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Modbury


Ian Smith
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Glad to see you posting, and modelling!

 

47 minutes ago, Ian Smith said:

Haven't decided what load to put on it yet, potentially something covered in a sheet or two before being chained down.

Good idea: a cheap toy of roughly the right size and shape will suffice, rather than finding a totally accurate scale model.

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That sounds like the usual quickie project that turned out to be more complicated than planned :) Kudos for sticking with it, Ian. Very nice result.

 

Regarding the load, I am reliably informed that Sir Francis Wobblewhite of Modbury was so fond of his bathing machine that he brought it with him by rail whenever he travelled to the sea.

 

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15 hours ago, Mikkel said:

That sounds like the usual quickie project that turned out to be more complicated than planned :) Kudos for sticking with it, Ian. Very nice result.

 

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Mikkel,

Thankyou, it was indeed selected as a quickie project to try to re-engage the mojo!

Obviously, had I built it as the kit designer intended it probably would have been!  However it served its purpose, as I thoroughly enjoyed building it and do feel the modelling mojo has been rekindled.

I love Sir Francis Wobblewhite’s bathing machine, but fear the finial would foul the loading gauge (even loaded on a low Loriot :blink:

The thought of such a contraption trundling along what later becomes the A379 behind Modbury is quite appealing though, perhaps with a queue of various farm carts and drays waiting “patiently” behind it :D

Ian

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With my modelling mojo being somewhat restored, I have made a start on another wagon - a 6 wheeled brake van to diagram AA1.

 

This is another 2mm Association kit designed by Chris Higgs.  The underframe went together fairly easily, as usual I had a little trouble with the multi-layer spring/axlebox.  The first layer of springs was fine as that was self-jigged by the wheel bearings, but the second layer having part of the axlebox on it required the bearings to filed off flush before the sole bar overlay including outer layer of springs were soldered in place.  Unfortunately I invariably have one overlay that decides to move very marginally after my initial tack-solder and this one was no exception - in the end however I think they went on alright.  Then comes the fun of building up the depth of axleboxes with further layers of etch, surprisingly for me I managed to complete this operation without having to make any sacrifices to the carpet gods, and even managed to get the various layers of axlebox secured without too many problems (although it is always "fun" trying to float these little devils around on a bed of molten solder to get them on square).  Luckily, a brake van having lower footboards can disguise a multitude of sins!! :D

 

One thing I did notice on building the underframe is that the solebar overlays are identical (rather than handed), which means that the slot for the tab of the top step is in the wrong place on one side (as is the hole to position lower step hanger).  Not it has to be said an insurmountable problem!! 

 

Todays fun has been to build up the sides.  I have already built a 4 wheeled version of this kit (an AA3 brake van), but it was constructed 2 or 3 years ago now and I had forgotten the amount of enjoyment one can have trying to build up the T section stanchions on the sides and ends.  Chris has designed the kit so that the back plate of the stanchion is jigged in position on the sides by holes around the fret.  This approach has much to commend it, but today I struggled getting the flipping things sweated into position and at least 3 came adrift when I removed the parts from the fret.  A little careful work with asbestos fingers and mild industrial language managed to see the blighters more firmly affixed though.  The uprights of the T section stanchions have tabs that fit through slots in the backplates and into corresponding slots in the body sides, and apart from needing to file the tabs down a bit (both in width and length) so that they would fit easier into the slots were added without too much fuss.

 

A couple of photos to illustrate where I'm up to ...

 

 

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Hopefully, tomorrow I'll be able to get the ends built up.

 

Ian

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Re axlebox layers.  I have used a pair of tweezers to align the layers and hold them in alignment until the solder cools by gripping them vertically by their sides (if you can visualise that).

 

Jim

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Hi Chris, I am glad you got your mojo back ive been watching your blog for a while and its given me some insperation to get modelling now that im in retirement ,keep up the good work nice to see nimble fingers 2mm managing to get around small delicate items.  rgds Ray

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Clever little arrangement to form the tanks. To think that those bent bits will turn into a locomotive. The magic of scratchbuilding!

 

 

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Ian, it strikes me that your locos are like jewellery. Have you considered wearing them? All you need is a chain around your neck and you'll be the gansta of the exhibition circuit :)

 

9 hours ago, Ian Smith said:

the inside of the splasher disc was bored to within an inch of it's life (well 4 thousandths of an inch actually)

 

That's close. Not the kind of thing you'd want to undertake with low blood sugar (amazing how much blood sugar levels can affect one's work btw). 

 

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Anyone who has helped operate Modbury at (those distantly fond memories called) exhibitions will almost certainly be able to recall the odd occasion when we didn't have enough space at the Newton Abbot end of the layout - the traverser had only 3 roads compared to the 5 at the Plymouth end!

 

It was always my intention to increase the space available on the traverser but it never really seemed to be a priority with my fairly limited stock.  Also the original 2 outer curved roads on the traverser had too tight a radius to sensibly allow further curved roads outside them (the additional roads would need even tighter radii) meaning that they would also need to be replaced, which could have been a world of hurt if I hadn't completed the operation between exhibition dates.

 

However, as the next potential exhibition (if we're ever allowed to go out to play again) is Uckfield in the Autumn, I have over the last couple of weeks finally taken the opportunity to do deal with the problem.  This decision was helped by the fact that one of the bolt sockets on one of the old roads had started to cause de-lamination between the copper it was soldered to and the PCB of its sleeper.

 

The first task (obviously) was to remove the two outer curved roads, but I also took the opportunity to completely remove the entry road on the traverser board and also the existing round section bolts and sockets (I have used square section bar and tube on the Plymouth traverser which I prefer).

 

I also decided to dispense with the existing method of transferring power to the traintable roads - originally the bolt provided continuity for one rail, but the other was fed by a wiper contact on a piece of PCB below the traintable deck - the new solution is to use two bolts, one for each rail.

 

The new roads (and indeed the old ones) were constructed using OO gauge copper clad sleepers with code 40 rail soldered to gauge on top.  The existing straight and inner curved roads used flat-bottomed rail, the outer curved roads use bullhead for no other reason than that was what I had available.

 

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The traverser after the outer curved roads had been removed, but with the new entry road and square alignment bolts.

 

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The traverser after all of the roads had been constructed, and with the new bolt lever made and fitted.

 

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A close-up of the new square bolts and levers engaged (the top lever had to be somewhat shorter to ensure that it cleared the traintable deck when the bolt was not engaged).

 

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Finally a shot illustrating the bolts disengaged, and the position of the upper lever when in that position.  I will need to excavate a little of the adjoining board to accommodate the tails of the bolts when in this position (as can be seen they extend beyond the edge of the traverser board).

 

In making these changes, I also took the opportunity to re-engineer the bolt lever pivots - the original was simply a brass wood screw (and can be seen in the upper photo).  The new design comprises a pair of turned top hats, the lower one being tapped to take an M3 bolt, the upper one having an M3 clearance hole through it (it also has an extension on top 4mm diameter which passes through the lever against which the M3 bolt is tightened leaving the lever able to move freely).

 

The next job will be to re-paint the traverser and baseboard top in dark grey again - when originally built I did paint them white but they were extremely visible though the mouseholes on the scenic section especially on photos!

 

Thanks for looking.

Ian

 

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Yes I can see the improvement in the Spectacles. Brave man to risk spoiling the paint job changing them. The 517 is coming on beautifully .

 

Don                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

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23 minutes ago, Ian Morgan said:

You might have a problem with BR Mk3 coaches hitting each other on those close curved fiddle yard tracks :dirol_mini:

 

 

 

Now if you had said Dreadnought Coaches that would have been more likely.

 

Don

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42 minutes ago, Ian Morgan said:

You might have a problem with BR Mk3 coaches hitting each other on those close curved fiddle yard tracks :dirol_mini:

 

 

The gap is very tight, but I’ve checked my widest/most over hanging locos and stock and all is good. Luckily as Don mentioned I have no intention of building any Dreadnought coaches (or even Concertina ones for that matter). The only bogie coach I have in a running condition is only a forty footer so not much longer than my 4 or 6 wheelers.

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6 hours ago, Donw said:

Yes I can see the improvement in the Spectacles. Brave man to risk spoiling the paint job changing them. The 517 is coming on beautifully .

 

Don                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Don, the spectacles were annoying me. Especially when I compared the Dean Goods to the Metro and Buffalo, so I knew I could turn something up a little finer. Initially I thought I might be able to sand the originals a little thinner but decided that the risk/reward was too heavily weighted on the risk side. In the end I decided I couldn’t live with it as it was.

Thank you for the kind comments on the 517.

Ian

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