Jump to content
 

Phil Mortimers 7mm WorkBench - Mercian Vivian Style Garratt


PhilMortimer
 Share

Recommended Posts

I have now finished the construction of the rear bunkers. These now just need some cleanup and priming and they are done. Pictures to follow when I get them off my camera.

 

The front tanks were completed some time ago and await the same. However, I have noted from the pictures that two oil boxes exist on the tank rear sheet. No castings exist for these, so I will try and quickly scratch something up. If it works, great. If not, I won’t waste a great deal of time about it – they are barely noticeable.

 

Back to the boiler units and starting to detail these up now.

Edited by PhilMortimer
Typo
  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

OK, some pictures of recent work done.

 

I needed to add the lift brackets for the front tanks and the rear bunkers. Each front tank has 4 lift brackets, as do the rear bunker, making a requirement for 16 in total. Each bracket looks like a short rounded off triangular piece with a hole in it and a short tail. The tail is bent at about 30 degrees to the plane of the bracket so that once attached to the tank or bunker by the tail, the bracket sits proud of the bunker surface. The brackets on the tank are fairly visible, but the ones in the bunker are mainly hidden in the coal space. However, like the extra rivet strips I added that will never be seen, I added them for the hell of it! I'm nothing if not perverse! the brackets not supplied in the kit, so needed scratch building. Making 16 identical brackets took a bit of experimentation, but here's how I did it.

 

First, cut some correctly sized strips of brass using the trusty Oflfa cutter to score break lines in a sheet of brass (12 thou in this case, though that's probably a bit thick. But it was all I had to hand.)

 

48124372731_f91e755128_o.jpgUntitled by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr

 

Then place the scored brass sheet in some bending bars to the score line. Tighten up and bend the brass back and forth to break off the strip. Repeat to obtain 4 strips.

 

48124372716_c03b5cd00f_o.jpgUntitled by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr

 

Clamp the 4 strips together and solder the edges to form a solid bar. Tidy up the edges to ensure the edges are parallel and the strips are the correct width.

 

48124401978_d2909da100_o.jpgUntitled by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr

 

Vertically drill 4 holes along the centre line of the strip. These will be the eyes of the lifting bracket, so drill to the appropriate size. Deburr and  clean up the strip.

 

48124372691_6ef46b9358_o.jpgUntitled by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr

 

Clamp the drilled and soldered strip bar into a vice. Mark off cuts to get the triangular shape and remove excess using a piercing saw. Round off the sharp edges with a file. Once completed, saw off the triangular bracket with the saw at the correct distance along the bar to leave a small tail. After deburring, desolder into 4 individual pieces. Repeat to obtain 16 flat triangular shapes with short tails.

 

48124401938_9bbbe807fb_o.jpgUntitled by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr

 

The tails now need bending to the correct angle relative to the remainder of the bracket. Each piece is inserted into the bending bars using a spacer to get the correct (and consistent) distance and clamped tight. After removing the spacer, the bracket is bent up and the angle checked.

 

48124372661_984ece7b52_o.jpgUntitled by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr

 

48124401933_bc36b7be58_o.jpgUntitled by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr

 

48124372651_f682570634_o.jpgUntitled by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr

 

After repeating for the remaining blanks, we end up with 16 identical(ish) brackets, which are then soldered to the tank tops and bunker.

 

48124372646_101ef103d9_o.jpgUntitled by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr

 

48124372641_b964feff71_o.jpgUntitled by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr

 

The brackets are difficult to see in the last photo, but they are there. Also, the rear tank vent pipes have now been fitted into place, using pipe clips made of 1mm phosphor bronze strip (pickup strip), which can be bent round the brass wire representing the vent pipe. The RSU and 100degC solder helps when soldering these into place.

 

I should add that it took quite a bit of experimentation to work out how to make these lift brackets consistently and I must have made about 30 before getting the process figured out. My work bench looks a bit like a scrap yard right now (well, it always does......).

 

Last things to do before painting are making the cowls for the top of the vent pipes on the bunkers and the oil fill pots that sit on the rear sheet of the front tank. Both are obvious in photo's, but not included in the kit, so again, will have to be scratched up. i THINK I know how to make the former, but will need to experiment a bit more. I also have an idea for making the latter. I just need tome to work on it, which is somewhat lacking at present.

 

Cheers,

Edited by PhilMortimer
Typo
  • Like 7
  • Craftsmanship/clever 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

Guest Isambarduk
1 hour ago, PhilMortimer said:

Just wondering if this should be in the Kit and scratchbuilding section?

 

I woud suggest that it is just fine here.  I would have missed it if it had appeared in Kit and Scratch-building - there is so much there, in all scales, to be able to find 7mm builds.   David

Link to post
Share on other sites

Having made up and added the caps to the rear tank vent pipes that are seen in some photo's of these loco's, construction of the rear bunker / tanks have been completed and with it being a nice warm day today, both have been cleaned and primed. So, some pictures.

 

48166029602_42806e4219_o.jpgUntitled by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr

 

Both completed tanks, showing the various added details, which are now a bit more obvious with the primer coat than in the raw brass. the primer coat also highlights where I need to add a touch of filler on one bunker.

 

 

48165954491_b2b85a6ab8_o.jpgUntitled by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr

 

48166029572_d998dd63ee_o.jpgUntitled by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr

 

With the tank / bunker added to the rear power unit.

 

 

And the whole loco (and yes, I know that the front tank isn't sitting level - it is just resting on the front chassis and the attachment screws are fitted to the bottom of the tank.

 

48165954456_dd7a577c51_o.jpgUntitled by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr

 

 

Next up, manufacture the oil fillers for the front tanks and get these primed and painted to the same standard. I'd hoped to do that today, but problems at work meant that I worked most of ther day. Sigh.

  • Like 6
  • Craftsmanship/clever 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks,

 

Yes, it is probably a bit perverse adding all the detail to the inside of the bunker when i'm going to fill it with coal, But according to my dear wife, perverse (or bloody-minded) is my middle name. And I know the detail is there!

 

I found that I was able to JUST squeeze the motors in under the bunker. The loco for my dad's friend has the motor gearbox as supplied in the kit, but for my own, I adapted the gearbox supplied to a 54:1 ratio, but used a Taff Vale Models motor, to give superior slow running. Both can just be squeezed in under the bunker slope, which with a bit of foam added to the underside, essentially can act as the toque reaction arm. Somewhere i have a photo of the bunker without the wrapper fitted that shows this.

  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Not much time to work on these recently. What time I have had has been spent unsuccessfully trying to make 3 feed oil pots to go on the front tank rear sheets. Several failed attempts later, I discovered that Laurie Griffin sells some castings for exactly these.........

 

So some are on order and I am moving back to the central boiler units whilst awaiting their arrival.

 

Sigh

 

  • Friendly/supportive 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

The oil feeds from LG have arrived. However, i haven't had time to prepare and fit them yet. However, they look nice and are much better than anything I could do. I will fit these and primer the front tank when i get back from Wyoming.

 

In the meantime, I have moved back to the central boiler units and am now finishing these up.

 

First up was to reinforce the cab tops. I used some scrap etch for this and added some reinforcements around all four sides of the cab. Some careful alignment and soldering was needed, but with care, a nice lip was formed, as seen below.

 

48584111801_938635de4a_o.jpgUntitled by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr

 

This serves two purposes - it re-enforces the vulnerable top edges of the cab and stiffens them, preventing distortion when handling. In addition, it also gives a greater surface area to glue the cab roof to when it is time to fit that after painting. Not in the instructions, but a valuable addition to the loco and worth doing. The cab tops above the cab entrances are very thin and it is impossible NOT to bend them at some point.

 

Next up was adding the hand brake brackets on the underside of the cradle.

 

48584259127_f4f89c4362_o.jpgUntitled by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr

 

Some care was needed to get the brackets exactly perpendicular to the frame, but some small square pieces of ceramic came in handy here.

 

Finally, the front handrail knobs were added to the front of the smokebox.

 

48584259092_ac5cdbde94_o.jpgUntitled by Phil Mortimer, on Flickr

 

This was tricky, as the etched holes were far too big and there was a lot of slop. In the end I sleeved the handrail knobs with some tube drilled out that came out at just the right size. Some wire through the knobs to check they were parallel with the foot plate, some solder cream and the RSU and all was well. Clean up was nice and easy too. Now these are fitted, i can use them to set the height and positions of the hand rail knobs along the boiler and firebox. the handrails may get left off until after painting and then be glued in, to assist with adding the injector plumbing.

 

Edited by PhilMortimer
  • Like 3
  • Craftsmanship/clever 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Time for an update.

 

I have been working on the boiler units.

 

First up, was to complete the boiler hand rails. These have been bent up to shape and the hand rail knobs soldered into position. The actual hand rail assemblies have not been soldered into position and will be affixed to the boiler after painting.

 

m-TdtRPTIO5er3zZXq8_iCU2AUg7cAw0hPyeq9vs

 

Next up is the reverser assembly. This comes as a nice WM casting, but looking at the drawings, it is too short. Sigh. In addition, I do not like the cast WM rods - NS wire / rod looks much better. So the cylinders were cut off the base and affixed to a new one, made of brass strip. This took quite a bit of work, but looks much better. Photo below shows a completed assembly and an unmodified assembly.

 

R8Srx5UCBwN77GIoM00f7AA0Nl5GwePLStfA4bRn

 

Also shown are the WM cast cranks that the rods linking to the reverser connect too. These connect to the valve gear and are quite different from that seen in the photos of the actual loco, so I needed to make my own.

 

The actual crank is seen in the picture below by Phil Parker, taken on the preserved William Francis.

 

12150477066_a09b8be197_o.jpgLubricator by Phil Parker, on Flickr

 

So I needed to make up some fresh cranks.

 

The front reverser cranks are quite visible and are made from some brass tube of appropriate size, which has a 20 degree angle cut into it and to which is affixed some N/S scrap etch. This is then filed to shape and the second pin inserted and soldered into position.

 

zd-oHBgWow9ywJTIILnbeqouH41Sz5869vW0VWvw

 

ql92PCdODhRUstagAtLVAF6Z3V4oZU0DzTLHg_9_

 

After cutting back the pin and finishing filing to shape, the crank was cut from the tube and a central pin solderd into place. this inserts into the frames and like the hand rails, will be glued into place after painting.

 

kQFy-EQv5BeR_Hvys2sVLq05JulzQgvkqAkW_0cY

 

It should also be noted that I had to slightly relocate the hole for the reverser crank as I had originally cut it into the foot plate in the wrong position. SO the hole was adjusted and some fresh N/S strip soldered into place to get the correct dimensions of the foot plate opening. This took some time to make the new material blend with the original. I am in true admiration of those who do bodywork for a living!

 

The rear cranks are made in a similar manner, but the actual mechanism is hidden up under the cab floor. Therefore, only the bit sticking out from under the cab valance is visible and needs to be made. The components were made in a similar manner, but are soldered to the underside of the foot plate.

 

ZScHqQ1ZDIxC369aBjsqmRNNgAhY5VgJIk18tti9

 

sL8D44PKRWHjojaGtA5xMLIBY8EdrywFQ-TsZ7TB

 

The cranks are angled back about 20 degrees to show the loco in gear. If I follow the diagram correctly, with the cranks angled to the rear of the loco, the loco is in forward gear. The front crank will need to be glued into position at the appropriate angle after painting.

 

Finally the rods connecting the reverser mechanism to the cranks were fabricated from two strips of scrap N/S etch laminated together, drilled and bent to shape. Some N/S rod was pinned to the rod to form the piston rods of the reverser mechanism.

 

DKvfzL4-NNTtVlZ_uh8pl8Gl_Dm_GI1zKWyQaGFc

 

i-F2QR98AxIbymH1YPkQvOW3wHeS_UbduoAeLdzG

 

And fitted to the loco.

 

TfT1hfyB-_Ge23HCE87HEcbuVjm_jyoKC9_wHLS3

 

I think they look quite effective and are similar to that seen in this photo of the original by Phil Parker

 

12150126444_bf71c9a1d7_o.jpgWilliam Francis by Phil Parker, on Flickr

 

The rods will be fitted after painting, along with suitable nuts.

 

I am just finishing this work on the second loco and then will move onto the water balance pipes and sieve box on the other side, as well as the various boiler fittings. I still have to fabricate the injectors and their very prominent pipework.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by PhilMortimer
Photo's not showing
  • Like 3
  • Craftsmanship/clever 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

To be honest, I have no idea the number of hours of work, as i haven't been keeping a record. All I can say is that I started in 2016 and i want these finished! However, I am building two loco's, and being garratts, these effectively meant building 4 working chassis, complete with Valve gear..........

 

A bit more work done late last night - hope to get the reverser gear finished this evening on loco #2.

 

Surely the next two loco's, ( a couple of Hunslet Austerities) will be simpler......

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, PhilMortimer said:

To be honest, I have no idea the number of hours of work, as i haven't been keeping a record. All I can say is that I started in 2016 and i want these finished! However, I am building two loco's, and being garratts, these effectively meant building 4 working chassis, complete with Valve gear..........

 

A bit more work done late last night - hope to get the reverser gear finished this evening on loco #2.

 

Surely the next two loco's, ( a couple of Hunslet Austerities) will be simpler......

 

 

One thing I admire most about your work, is that you have made bespoke, teeny weeny parts and you have got everything to run.

Dougal.

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

Time for a catch up on this long running saga. I’m currently working on the central boiler units, adding the various sundry details, all of which seem to need either modifying or manufacturing from scratch.

 

1st photo shows the water pipes that run along the LH side of the frame from the tanks to the sump box, where the water feeds to the injector run off. These pipes were provided as white metal castings that were pretty rough. I tried cleaning them up, but they weren’t that strong and so I rejected them and re made them in brass rod of the same size (3/16inch if I recall). Some annealing (heat to red hot and allow to cool) was needed before bending and trimming to size. They were then fitted to the frame, along with the sump box, as seen in the broad side shot. Determining the location of the sump box was tricky, as no location indicators were present – these had to be determined from photo’s and what drawings I have. Similarly the position of the hand brake shaft support brackets (also seen in pictures) had to be determined by similar methods. This latter showed an error in the hand brake supports (the bits sticking down from the center of the frame) – they were assembled into the frame as per the instructions (A tricky job to get all aligned correctly), only to find the instructions were wrong and they had to be removed, reversed and refitted (after modifying the fit so that they fitted correctly. Time consuming and irritating.

 

AK0MfDIMe8o-5Soo8ARarUxT_HbuKvD-Bw6t5GJq

 

y4RuBdIEh_jZrHzpuJmpMMWAGyw4vbT-BSKXGPlZ

 

The next two pictures show close ups of the sump box and the ashpan. Note that the water pipes run under the foot plate and through the support brackets – a tight fit.

 

Ys-k0zvaMTiSGOdfc4wPqYjrvUwcCLfGhUCFTqs2

 

ipRS9vwVZe_tK8Qs3HWX0SdPu5NaJW7DzC1tATpO

 

 

The ashpan damper operating mechanism has been built up, based upon pictures of the real thing (below - from Phil Parkers Flickr site). The operating lever from the cab for the front damper is just sitting in place at the moment – it is removable for painting and will be glued in place after completion. The rear operating mechanism is slightly conjecture, but based on plans and what I can visualize in some pictures. Its mainly hidden behind the footsteps anyhow.    

 

Firebox bottom 3

 

 

Locking levers have been fitted to the ashpan doors – again, none of the above is in the kit. See the real thing here    

 

Firebox bottom 2

 

 

On the boiler, the boiler mounting expansion brackets have been fitted to both sides of the boiler. These are WM castings and have tidied up OK, but I’m not super happy with them, as they look a little short compared to pictures. But I can’t find suitable replacements, so they will have to stay. Similarly, the mud hole covers have been added to the firebox top. Again, I’m not happy with these, as they look taller and narrower than the real things. I may try and make some new ones in brass if I can get some lathe time.

 

5dN7t93Wzhfg4hbnlPB5U1DVlSQ-pCKSC9OtsG92

 

The final picture shows the replacement injector bodies that I have made. Each loco has two injectors (Gresham No 9’s) tucked in between the boiler and the frames, one on each side of the boiler just forward of the firebox. These are attached to very prominent pipework running from the steam manifold just in front of the cab and to the clack valves. The kit provides one injector casting for each loco that looks nothing like the real thing shown here (again from Phil Parkers Flickr site)

 

Reversing pipes

 

So I’ve made some replacements from brass tube and rod, along with the operating lever. They are seen with the supplied white metal casting that they replace. The replacements may be fractionally too long, but it shouldn’t be that obvious once in situ. (I didn’t have good diagrams and the replacements are a little conceptual). I’m just awaiting a delivery of the appropriate sized rod to make the water and steam pipes, then these can be fitted. They (and the water / steam lines) will be removable for painting and will be finally glued in place after painting.

 

YZE5CjjE2G6XEQpA_Pte5DX08txcfelr8ued3ed8

 

Although I made the injectors a while back, I have been waiting since early December for a delivery of 1.2mm dia brass wire to make the water and injector feeds. Apparently they are lost and bobbing around the Atlantic somewhere….. Replacements have been sent, but are yet to arrive.

 

In the meantime, I have been working on, and have almost completed, probably the hardest part of these loco’s – the hand brake linkage. This is quite prominent on the LHS side of the loco and can be seen in the pictures given in the following links.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/45131642@N00/12149991493/in/album-72157640174384343/

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/45131642@N00/12149990923/in/album-72157640174384343/

 

 

There is quite a complex 3D relationship between the linkage and the sump box  / injector pipework. Needless to say, this linkage  isn’t included in the kit, and so needed to be made. The hand brake works by a threaded rod turning in the linkage casting that pulls on the brake crank. When the loco is operating, the linkage is relaxed so that the steam brake can move the brake linkage. When the loco is parked up, it is wound tight to hold the brakes on.

 

I have been putting it off for a while, but eventually had to knuckle down to it. There were a few failed attempts until I worked things out, but we are getting there.

 

Picture below attached shows the start of making up the pull bracket – 2 parallel sections of 1/32” square brass rod, separated by further sections of the same rod, soldered together on a flat surface and filed flat.

 

5SKSKb7uvbvTW-Wywku3hNbRsEVRBbQtGjqPUzHS

 

The pen tip and knife blade give and idea of size.

 

Next picture shows the pieces with one end filed down to a nice curve and the other enclosed with two pieces of brass strip, filed to size for form the extra width of what is a hefty casting in real life. The objective is to form the individual bits so that they appear to be one solid casting. In reality, each consists of 7 individual pieces!

 

DMJ5w4yiRLtqWB1K5pba-JE7TAoYXSgXGKmOIom6

 

The “solid” end of the linkage has been drilled to accept the pull rod. When enclosing the “Solid” end of the pull bracket, the space between the 2 parallel long brass rods filled with solder. This was drilled out (by hand) to accept the pull rod. It was subsequently tapped 14ba after the picture was taken. The brass pull rod shown in the picture was temporary and undersize, but was used to gain and idea that the tapping was straight. Some of the reject attempts are also shown, just to give an idea that it doesn't always work first attempt!

 

ylFHtNCpUmz6SnZWas7wuTsERI8ZxhUL7CffB5D-

 

A piece of nickel silver rod was then threaded 14BA and wound into the “casting” The threads are not prominent, but they are there.

 

qoRvotleEDDnUyIuWat2-VG61OPF-4J7MEjr0Qyd

 

The following picture hows the completed linkage and rod, along with the incomplete parking brake crank. This crank was made of a sandwich of 2mm wide N/S strip (0.5mm / 1mm / 0.5mm) soldered to a 1.8mm dia N/S rod. It took quite a bit of work to get everything lined up correctly before soldering. After soldering, the excess strip was sanded down to the profile of the rod. The crank and rod assembly slides in to previously made brackets fitted to the frame. The crank forks will later be trimmed down to size and shaped once the linkage pin is drilled through.

 

U5aQOMTzZO8mu57mnWLX0luJqQ5aFhoqoSTxtBcr

 

A close up of the hand brake crank (with over-long forks) and the pull casting trial fitted to the frame, showing how everything goes together and the close relation between the hand brake pull assembly and the sump box. The pull pin hole has not been drilled at this point.

 

Js3IXnDb79ZOoFuvFLVv6suMFqVP73Jm8R2oTKS2

 

And an overview of the hand brake assembly with the drive rod extending up and into the cab. It is over long at the moment and will be trimmed when the operating handle is fitted.

 

Uvpt8NouLJMgknmDFjmIk1tHkGmSKpWOsdxobuYY

 

Finally, a very similar picture to above, but if you look closely, you can see that the crank has been drilled for the pull pin. A temporary pin is currently installed -  I need to make a proper one when I can access a lathe.

 

bB8qa7muHgrFCwAUHt8TAhMDN3kzlhlATzJeD5gT

 

The brake crank still needs some trimming and shaping, but the hard work is done. Now that this is done, once the brass wire for the injector pipes turns up, I can make up the injector feeds and install those. After this, we are on the home straight to completion. The cab foot steps are made, but not yet installed as they are a little fragile.

 

Onwards!

 

 

Edited by PhilMortimer
Pictures were not displaying
  • Like 4
  • Craftsmanship/clever 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Yay! The wire for the injector feeds and supplies has finally arrived. Unfortunatey, I'm in New Mexico at the moment. I think it may have taken the slow boat over and possibly gone the long way round on a round the world trip, but but heh! its finally here!

 

 

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Time for an update. It' been a while, partly because life has been busy, but also because I've been working on parts of the models that are quite tricky to get right, namely the piping to and from the injectors.

 

The feed water pipework on these loco's is very prominent, with steam pipes running along the top of the firebox and down to the injectors, and the feedwater pipe running alongside and up the side of the boiler to the topfeeds. Each of these pipes has some very complex shapes that need to be correct to ensure that they fit closely to the boiler as per the prototype.

 

A you may remember, I scratch made the injectors a while back and was waiting for the appropriate brass wire to arrive. Which it eventually did. However, before bending up the pipework, I needed to make a new topfeed cover for the loco that will eventually depict Sneyd Colliery No2. The first three loco's of this type had a plain style of topfeed cover, basically a rectangular box that sits transverse atop the boiler and covers the clack valves (with the springs poking out the top). However, the last loco (William Francis) had a different type, that was not covered. The top feed supplied with the kit is of this latter type, cast in whitemetal. That is fine for the model that will represent this latter loco, but for Sneyd No2, I had to replace the supplied cast topfeed with one of the correct style of cover. Which needed to be scratch built. Sigh.

 

It took me a while to work out the dimensions, which were guestimated from studying various pictures and so some slight discrepancies may exist between the actual top feed cover as fitted to these locos and my representation. But the final item looks close to correct to me. The new topfeed cover was made from strips of brass soldered together to form a rectangular tough, with the curvature of the boiler filed into the long sides. Doesn't sound to difficult, but needed some care in assembling to ensure everything was square and correct. Pictures are shown below.

 

 

hB8K0G_YTcTIN7frgfzi72-oz5IuN8-8q0aAWklJ

 

lNISiNL5J8yW8bw_9LzypTSMyy-aniUTtvNJi2Nx

 

And the picture below shows the difference between the earlier and later types of top feed. (Earlier type just resting on boiler top in the photo)

 

UdrijlJeem_2WfSBULe06_4tfzLD80lOn54ihG4X

 

The cast topfeed was removed from the loco portraying Sneyd No t and the fabricated earlier style cover soldered into its place using 100deg solder to prevent the whole assembly de-soldering and falling apart. The holes in the top will be for the clack valve springs - I have yet to decide how to represent these! The holes in the sides are where the feedwater pipes enter the cover. The edges of the topfeed cover are slightly rounded as per the prototype.

 

Having sorted this problem it was time to bend up the various steam and water pipes and solder them to the scratch build injectors. Many attempts were made to bend up the various pipes to the correct shape, with many attempts being unsuccessful. The scrap wire pile is quite impressive!! The pan was to assemble the piping to the previously made injectors so that the whole lot could be removed from the loco for painting and clipped in afterwards. It took A LOT of work to get right, but eventually I was able to assemble 4 complete sets of piping that could indeed be clipped onto the boiler of the loco. One for each side for each loco. Getting everything lined up was a challenge, especially as I was trying to avoid unsoldering the previously assembled injectors. Different melting point solders helped here, with the injectors assembled with 180deg solder and the pipework attached to the injectors with 100deg C solder. Getting all the pipes and injectors in the correct alignment was a challenge and involved much fitting and removing of the assemblies form the loco. Each pipe work set was adjusted to fit each individual loco and was essentially assembled using the boiler as form to get teh fit as close as possible. Flanges where the pipework attaches to the injector are represented using small washers asjusted to size.

 

After all the work, we eventually end up with :-

 

iuS2ak_npsAa_JmpJIpmDoYs8CvwGxxERcbU1NCa

 

From the outer side.

 

okI45mZg5535ky1qMzTghWV4WwO1IO96dyZN3N7X

 

And from the side closer to the boiler. Note that the injector over flow has been added at this point, as has the activating valve on the injector. A lever will pin to this once the injector and pipework are finally installed on the loco. The water feed from the sump box will also clip into place after installation.

 

So, some pictures showing the injectors and pipework installed on the loco.

 

G2bTgB7oT8wPD-yxVRXU11L8f3bgHmN-KHXL5D1p

 

4D2UAHrbTGEINwjaAYBXJP9DFFT6fKwNApN23y6C

 

These two photo's shows the differences in the topfeeds of the two different loco's. The tape is just to hold the pipework in place for the moment.

 

And some side on pictures showing the pipework in position, along with some scrap pipes representing the injector feeds from the sump box. These will be replaced with proper pipes at final installation, but were used to help with the correct positioning of the injector water overflow pipe when soldering it to the injector body.

 

kzKlBuLEvBYqzIYlcY9WG9imXg52XZsAjFQiYEtd

 

9J35X0H0zTW12Txgs2s8oR0zhsDpkKg9nL00ohAm

 

I have checked that the parking brake pull rod and crank fit in the correct relationship with the injector pipework, which it does. But I forgot to take a photo of it.

 

I do still need to add nuts to the end of the wire to represent the fitting where the feedwater pipe attaches to the inlet of the earlier style of clack valve. this should be relatively easy and will probably involve a bored out 12BA nut soldered to the end of the wire at the appropriate location.

 

Next up is to make the pipework that runs to the inlet valve on each injector from the sump box. One of these runs across the width of the loco, whilst the other bends up behind the frame. Both will again involve some trick pipe bending, so I expect to add to the scrap wire pile!

 

  • Like 7
  • Craftsmanship/clever 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Phil,

 

good to see you’re still ploughing on.  Mine is on the top shelf, near the back...  one day!

 

would it not have been easier to make the top feed casing from solid?   
 

pipework looks brill!
 

atb

Simon

  • Agree 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks Simon,

 

First, here's a picture with the parking brake rod and crank installed, along with the feedwater pipework from the sump box, showing relationship between the various items on the model.

 

oJY_PAkmeoB-ITpvxU8B5IDHt_vEPiRCWLD1UK1r

 

As you can see, the result is very simmilar to the actual relationship on the real things (previously seen images from Phil Parkers Flickr site collection)

 

Firebox bottom 3

 

 

Firebox bottom 2

 

So, I'm quite pleased with how its all turned out.

 

Finally, in answer to the question, why not make it out of solid, I didn't have access to a mill at the time.

 

HOWEVER.......

 

This is currently sitting in my living room awaiting a stand for me to install it on, so it won't be a problem for me in the future!:)

 

7sL2dlgKMdJe0pP195IPa8FKto2T1_1wyhoQp4Dl

 

Simon, its all your fault - the discussion of mills a while back eventually prompted this!

Edited by PhilMortimer
  • Like 5
  • Funny 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...