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Darwinian

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Everything posted by Darwinian

  1. I successfully drilled through crank and axle 0.45mm and inserted a brass wire pin that I cut off as flush on either side of the crank as possible and then added a tiny drop of superglue, a bit belt and braces as the wire was tight enough that I had to use pliers to push it through. Left for 24 hours to fully cure and then then tidied up the ends of the wire with a fine needle file. A rolling test showed it to still be free rolling but testing under power it is nice and smooth in reverse but sticks in one position going forward, although when derailed it didn't so there must only be a small bind.
  2. That's what I was thinking too. I don't, however, know if my drill bits (HSS) will be good enough. Only one way to find out I suppose. The main reason I'm hesitant is that the crank would be not be removable then. On the other hand it's not likely to need to come off unless the motor fails. I don't have a railway the size of Little Bytham after all.
  3. I've finally got the Aberdare chassis turning over smoothly again. I re-checked all the horn-block alignments and ditched the etched cranks as I figured I must have damaged them taking them off. One in particular had partly de-laminated and didn't seem to be fitting true onto the axle. I substituted Gibson cranks which are a little chunkier but went on fine this time as I had remembered to dress the ends of the axles. Well when I say "fine", one that I was reusing on the driven axle split. I've run some good quality runny superglue into the split and it's holding well enough to roll the chassis along with the side rods on, however I'm not convinced it will be up to the job of taking the loads under power. I'm thinking that pinning it to the axle by drilling through crank and axle and inserting a wire pin might be the way forward. Alternatively I'll have to get a new set of cranks for that axle. Any thoughts?
  4. Luckily this one has three links not the one way around Dingham's I use, so I can do just that 👍
  5. Having had them sitting in my cabinet for several years I decided that this week I would finish the ropes on a Coopercraft GWR five plank bar with sheet support and while at it do the more recently built 4 plank that doesn't have a bar too. Having done them here they are, the camera never lies - Oh bother, I really had never noticed that the bar on the five plank is higher at one end! It is accentuated here by the tarpaulin not being level at the bottom, it's less obvious on the other side which is level. I've been using it on the layout and it's been sat in a display case but only now that I've photographed it here did I notice. I also realised that the 4 plank didn't get weathered before I stuck the sheet onto it. Going to be tricky weathering the wagon now, the body is more visible on the other side, and making the sheet look different and weathering around the ropes will be necessary too. I will have to live with these as I cannot easily take of the tarpaulins as they are glued in place and I'd have to do all that fiddly rope work again!
  6. Ah yes but that's a different diagram to the Kernow ones which are Diag. R and O. Typical of Blacksmith/Mallard kits not easy but basically sound. This is mine built at least 30 years ago. It came with the vac-formed styrene roof and I built replacement cylinders because I thought the casting was a bit puny.
  7. As a break from fighting the Aberdare I had another go at getting the bread oven proportions looking right. Here at the back is the 1st attempt - oven opening too small and forgot to allow for planting into ground. In front is the latest version which looks about right. The steps represent the eventual ground level. On the left is the oven interior. The cutouts are to allow fitting LEDs below hopefully producing a flame like effect. If it doesn't work I'll just put the oven doors on closed!
  8. You could read that as the modelling being of railways by Britons. As opposed to Festival of modelling British railways. So no reason not to have railways modelled on non-british prototypes. Personally It's very much the quality of the model making, including the scenery, rather than the subject matter that appeals. I really liked the OPs Chinese layout when I saw it a few years ago. Variety is good even if I don't know anything about the system being modelled. But then I model the ex. Rhymney Railway in 1929-32 so I see very few layouts that go with my particular interests!
  9. Well, well how did it get to be February already? As covered on my signals thread the signals are now all built and I've got half of them working on the bench. Just got to add the servo links to the bracket one and set up the MergSevo 4 for the home signals. The repair of the Aberdare has been one of those tasks that just won't go right. I've had a couple of go's at re-quartering but to no avail. Today I've resorted to taking the hornblock bearings out, cleaning them up, replacing them and checking them with the set up jigs, marking them so they stay in the same hornblocks and then reassembling. One wheel was loose however and I realised that in disassembly I had broken the soldered joint between chassis spacer and frame at the firebox end. It's still in bits while I try not to knock any more bits off. I might resort to putting another new wheel on but the one that's slipping was one of the shorted ones and I don't think I've got any more shorting wire etches. Ho Humm!
  10. True, but to me a loco on shed with crew doing something in the cab is more acceptable than a runaway that the crew have abandoned! I have just put some modelu crew into my B4 pecket and without taking the cab apart and although a faff they did seem to stay put fairly well so long as I could hold them long enough for the glue to bite (Thick superglue). It was also much easier for the driver who was leaning on the cabside, so not just dependent on his feet to keep him upright.
  11. Good luck with the handrail. It's been discussed elsewhere on here too. I would recommend using a suitable piece of tube /tool handle of slightly smaller diameter than the smoke box door to form the main curve first. The first side corner can be done next. I've used a needle file handle bend the wire around in the past. Then PUT the front handrail knob on. Now form the second side bend. Cut the side handrail sections slightly too long and test fit. Trim back further until they fit. Some recommend doing it in two halves meeting inside the smoke box top handrail knob. Personally I've always ended up with a kink there when I've tried that.
  12. It moves! Courtesy of MERG Servo 4 and Tower Pro 9g servo. somersault action.mp4 Just needs the lamp fitted.
  13. I should perhaps add that there are several other pictures dated from 1912 onwards showing signals with the more familiar single band. If the dates are more or less correct then both band patterns were in use, on the TVR at least, during this period. I've not found any double band images post 1922 in any of the books I have but that may just be chance.
  14. That looks like a ring on the arm of the shorter doll. There are similar ones in "The Rhymney Railway Vol. 1, The main line from Cardiff" John Hutton, Silver Link (Pubs). Page 26." Aber Junction and sidings about 1905 " shows a single post with a rotating disc and a somersault arm with a ring. Viewed from behind there appear to be two black lines outboard of the disc (one either side). Page 84. "K Class ........passing Heath junction on 16th May 1919" A somersault to the left of a large bracket signal (with two arms on the main post) has a ring and a fairly clear white band to the left of the ring. The ring does appear to be around the pivot point. In "The Taff Vale Railway Vol.2" Same author and publisher there are several views of somersaults with the double white band (one either end of the arm) and no ring: Page 48 View of Porth Station June 1921 there are two pairs of "home?" somersault signals, all with the double white bands. Page 51" Ynishir ......June 1922" the starter signal from the left platform has the two band style. The back of a 3 doll signal is also featured but all arms are set on and it's not possible to see if there is a second black band at the lamp end of the arm. Page 83 "TVR O4 0-6-0 ...... Mountain Ash circa 1908..." shows a two doll signal with both arms clearly showing the two band style. Page 123 A side view of the carriages involved in the accident near Gyfeillon Coke Works 23rd January 1911 there are a set of distant signals with the double chevron bands.
  15. Wow, that's a whole new, and intriguing, can of worms. I'm neither knowledgeable enough about signalling nor Rhymmney railway practice to comment. Until we have some more definite idea I'll assume that the GWR would have repainted any such signal arms by my 1929-32 period. Anyway for what it's worth, here are my signals, virtually complete. I have tested the lighting using the LED on my phone as a source and they seem to be OK. I'll only really know once I've wired them up. Bracket Somersault and disc on post; The single elevated disc is basically the same as the last but without the somersault. They need a bit of paintwork touching up and I am planning on adding signal wire pulleys to the bases, once I've decided which side of the operating wire they need to go to lead back to the signal box. A Merry Christmas and Happy New year to all. Adrian
  16. Just in time for Christmas I've finished the signals mounted on posts (well actually I have to put a guide on the rotating disc co-mounted with a somersault as there's too much resistance in the mechanism that bends the operating rod without one). Here they are mounted in testing/assembly mounts. The illumination appears to work too but I'll need to mount the servos and LEDs on their mounts to be sure they work. Some touching up of paintwork needed too. Merry Christmas and a Happy New year to all.
  17. As you say it doesn't look easy hence why I baulked at doing it when I did fill in the bunker recess. Since then I have taken the cab shutter off a Hornby 52xx ( detailed in the build a loco challenge). I suspect removing the shutter on the 56xx would be required too since it is too short, unless the unprototypical top strip could be smoothed off. I've not checked if it's the inside or outside dimension of the cab opening beading that is an issue. The roof rainstrips should be fairly straightforward. Hornby have managed the cab to roof proportions much better on their current 61xx so it can be done.
  18. Whilst that floating rear axle is a bit of a "toy" feature it does work and my 56xx is one of my best loco's for road holding and haulage. However the cab cutout and roofline area is poorly represented in my view. I did raise this with the Bachmann stand at an exhibition many years ago and they said it was something they were considering addressing, but obviously never did. The area cabside above the cutout below the roof is too deep. The side shutter runner should be tucked up under the roof overhang. Bachmann have put it below the roof and this results in a too low cabside cutout that ends up looking squashed compared to the larger opening on the prototype. It's not helped by the rather heavy beading around the cutout and coarse roof rainstrip that would make rectifying this a fairly significant bit of surgery. Compare my pictures here of my Bachmann model and a preserved loco at Holt on the North Norfolk Railway in 2017.
  19. It's.a.pity Bachmann have never reworked the cab roof/cabside on the 56xx. It spoils an otherwise good model. I still have one on Cwmhir, although I modified the bunker to get rid of the dent where it's hit a telegraph pole, as they are a good value, smooth loco. I nearly asked Santa for a PDK kit one. Might revive that thought around my birthday!
  20. If the multi version GWR 20t coal wagon comes back I'll be up for at least a couple. No decent alternative from RTR.
  21. Nearly there with the semaphores and rotating disc signal builds. Here is the bracket signal awaiting fitting of arms, lamps and linkages. The semaphore with rotating disc And the spectacles and lamps. When I saw this I realised I'd put the glasses on the spectacles the wrong way around. I'm building the signals with the arm to spectacle link rod above the pivot so the red glass should be above the spectacle pivot not below it as seen here. I've corrected them now. The "glazing" is the Wizard models material. For the spectacles it was roughly cut to size and then glued to the frames with Micro Kristal Clear. The overhanging bits were then trimmed back using Xuron micro shears and the edges painted black. The circular red glass for the discs was punched out using a short length of brass tubing (with the edge sharpened on wet and dry paper), a small hammer and a cutting mat. Again glued to the disc with Micro Kristal Clear which has also been used to add clear lenses to the signal lamps (so that the holes don't get full of dust/crud).
  22. There are a pair of luggage weighing machines on Sheringham NNR station that are LNER/BR and are green with red lettering. I presume they were like that pre-preservation but don't think they'd like me chipping at the paint to be sure!
  23. Thanks for the information. As the only time the colour if the disc lenses for the disc "off" position would be seen is when I turn on the lighting I'll leave them white.
  24. Would I be OK for my 1929-34 time period in assuming: Red Signal arms linked to spectacles with Red-Blue(=green) glasses. Red glass in discs with a white indication when cleared. All lamps have white lens at back for confirmation that lamp is still lit. Covered by back blinder when cleared for signals facing away from the signal box.
  25. A different viewpoint of shunting taking place. 56xx collecting fulls, that have been brought down the hill by the colliery Peckett, having brought up empties and some pit props. This is more or less a platform level view taken on my phone. Progress on the signals continues and the semaphores are almost done. Just need to fit the lamps and linkages. Oh and then I'll have to wire them up of course.
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