the necessary bits in resin.
     

     
    Once the bogie is fitted, the mechanism is pretty unobtrusive. The final drive gear on the leading axle does show up quite well at the moment, but once that's been coloured black with permanent marker, it shouldn't really show.
     
    I've also uploaded a video to Youtube, showing the suspension in action. I've probably built in a bit too much travel to the design, I don't think there's that much movement in the real thing, but it should cope with whatever rough track is thrown at it. The drivetrain might be a little noisy in operation, but I do plan on fitting a soundchip, so it shouldn't be too noticeable, with a bit of luck.
     
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQLQNdcBNHA&feature=youtu.be
     
    It appears to work like it should - the bogie moves around with no noticeable movement of the body (until it reaches the really big drop, but that's to be expected!), so I'm happy with what I've achieved. Next steps include casting the brake shoes and fitting the rest of the detail parts onto the bogies. Once that's done, it's time to crack on with the body.
  20. Pugsley

    A little pick-me-up

    By Pugsley,

    Slow progress continues with the bogie project, although the end of the first one is in sight, and as can be seen from the background of the pics below, the second is coming on quite nicely. It's taken me a little while to work out what I was going to do with current collection, but have settled on a fairly simple setup that picks up from 4 wheels on each bogie. I may add pick-ups to the centre axles at a later stage, but figured I'd try without to begin with, as it's easier!
     
    This is the final design of pick-up:

     
    It consists of an 11mm long piece of phosphor bronze strip, with a contact pad of brass soldered to one end. I've done this as I've read about phosphor bronze causing pitting on steel wheels if used in direct contact, the brass should alleviate this problem. For the first two I did, the strip is then folded in two, about 2/3rds of the way along. The second axle set was folded in half, which seems to work a little better.
     
    The collector arm is now a bit springy, helping to keep it in contact with the wheel, and is soldered to a piece of 0.7mm nickel silver wire, for strength. This, in turn, is soldered onto an L shaped bit of brass, soldered to the front face of a bit of copperclad paxolin. The whole assembly is glued on to the cross member of the bogie frame, as below.
     

     
    They're proving to be quite effective, although they haven't been tested on a track yet, I've tested the continuity using a multimeter and all is working as it should. They appear quite unobtrusive now and should be even harder to spot once painted. I was a bit worried with putting them on the outer edges of the bogies, but I think I've got away with it....
     


     
    There's not much more to do to this one now, although I need to cast some new brake gear for it. The kit includes lost wax cast brake shoes, which do sit very close to the wheels once assembled. With the kit, as designed, this isn't a problem as the metal parts fit into the resin bogie moulding. Unfortunately this is not going to work with my etched chassis as there will be a serious risk of short circuits through the bogie frames, so I'm going to make a copy of the kit parts in resin. I have used the kit parts on the outer mounts though, as these mount to the resin frames.
     
    It's all looking rather crowded now, and that's before the rest of the brake gear has gone in!
     

  21. Pugsley
    I'll start with the lesson in observation. When planning a model of a wagon, check what axleboxes it had in the period you'll be modelling it in, don't rely on more recent photos!
     
    I've been turning my attention to the Nitric Acid tanks again, as a little bit of a break from the 37 bogies (more of that in another post to follow shortly) so dug all of the research material out the other night. In a previous post, I'd been drawing up the SKF axleboxes, as that's what I thought I required but closer inspection of some older photos of the tanks, in UKF colours show them with Timken axleboxes (all except the Pedestal suspension fitted 949 and 950).
     
    Having realised my error, I've set about drawing up the Timken variant of axlebox. It's going to be quite a useful thing to do anyway, as it was fitted to such a wide range of air braked wagons, including the VAA and VBA vans, which I plan to turn my attention to at some point. So here is the current work in progress, on the floor this time rather than floating in mid air:
     

     
    It's shown in parabolic spring configuration, for use on the vans it won't need the circular spacer on the top, there's a few little tweaks to do, but it's more-or-less there. The text on the front projects further than it should, the same as the last one, due to the minimum size requirements for the 3D printing process. I'll sand the print to reduce the size of that before using it as a master.
     
    The SKF type wasn't a complete waste of time though, I can still make use of it on another type of wagon in the future.
  22. Pugsley
    It's not often I feel compelled to compose a more typical blog post with my general wittering (I think two in as many years is quite sufficient) but over the last few days I've been, well overwhelmed isn't quite the right word, but I've come to truly appreciate what a fantastic tool the Internet really is.
     
    Of course, there are the more immediate aspects, (one of which I'd probably best not mention here ) such as bringing together like minded groups to discuss their interests and share their models and information. Forums have allowed people to share their projects with others from around the world, and have allowed people to see some fantastic modelling that they may otherwise have never known anything about.
     
    Forums such as RMweb (other model railway forums are available) have also lead to a bit of a revolution in terms of passage of information. Want to know what loco hauled the 2F38 from Blackpool North on the 6th June 1992? Someone probably knows (an upside-down dog for anyone who can tell me, and yes, I do know the answer ). There is a veritable mine of information here alone, before you even start casting the web wider, outside of forums and other groups. There is also the social aspect, where online relationships, in the broadest sense, transfer into the real world. I've certainly met some great people, who I regularly keep in contact with, through RMweb.
     
    A special wagonphile mention must go to the Barrowmore MRG - I'd be struggling to do what I'm currently doing without the amazing resource created by putting the BR weight diagram books online.
     
    Before the demise of Fotopic, there were a huge number of images available to view stretching from the 60's to the present day. Want to find a photo of a particular loco in 1991? It was probably on there. The demise of Fotopic has left a bit of a hole in that respect, although it's great that a lot of people who had images on there have slowly migrated them to other providers - especially the like of Paul Bartlett and Martyn Read (and others) - their photos are invaluable to wagonphiles. It does, however, highlight one of the major Internet negatives - the transient nature of the content and the ease in which it can be destroyed - keep those hard-drives backed up!
     
    What's prompted this outpouring of Internet love? I've been searching the web for information on parabolic suspension for the tank wagon project. Although most of what I needed has been measured from prototypes, I find that no matter how thorough I think I've been, there's always something I've missed. Either something I didn't photograph properly, or a key dimension that I didn't measure, or if I did, I recorded it in such a way that I no longer understand quite what I did...
     
    Anyway, after a bit of deft Googling, I have now ascertained that the length of a Bruninghaus parabolic spring is 1200mm over the eye centres (when straight) Edit - I've since discovered that a UIC standard spring is 1200mm, the standard UK spring is 1400mm, which was the cause of much head scratching when dimensions scaled from photographs didn't match! For the UIC suspension, the bottom link pin is 750mm from the spring centre, there is a 150mm offset between the top and bottom pins and the pins are 288mm apart and 35mm diameter. The pin dimensions will be the same for the UK spring, but I'm guessing the 750mm dimension quoted above should be 850 for the UK spring. In short, everything I need to get my suspension parts drawn up and in the right place on the model. Stuff that would have been very difficult to obtain even a few years ago, and I would have had to take another 230 mile round trip to go and get the information that I didn't get first time around.
     
    So, in short, I think that this is a brilliant time to be doing what I'm trying to do and I'm now more fully appreciative of the role that the Internet plays in it, it would be a darn sight harder without it.
     
    If you've got this far, thanks for reading my waffle and I hope it's been interesting/struck a chord/not been a complete waste of time (delete as appropriate) I promise that the next post will be more interesting, with pictures and everything.
  23. Pugsley

    First test

    By Pugsley,

    Links for the final parts of the saga:
    38 - A little pick-me-up
    39 - He ain't heavy.....enough
    40 - Tarmac Yer Drive Mister?
    41 - The Current State of Play
    42 - The Spaghetti Incident
    43 - What a difference....
    44 - A Quick Update
    45 - And So It Begins
    46 - It's Been a Long Time
     

    A further, small, milestone has been reached since the last update - the first bogie has been wired up and tested with an old Hornby controller. As shown in the photo below, it all works together!

    I did have two swap two wires over, as one motor was turning the opposite way to the other two (I think I must have had the motor the wrong way round when I soldered the wires on), but that was easily corrected.
     
    I've also added the cosmetic axlebox covers, cut from the kit sideframes, so it's now really starting to look the part. I've yet to add pick-ups, which will hopefully be to all wheels, if I can fit them in, and the various kit detailing parts such as the brake gear, brake cylinders and steps. I also need to move the brake hangers, on the end of each bogie, out a touch as well, which is something I hadn't even considered until I was chatting to someone at the Mark S7 meet a couple of weeks ago. Apparently I should be able to cut these off and reattach with butanone. I was given a better method for use on the next kit that involved chopping up the end cross-members and gluing together, but it's a bit late for that with this one.
     

     
    The top view shows that there isn't going to be an awful lot of space inside the frames once all of the detailing parts are added:
     

     
    The bogies will be connected electrically to the rest of the loco using disc drive connectors, which are the ideal size and have 4 pins - 2 track feeds and 2 motor feeds from the decoder. Following the trials with the Hornby controller, where the motors were run at full power for some time without getting hot, I think I can get away with wiring each bogie in series, then connecting both bogies in parallel. I'm not entirely sure what this arrangement will do to the decoder, it has been suggested that it may get confused, but I guess that there is only one way to find out!
  24. Pugsley
    As you may have gathered from the title, things aren't going quite according to plan with the 37 bogies, I've discovered a problem with the design of the plate that links the 4 secondary suspension points and the central bearing. If I mount it in the way I'd planned, the travel of the bogie rests on the top of the middle traction motor when the axle is at its highest travel. Seeing as the normal planned position for the central axle is towards the top of its travel, this causes a bit of a problem.
     
    If I set the assembly up as intended, as shown below, the top of the bogies, where they meet the slide plates, will be nearly 29mm from rail height (give or take a flange depth ). This doesn't sound too bad, until you consider that the bottom of the body needs to sit 25mm above the ground in normal running, and the slide plates are only a millimetre or so above the bottom of the body. I can turn down the parts that fit into the secondary suspension springs, but that brings the clearance problem into play.
     
    As things are now:
     

     
    This closer view shows the problem with the bottom of the plate and the traction motor - if the height is reduced by the required 3mm, the plate will be sat on the top of the motor, stopping the movement of the suspension.
     

     
    It also shows that the bar arrangement to stop the motor rotating under load needs a bit of attention - I needed to wedge a screwdriver underneath to get it to sit in the right position! I think I'll have to fix the bar at the bogie end, and open out the hole in the motor to a slot, so that the motor can move up and down, but not rotate. The movement is constrained by the current arrangement, but it can still move too much at present.
     
    The parts that fit into the secondary springs have been turned from brass, drilled 1.8mm and tapped 8BA, so that there is a form of ride height adjustment incorporated, as there is no equalisation on the secondary suspension and the loco will look a little odd if anything is out with the ride height. I decided that I couldn't work to the level of accuracy required to get everything identical, and a screw adjustment seemed the easiest way of levelling everything up at the end.
     

     
    The secondary springs are made from 0.7mm soft brass wire.
     
    The solution to the problem is going to be to raise the bearing part of the plate up to fit much closer to the floor of the loco. There is quite a bit of room to allow this, as shown in the next picture. It also means that I can use the etched packing pieces, rather than having to turn up new pieces to fit.
     

     
    Ironically, this brings the design of the bogie even closer to that of the real one! The 3mm or so gained by doing this should offset the clearance problem discovered earlier, meaning that everything should be able to move as intended. I plan to cut the existing plate into 3 sections, then re-attach the central bearing part, spacing it upwards in the process. I may also take the opportunity to slim the central section down slightly.
     

     

     
    The threaded bolt protruding from the chassis will be cut down as much as possible leaving just enough clearance to slip a nut on the end, to retain the bogie when the loco is lifted up. There will be enough movement for the suspension to work, and the force will be transmitted through the central bearing, just like the prototype.
     
    Unfortunately, this minor setback means that the bogies definitely won't be ready for Telford, but I'm hoping that I can get at least one finished for the S7 Society meet up at Mark, in October.
  25. Pugsley

    Mocking....

    By Pugsley,

    up the final ride height was one of this evening's little tasks (it's amazing what you can do with brass rod and blu-tack!). Now that I've got all 6 motor units assembled and test fitted into the bogie frames, I wanted to make sure that I could get squeeze everything in that I wanted to and check clearances.
     

     
    As you can see, it's all a little tight in there! The shiny bits on the cross-member are the lugs that the torque reaction arms will fit into, engaging into similar holes on the edge of the motor housing. The motors project a little bit above this, but not much.
     
    The other bogie, which is yet to have these mounts fitted:

     
    Someone asked a while ago about how visible the gears would be - here's a pic with the motor in roughly the final position (pretend that the file and cocktail stick aren't there )
     

     
    I don't think they'll be too intrusive once painted black.
     
    Next job is to solder the torque reaction arm mounts to the one bogie, then sort out the kingpin and secondary suspension mounting. The secondary springs need to be soldered in place before the bogies are assembled, as I'm not sure what effect that heat will have on the resin sideframes. Between the springs and the bearing plates, yet to be attached, there will be a screwed adjustment, so ride height can be adjusted to ensure the loco is level. The primary suspension, theoretically, doesn't need this as it is equalised. Both bogies are sitting level, with all 6 wheels on the marble, so I'm confident that all is square and should run OK.
     
    More progress later in the week, with any luck.
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