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Toms LNER Workbench - Comet V2 Chassis


grob1234
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Going back a couple of pages to the question of the authentic colours of cab interiors of LNER locos in the LNER period, specifically the 1930s if you like (but not involving the question of what was done in the BR era), I was reminded a few days ago on flicking through RCTS part 6C that there's a picture, fig. 65, showing the cab interior of what appears to be an "ordinary" new V2 almost complete in Darlington works in 1938. By "ordinary" I mean that it appears to be in normal livery, not specially prepared for photography in a variety of greys. Although in monochrome, one thing that is clear is that the upper portion of the visible inner face of the cab side sheet in the area to the rear of the sliding wooden cab window frames is in what can only be green, edged by a black border and fine white line. At a lower level the finish is plain and could well be black.

 

Obviously this is not enough evidence to prove a general rule. It is just one loco, at one works, brand new, in what was at the time a prestigious class, and in green livery. It would be very useful to see more photographs of clean LNER cab interiors in the period, in standard livery.

Edited by gr.king
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  • 4 weeks later...

Hello everyone, thank you very much for the responses to this thread, even though I myself have not posted for some time. 

 

I feel I am on the cusp of a break through with several of my models, and although time is very sparse, the Hong Kong branch of the LNER workshop is actually open for business!

 

The C1 has its tender primed and the model itself is about 98% complete. Today I opened up the hole in the underside of the boiler a little more, and the chassis and motor assembly is a very nice, easy fit. All I have to do is solder on the whistle, add the drawbar to the loco, and a little gentle filing and smoothing before priming the loco body itself. 

 

By the way, does anyone know if the following is acceptable? On my J3 I had a hook on the loco body, and a bar on the tender to couple the two together. Is there any sound reason why this cannot be reversed? Due to the configuration of the C1, it will be easier to have the bar on the loco and the hook on the tender.

 

I tested the electrical connection between tender and loco today as well. Having just 4 wheels for pick up on the loco means that it is sensitive to dodgy track, so I felt it essential to add pick ups to the tender as well. In my humble opinion, although good, the DJH C1 tender chassis is a little over engineered, which meant it was difficult to attach traditional side on wiper pick ups. So I fitted top wiper pick ups from 0.33mm NS wire. I tried 0.45mm but it was too stiff. This doubles the number of contact points with the track, and it works very well indeed. Slow speed control of the loco is now excellent. The electricity is transferred by little connectors that Jonathan showed on his thread. They are from Peters Spares, and very simple to use.

 

post-23638-0-19110700-1518785416_thumb.jpg

 

Another project nearing a break through in progress is my Silver Jubilee rake.

 

Most of the interiors are complete now. Just step boards and a couple of other details to add, and I will soon be able to get the coaches buttoned up and ready for the paint process. As an aside, I used the plastic extrusions for the seats from the 30+ year old Coronation set. So it is nice on a personal level to be able to link the two rakes together.

 

post-23638-0-23528500-1518785617_thumb.jpg

 

 

Edited by grob1234
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Very neat and tidy, Tom. I like the way you've done those pickups, I shall bear that in mind for my next C1. I would probably have picked up off the rear four wheels, to spread the length of track you're covering to find power, but maybe I've spent too long around dead frog pointwork.

 

I don't believe it makes any difference which side has the hook and which the loop, just do whatever's most convenient.

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Hello Jonathan,

 

The tender pick ups do work well even though I say so myself, and of course completely hidden by the side frames. I chose the front pair as they had better angles for the pick up wires than the rear pair, but I'm sure either would be fine. I have vowed never to use dead frog points after using them on my little N Gauge layout in the fiddle yard. The ones on the scenic section are all live frog and work well, but I have had to replace the fiddle yard points with live frog due to poor running (especially in N where the frogs are comparatively bigger). So for me it is lesson learnt!

 

Like you I can't see any difference which side has the hook or loop so I will go ahead and fit it as I planned. Luckily I actually thought about this during construction and pre drilled holes. Quite a rare event for me!

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What is going on? 2 updates in the space of 3 days. Ridiculous!!

 

The DJH C1 is now fully primed and almost ready for some paint. Just boiler bands to add after I have filled and sanded any flaws in the initial primer coat. Luckily my hard work paid off in the preparation stage and she is looking pretty smooth (ooo er!)

 

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I couldn't resist posing J3 3329 next to its main line cousin, what will be 3283 while I had all the lighting set up:

 

post-23638-0-76847100-1519016356_thumb.jpg

 

And of course in the back ground work on the Silver Jubilee continues. All interiors now virtually complete, with the exception of the ends of the seats which need a thin plasticard cover.

 

post-23638-0-47862800-1519016430_thumb.jpg

 

Thanks for looking in, more work on the A1 coming up in the next week or so, and we might even get the SJ into primer too!!

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Very nice C1 so far. Will the coupled wheels be having any brakes? I don't think you need that etched hole in the rear sideframes ahead of the rear axleboxes - I believe that only featured on the later C2s built with C1 style frames. It's also worth considering adding a piece to the leading edge of those rear frames to represent the stretcher and outrigger that supported the front of the wide firebox and the running plate in that area. If you make it extend inwards a little, as well as outwards, it closes off the view behind the rear frames and makes the whole structure appear more solid and "real". Photos of the real thing will show what mean

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Very nice C1 so far. Will the coupled wheels be having any brakes? I don't think you need that etched hole in the rear sideframes ahead of the rear axleboxes - I believe that only featured on the later C2s built with C1 style frames. It's also worth considering adding a piece to the leading edge of those rear frames to represent the stretcher and outrigger that supported the front of the wide firebox and the running plate in that area. If you make it extend inwards a little, as well as outwards, it closes off the view behind the rear frames and makes the whole structure appear more solid and "real". Photos of the real thing will show what mean

 

Yes, brakes yet to be fitted... I tend to solder them on last once I have finished messing about with the chassis and got all the pick ups working to my satisfaction. 

 

Thanks for the tips regarding the rear side frames etc. I'll have a look in my Yeadons Register book and I'll probably just use plasticard as it won't be structural and should improve the appearance of the loco.

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  • 4 weeks later...
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Hi Tom, enjoying the thread just read it all over the last few days.

A bit of feed back I’m an avid You Tube fan and found you there way before here, it wasn’t until I watched a video where you mentioned you were on here and instagram I had a look, though wish I looked here first! I was searching for Toms Trains as you suggested without success then came here to find you changed it to thelocobuilder. Never mind can’t please all the people all the time.

So although joining on here Oct 17 I found the thread by a circlious route.

Keep it up looking forward to more.

Cheers

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Hi Tom, enjoying the thread just read it all over the last few days.

A bit of feed back I’m an avid You Tube fan and found you there way before here, it wasn’t until I watched a video where you mentioned you were on here and instagram I had a look, though wish I looked here first! I was searching for Toms Trains as you suggested without success then came here to find you changed it to thelocobuilder. Never mind can’t please all the people all the time.

So although joining on here Oct 17 I found the thread by a circlious route.

Keep it up looking forward to more.

Cheers

 

Hello,

 

Sorry that the pictures have 'fallen off', due to PhotoBucket and their stupid decision. I keep meaning to re upload them but time is tight at the moment.

 

To be honest, I started this blog on here long before I was on YouTube. I still like to post on here, but in terms of my social media presence, I tend to use Instagram as a feeder for YouTube which is the main effort if you like. Initially, when I was new to YouTube I called myself Toms Trains, but made the decision to have Instagram and YouTube bearing a new name of the Loco Builder, which I felt differentiated me from other channels, and also described what I do in a better way. That's why the earlier videos are still under Toms Trains, but over time as the number of Loco Builder videos increases the Toms Trains name will 'wash out' somewhat.

 

Can I ask how you found me on YouTube?

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Hello,

 

Sorry that the pictures have 'fallen off', due to PhotoBucket and their stupid decision. I keep meaning to re upload them but time is tight at the moment.

 

Can I ask how you found me on YouTube?

Tom getting those photos back up would be rather good, I expect you’ll get various late comers like me who like to follow the journey from the start.

As for You Tube I was looking for loco building videos, so typed in ‘Model Railway Loco Soldering’ I think you came about 5th down but I was drawn in by your chosen title shot a complete chassis, I missed it said pick ups, click and I was enlightened so clicked through the rest over time. All good stuff.

Cheers

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Great, its nice to know that people can find me rather than just simply clicking on links when I advertise on Facebook!

 

Indeed, but strictly speaking for myself, I need another 'Locobuilder' video fix to get some inspiration!

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  • 3 weeks later...
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Hi Tom, a quick question on you Silver Jubilee rake if you don't mind? When you were looking into buying the kit, what was the decision process over the RDEB one vs MARC Models which I think is the only other available one - I see it's double the cost but does it come with more "kit" do you know?

 

Thinking long term about building a set...

 

Thanks :)

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  • 5 months later...

Hi Tom, a quick question on you Silver Jubilee rake if you don't mind? When you were looking into buying the kit, what was the decision process over the RDEB one vs MARC Models which I think is the only other available one - I see it's double the cost but does it come with more "kit" do you know?

 

Thinking long term about building a set...

 

Thanks :)

 

Hello Rich,

 

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to reply - I must seem very rude - apologies. Truth is, I completely missed your post and have been rather busy of late.

 

I'm afraid my answer is not very good. I bought the RDEB cheap from a friend, so that was the driving factor really. I'd imagine the Marc Models one is a more complete kit, as you probably notice I have had to scratch build the underframe for all my SJ coaches. I would very much like to see the Marc Models one being built though, so please post updates if you go down that route!

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Hi Tom,

 

Of course it's not rude :) Besides, it's going to be very long term - there was absolutely no rush for an answer!

 

Sounds like a fair decision on which to use - it can be an expensive hobby! I'm not sure I fancy scratch building underframe - not overly keen on reprofiling roofs either so perhaps the MARC version would be for me.

 

Did the instructions refer to suggested items for the roof and underframe? The instructions for the RDEB GE section coaches do (D&S underframes).

 

thanks,

 

Rich

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Hello everyone. Just a quick update on the DJH LNER A1 I am building. Eventually it will become Minoru.

 

I have spent an awful long time on the body for this model. I sometimes wonder if I spend too much time on these things, and perhaps I should just build the kit as it comes - but I can't help myself. The body casting is in fact very nice, but I feel it can be improved upon. First of all, I removed all of the boiler band detail. IMHO it is too prominent and over scale. The boiler bands will be represented by transfers, which will give enough scale thickness. I also completely removed two unnecessary washout plugs which were located on the lower part of the firebox. Because this is an A1, I had to remove a fuse plug on either side as well. Casualties of all this removing of detail were lines of rivets, which will be replaced with archer rivets when I paint the model.

 

For some reason, the wash out plugs are circular on this model. So, following Steve Barnfield’s advice in MRJ52, I first drilled out the centre of the plugs, then filed them flush with the body. I cut off thin slivers of 1/8th inch brass tube, and filed them to a suitable thickness. I gently crushed these ‘washers’ between pliers until oval, and filed to shape correctly. For the insides of the plugs, I soldered 0.8mm brass rod into the body, filed square at the end, then I soldered on the new plug surrounds. I think it better captures the correct look of the prototype. I added 0.5mm brass rod to the centre of each fuse plug, just to add a little detail there. Markits safety valves replace the white metal kit offerings. The large diameter pipe running along the boiler is held in place by home made pins from very thin N/S strip from the spares box. The cab assembly is practically complete, and the chassis is up and running - note that the motor is just lying in place at the moment it will be held up by a torque arm. Construction has been slowed a little by the fact I am also filming this build, but I am making good progress, and generally, bar a few errors this is a nice kit.

 

post-23638-0-70792800-1539341206_thumb.jpg

 

post-23638-0-62783600-1539341235_thumb.jpg

 

post-23638-0-30213200-1539341265_thumb.jpg

 

post-23638-0-21264200-1539341305_thumb.jpg

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Hi Tom,

 

Of course it's not rude :) Besides, it's going to be very long term - there was absolutely no rush for an answer!

 

Sounds like a fair decision on which to use - it can be an expensive hobby! I'm not sure I fancy scratch building underframe - not overly keen on reprofiling roofs either so perhaps the MARC version would be for me.

 

Did the instructions refer to suggested items for the roof and underframe? The instructions for the RDEB GE section coaches do (D&S underframes).

 

thanks,

 

Rich

 

There was a suggestion for the roof, but it is out of production as far as I am aware. I'd previously scratch build the frames for my Coronation build, so I had no issues making the frames for this one - just a batch process really. I'm hoping the set turns out OK, I have levelled the whole rake so it should look nice I just have to find time to cast the roof detail in resin and complete the fiddly bits before I get them primed.

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In a relatively recent BRM, there’s an illustrated account of a Marc models Silver Jubilee build. Easy enough to find on pocket mags if you buy the soft copy version!

 

David

 

Good timing - about to buy the digital current one for LB1938 - so will see if I can find that one and add it. Thanks :)

 

edit: turns out I already have it!

Edited by Bucoops
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There was a suggestion for the roof, but it is out of production as far as I am aware. I'd previously scratch build the frames for my Coronation build, so I had no issues making the frames for this one - just a batch process really. I'm hoping the set turns out OK, I have levelled the whole rake so it should look nice I just have to find time to cast the roof detail in resin and complete the fiddly bits before I get them primed.

 

From what I've seen so far I don't think there will be much danger of them not turning out great :)

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Hi Tom,

 

Good to see you posting again. Those washout plugs look really good and well done for making them so well. If you were going to build the kit 'out of the box' then you may as well have purchased an RTR model. Your A1 will be unique and all the more satisfying for it!

 

I look forward to watching the next build video (your rolling road product review was a good watch!).

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Hi Tom,

 

Good to see you posting again. Those washout plugs look really good and well done for making them so well. If you were going to build the kit 'out of the box' then you may as well have purchased an RTR model. Your A1 will be unique and all the more satisfying for it!

 

I look forward to watching the next build video (your rolling road product review was a good watch!).

Hi Steve how are you doing?

 

To be honest I do think you could still create a unique model if you did just build it out of the box. There are enough options to accurately recreate any A1 or a3 that ever saw service included in the box...however there is a great deal of satisfaction when you improve something and take it beyond what is included.

 

Next video build should be out very soon I’m just filming the final scenes - I haven’t given myself a scratch build challenge though... maybe I should lol!

 

I have seen your work on Facebook, still very impressed what what you achieve. Hopefully with my families pending move back to the UK early next year I might be able to see your work in the flesh?

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