Building kits for Tyneside in the BR era. J24 and PDK D49/2

[MarkC]

8 hours ago, 37Oban said:

Hi,

 

I've always though that it was hydrofluric acid (nasty stuff) used to etch glass.  Our school chemistry lab store had some in small wax bottles precisely because it dissolved glass so easily.

 

Roja

Hydroflouric acid is indeed nasty. Certain marine engine manufacturers  supply O-rings which are packed in bags containing a health warning - if these O-rings have been subjected to high temperatures whilst in use, then good PPE should be used when removing & disposing of them, as hydroflouric acid is given off. A friend of mine ended up having to have skin grafts after he ignored the warning, handled the used rings with bare hands & then ended up being rushed to hospital as the acid was burning through his skin...

[Blandford1969]

Not sure if this helps, but here are some images of the N15 cab from the 52F instructions for their N15 kit.

 

Best wishes

 

Duncan

[rowanj]

Thanks, Duncan- that's really useful- just what I need to make it appear, at least, that something is going on in the cab. I never thought of asking Peter Stringer at 52F if he could help (though I hate to think what he would have said if I told him which kit I was building}

John

[rowanj]

A bit more testing to check for shorts/derailments. I fitted the tank balance pipes (thanks, David) from scrap etch and 0.45 brass wire. The rest of the assembly will , hopefully, just be detailing so that should be OK (famous last words) I've made a start on a basic cab interior, using the drawings Duncan kindly provided. This, and subsequent checks on photos in Yeadon, reveals that the bunker rear often /usually? had a pair of steps, while the kit only provides for a single step in the centre.

The buffers are sprung, and came with the kit, though I don't know if they were bought separately - there are no other in the box. Fitting was a slow process, as they are far to fat to fit through the miniscule holes in the buffer beams.  Opening up with drills and various , progressively thicker broaches, was needed, but care is needed as the size of hole needed leaves very little metal left on the beam. Probably best done when the beam is still on the fret.

The mis- aligned RH rear buffer rear buffer has now been corrected. Photos are cruel, but do show what my naked eye misses.

 

 

Edited September 6, 2021 by rowanj

[mikemeg]

On 03/09/2021 at 16:43, MarkC said:

Hydroflouric acid is indeed nasty. Certain marine engine manufacturers  supply O-rings which are packed in bags containing a health warning - if these O-rings have been subjected to high temperatures whilst in use, then good PPE should be used when removing & disposing of them, as hydroflouric acid is given off. A friend of mine ended up having to have skin grafts after he ignored the warning, handled the used rings with bare hands & then ended up being rushed to hospital as the acid was burning through his skin...

 

Mark,

 

Yes, my mistake; hydrofluoric acid not phosphoric which is the really nasty stuff. It is me who needs to remember his O-level Chemistry, though I did pass it. Probably because there were no questions on phosphoric or hydrofluoric acid. Anyway, diluted phosphoric acid does make an excellent flux.

 

Cheers

 

Mike

 

 

 

Edited September 7, 2021 by mikemeg

[rowanj]

Nearly there. The lining on the bunker looks rough, but weathering will hopefully sort that out. I need to look again at the smokebox dart, which sticks out too far. Lining transfers will be used to represent the boiler bands.

 

I picked this loco from an old video on Edinburgh's railways, as i wanted a St Margarets example.

 

The RH side needs lining, as do boiler bands. Spectacle plates need glazing, and coal added. Then it will be pushed into a very unlikely turn on a short goods or excursion traffic to Tyneside and back.

[micklner]

Always check with a 6 inch steel rule on decal lining as it goes onto the model , once happy with position I then always leave each line to dry before adding anymore decals . I only use HMRS pressfix nowdays as the lines should go on straight ,and can be slightly "massaged" if needed into position.

 

The coupling rods still look like they are drooping down in the centre /and or the quatering is slightly out. Or the rods are simply Jidenco rubbish quality? I know you already had problems with them . 52F Models may be able to sell you a set of his etched ones. Or Alan Gibson may have the right size.

 

Good luck

[rowanj]

Mick was quite correct about the look of the coupling rods, so I spent a bit of time on them- I think it looks better, and, luckily, the chassis still runs!

 

 

I've also shown the detail I added to the cab interior. The fireman is working his socks off,  but there is no driver - he must be brewing up while his driver is off on a mission elsewhere. 

 

 

I must buy some crew !

Edited September 9, 2021 by rowanj

[micklner]

Sorry me again, no idea how this Loco  is running !!

In the photo the front driver crankpin is positioned to the left of center. The other two drivers crankpins are both roughly vertical position ! ?. Hopefully its the angle of the photo !.

It does look better !! Well done !

[rowanj]

No problem, Mick- always good to hear from you.

 

I had a look after reading your post, and there is a little too much slop in the rods on the leading drivers - accentuated by the photo. All the wheels are quartered correctly. I very slightly bent the front pair of rods, and, on test, all goes well, so I'm going to quit while I'm ahead. 

Here is the engine on test on the layout, with the location moved 130 miles north, as if by magic. 

 

[mikemeg]

John,

 

It may be the camera but on one of the photos above; the one showing the cab interior with the cab roof off, the two sides of the cab sheeting look to be out of parallel. The distance between the sides, at the rear of the cab, looks to be greater than that same distance at the front of the cab.

 

On the lining, the instructions printed on the rear of the HMRS sheet, detail the tank and bunker lining to be 5" (1.66 mm in 4mm scale) from the edges of the bunker and tank sides and any cab door openings in the lower part of the cab side sheeting.

 

Regards

 

Mike

 

[PenrithBeacon]

I think it's the effect of a wide angle lens.

This has been a great thread,  enjoyed it. 

[rowanj]

Hi Mike. I checked with both naked eye and digital callipers, and the cab seems OK, so I think it's just the camera angle. The only slots/tabs you get with this kit are the cab front and rear so it's difficult, even for a clot like me, to mess them up, assuming the slot in the footplate was accurate. 

 

Cowlairs don't seem to have adhered to standard lining instructions, judging from the photos in Yeadon. They are consistent in their inconsistency.  I based mine on a photo of a loco which got a general in 1955, by which time lining the splashers was usually not done. Quite why anyone thought the N15 was worth lining is a mystery- a bit like the Ex-NER N8. I used Modelmaster waterslide, and printed the smokebox door plate.

 

I really appreciate the comments from the likes of Mick and Mike. Photos are great for revealing faults, and, even when it is an optical exaggeration, they make you look again and, if necessary, try to make things look a bit better. There is no point in showing builds if all you want are "likes" - though these too are nice to get.

 

The building cupboard is bare now, so "a bientot"

 

John

[Bucoops]

Great work as always, I love that you just get on with it and come out with decent results.

[rowanj]

One of my early builds was a PDK B16/2,  I'd previously got the B16/1 and /3 to run, but for this one, got too clever and decided to fit narrower spacers to, hopefully, make life easier going round corners. Predictably, I messed it up, but managed to get a replacement chassis kit from PDK, and got that going.

 

I recently came across the dodgy chassis, and wondered if my new skill level (!) would let me get it going. It was a bit of a mess, to say the least. But here goes.

 

My good pal 46256 has a great thread based on Water Orton. He is normally found carving up indistinguishable (to me) ex-LMS 4-6-0's, but recently produced a great version of a B16/2 from various bits of RTR and GBL parts, and I wondered if I could do the same and use the re-built chassis for the motive power.

 

Water Orton layout and stock - Kitbuilding & Scratchbuilding - RMweb

 

A bit of resoldering of spacers has got the chassis square, and the spares box produced wheels and coupling rods. I used a Comet bogie kit, and see it needs moving forward a twitch. One brake was missing and the some sandbox piping. I thought about fitting the brake linkage, but decided to quit while I was ahead.

 

The cylinder block is from Comet, and needed a bit of modifying to fit the chassis - I had to file a slot to make it fit. I would have used Comet crossheads and slidebars, but the latter, as far as I know, are only available on full valve gear etches. PDK supply crossheads and slidebars as spares, and I had some of those.

 

So I now have a chassis which should run. The connecting rods are fitted and work, I need to adjust the bogie position, then I'll tackle the motor/gearbox. I need to see what the spares box will contribute to completion of the valve gear. 

 

in the meantime, I've put the PDK kit on the chassis to see how it looks.

 

[rowanj]

This rescued chassis might actually be going to work.

 

The motor is an old Mashima round-can. I have a few, and they all run well. To fit them to a High level gearbox involves opening up the hole through which the wormshaft goes, to allow the motor to fit flush to the etch. This needed a fair bit of work, using a broach - a surprising amount of metal needed removing. the gearbox is a Highflyer.

 

The bogie has been moved forward by the required "twitch" - I assume  "twitch" is an old Imperial measure, back in use after Brexit. I have enough parts for the basic valve gear, so made a start on that. 

 

Edited October 5, 2021 by rowanj

[46256]

Hello John just reading your thread whilst sitting in my hotel room, in sunny Mallorca. It’s an established routine Karen unpacks, I stay out of the way. Thank you for the kind words, and sorry if making any reader envious of my location. A bit of a faff travelling out but worth it . More on my return to Blighty next week best wishes Brian

[MarkC]

1 hour ago, rowanj said:

This rescued chassis might actually be going to work.

 

The motor is an old Mashima round-can. I have a few, and they all run well. To fit them to a High level gearbox involves opening up the hole through which the wormshaft goes, to allow the motor to fit flush to the etch. This needed a fair bit of work, using a broach - a surprising amount of metal needed removing. the gearbox is a Highflyer.

 

The bogie has been moved forward by the required "twitch" - I assume  "twitch" is an old Imperial measure, back in use after Brexit. I have enough parts for the basic valve gear, so made a start on that. 

 

Looking good, John 

 

Always nice to resurrect once-condemned bits of kit.

 

"Twitch" is, in fact, a factor of 12 greater than that other old measurement "A pu*ic hair on a gnat's nudger"... 

[rowanj]

To my great delight ( and surprise) the chassis runs really well, so all that is left is some cosmetic work around the cylinders and balance weights to the wheels. followed by a trip to the paintshop. My PDK body fits OK, so I wonder if they would sell me a body kit?

 

These locos did get to Newcastle semi-regularly, and even occasionally carried on North on York-Edinburgh passenger and goods turns. So my next photo, hopefully, will see the loco in situ on Little Benton.

[rowanj]

There or thereabouts on the RH side, The obvious visual difference between the Gresley B16/2 rebuilds and Thompsons's B16/3 is that Gresley retained RH drive and Thompson's had LH. I need draincocks for the other side to that shown in the photo, which has revealed a drooping slidebar which needs attention. I also dirtied /dulled the loco and tender and will add a bit of weathering. At the moment, it is just an overspray with Railmatch Weather Black.

[rowanj]

Complete and now on test, B16/2 61475 seems to be a reasonable "layout" loco. I had it running on my rake of furl wagons, but those photos were all out of focus, so I'll try again tomorrow.

What happened to the "to do" pile? All I have left is a Wills A3 and Comet chassis, and enough of them have been built over nearly 50 years to not warrant any posts, 

[rowanj]

All is fairly quiet on the loco front. I did a bit of work on my old Nu-Cast K2, when I got it out for an occasional run and found it locked up in reverse.  A spot of twiddling with the valve gear and some judicious oiling and gear greasing resolved that. The chassis is the original whitemetal, opened out to take a gearbox from Markits with a Comet mount. The loco was always too clean and shiny for my taste these days, so I toned it down with thin oversprays of Railmatch Weather Black and Light Rust.

 

 

Another ongoing project is putting a Comet chassis under what was a Hornby tender-drive Brit body, Brit's were very rare visitors anywhere north of York, but I had a body left over from when that minor detail meant less than it does now, and a great friend donated the Comet sides, I had the wheels and bogie already, as well as a Taff Valley motor and Highlevel Highflyer, so the only real cost has been the rear bogie, and valve gear set, The photo shows the current state of play. All I have added is a bit of pipework to what is otherwise a rather plain trailing bogie.

Thinking of what gaps are left in my stock, all I can really come up with are a D49 Hunt, from PDK, and a J21, from LRM. Well, I do have a birthday and Christmas coming up....

 

Edit/PS. has anyone tried recently to use the "content I posted in" to get onto the site?  I keep getting a Timeout message, but all the other links are fine. I did PM the Mods, but havent had  a scratch of the pen/keyboard to acknowledge the issue.

 

 

 

Edited November 11, 2021 by rowanj

[jwealleans]

Is this what you're seeing when it times out, John?

[rowanj]

4 hours ago, jwealleans said:

Is this what you're seeing when it times out, John?

That's it exactly, Jonathan, All the other links to the site work fine on  my PC, Kindle and Phone, so I assume it's an issue at the RMWeb server. It is a recent phenomenon.

Edited November 11, 2021 by rowanj

[jwealleans]

As you'll find , John, it's an intermittent thing (I haven't had one for a few weeks) which seems to be associated with the 'Content I have posted in' search.   I don't think anyone has managed to get to the bottom of what causes it or how to resolve it, it just seems to come and go.