Jump to content
 

Phil Mortimers 7mm WorkBench - Mercian Vivian Style Garratt


PhilMortimer
 Share

Recommended Posts

  • RMweb Premium

At the risk of making you feel any worse.....

P5310015.JPG.3c91ec18077d7b0a86c93aecd683ca48.JPG

My customer is something of a Garratt enthusiast, this is the first one I built for him, also painted by Dave Studley - Mauritius Railways 2-8-8-2 in EM. He's got a couple of narrow gauge ones as well that I built from Backwoods kits. I will confess to being a Garratt enthusiast myself.

  • Like 2
  • Craftsmanship/clever 4
Link to post
Share on other sites

Very nice. Was that scratch build?

 

I've built one of the Backwoods OO9 NGG16's - it was a nice kit and I'd like to build a couple more if I could find them at a reasonable price. I do like NG garratts.  Here is my 009 NGG 16 on my fledgling layout.

 

image.png.4d312cef8b3ddee0ec64136d1a06f0e8.png

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • RMweb Premium
35 minutes ago, PhilMortimer said:

Very nice. Was that scratch build?

 

I've built one of the Backwoods OO9 NGG16's - it was a nice kit and I'd like to build a couple more if I could find them at a reasonable price. I do like NG garratts.  Here is my 009 NGG 16 on my fledgling layout.

 

image.png.4d312cef8b3ddee0ec64136d1a06f0e8.png

The Mauritius loco was mostly etched. I've built quite a few of the Backwoods NG Garratts, the NGG16 goes together well but the K1 has a few problems.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I've done K1 in OO9 as well. One for some one who wanted one, one for myself (still needs fitting). I seem to remember I made a whole new barrel, firebox front and firebox rear. Power units are tricky, but they are also very small. I remember that i squeezed a dcc chip into it! Still need to finish the  power units for the one for myself - boiler unit and tanks are done.

 

image.png.49066dbe74d777bd280c3242ccabaf3d.png

 

image.png.ce301658a3563612d233ff5db4114466.png

 

Link to the build is here....

 

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

51 minutes ago, sir douglas said:

one day, maybe you, Giles and Simon should get together and have garratt cavalcade

 

I'm up for that. on the wrong continent at the moment, but maybe when I'm back home at some point. I think that DLOS also has at least one, and maybe another that is awaiting building. So that makes 5, possibly 6 that I know of!

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

OK, Its been a while, but I have been plugging on with these loco's. Mainly it has been about painting, something I REALLY hate. The cold winter weather has made things difficult, as I have to spray outside, since Diane can't tolerate the fumes. So it has been a case of waiting for the occiasional warm dry still days to try and get some paint on. In the main this was successful, but some problems did occur and I did have to strip and repaint the rear bunker of the Sneyd Colliery loco and the boiler unit of the Baddesley colliery loco, which added to the time.

 

Anyhow enough of the waffle, on to the pictures.

 

So, the Sneyd colliery loco now has had its smokebox painted. The top and inner ends of the front tank and rear bunker, as well as the framing of the central boiler cradle have also been painted black. Due to air brush problems, these unfortunately had to be done with rattle cans. This was not my preference, but needs must.

 

So the Sneyed Colliery loco now looks like this.....

 

JiqXDHNi6s8lI6vRki8ZZbiNQczOq2pL3EULS66m

 

tzsZx0IKzZaPvUqfiHYLmifJeQPjZTHPfcWH1_xK

 

nE5wQA-sW7lvZ6LSvD2LaTtx0V_K33erKNiyEt_t

 

The valancing still needs to be painted - this will be done by brush. However, we are close to the stage where the details can be painted and added.

 

The other loco is being painted as the Baddesley colliery loco "William Francis". This ran into problems. with the painted surface of the bolier unit not coming out properly. I tried to repair it, but ultimately, ended up stripping the boiler unit back to brass and starting again.

 

dKn1QHWxWYjmiWYoJmOsOimfsPVIHaKbPzqui15g

 

The above looks nice, but I was not happy about having it back in this state. However, whilst it was like this, I was able to add some additional details to the cab, including the bunker water level indicator, the drivers fold up seat and the lubricator oil box and associated piping under the cab seat, attached to the rear cab sheet.

 

ufgDzTOHGNJpxrRK43zr_q2suETDJ8zlSCAjF_mp

 

 

And then back into primer....

 

VuIaEV6Ka3UJQx-uf8JVow3wh0oMJWuc9l4Zxwrz

 

Followed by a coat of blue on the boiler and the cab, as well as outer side of the front tank and rear bunker.

 

GyEYsk5j9FXYH3FdzG9WJa4Tg8DC-FwjzR8Vrymp

 

The Blue was actually a Rustoleum Satin Dark blue, decanted from a rattle can, diluted ~15% with Acetone, and applied with an airbrush.

 

After allowing a week to dry, the blue was masked off, and the smokebox sprayed, again with decanted Rustoleum Rattle can paint (semi Gloss black in this case) with an airbrush. After allowing a further week to pass to allow the paint to dry and harden, the boiler, smokebox, cab and outsides of the tank and bunker were masked off and the boiler was sprayed with semi-gloss black, along with the tops and inner ends of the front tank and rear bunker.

 

79mLukeYxLtJvJsqZ_6U0-QShAD2-TQUef82VrGK

 

After removing the masking and allowing everything to dry and harden off, the loco was reassembled to allow us to view the full loco in its full glory for the first time.

 

ixCIzHfM1y01dgEL1ju2naZb2kWMBe_VNEAhkBkN

 

SYL7YH30-JJe4wZF2IdIY0DQt8TCk5nrx3vUC3Rp

 

Again, the valances still need painting, along with the seperately added details, but to my eye it looks really good.

 

Whilst all of this has been going on, the smoke box doors have been prepared, and the backhead is being worked on.

 

7G_I491pS2JY06m1qVc9pZtZmYAbhm7MoL11qkiP

 

The smokebox doors will be primed and painted shortly, ready for final assembly for the front of the smoke box.

 

The back heads have been worked on. The one for the Sneyd loco is being modled as supplied, with firebix doors closed. However, the one for my own bvaddesley colliery loco has been modified, with the the firehole being opened up. This is so that I can model the firehole doors  slightly open with a firebox glow (from a suitable LED in the firebox) being visible. Injector levers are fitted to the LHS of the backhead.

 

70iUeqRj2i9NwJY2xsidfF8pf4D3pTgjFH4OzY4a

 

I've scratched up a new regulator handle and the manifold on the top is cut down from the castings supplied in the kit. The water level glasses have been prepared and will be added after painting. A steam gauge is being scrtached up for adding to the front cab sheet.

 

Finally, a picture of both loco's in their current state.

 

lFbbnB9yB1auiYlU6-YgehwkDsuWe6kd16J4wtOm

 

Going forward, I will now be concentrating on completing the the Sneyd Colliery loco and getting it out to its owner. My own loco will follow, as I want to add some additional details without time pressure.

 

Cheers,

 

PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Like 5
  • Craftsmanship/clever 4
Link to post
Share on other sites

These look brilliant Phil! I nearly bought one of these loco kits from Mercian a couple of years ago, and decided against it in the end as I didn't/don't feel I have the necessarily skills to either make them half decent. It would have sat around in a cupboard for a few years. Now your builds have got me thinking again!

Link to post
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, Simond said:

 

Oooo......now then.....

 

Edit: You weren't wrong about needing to be quick. When I clicked on the link there were 9 seconds left :shout:

Edited by jdb82
Link to post
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, jdb82 said:

These look brilliant Phil! I nearly bought one of these loco kits from Mercian a couple of years ago, and decided against it in the end as I didn't/don't feel I have the necessarily skills to either make them half decent. It would have sat around in a cupboard for a few years. Now your builds have got me thinking again!


Thanks,

 

it’s been a long slog and has involved a lot of scratchbuilding. However, if you want a unique loco, this is one such. Go for it, but be prepared for a lot of frustrations and the need for much ingenuity!

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

OK. There was no earthly reason to do the following. It was a total wste of time, as it will barely be seen. It occupied time, was frustrating and has no benefit whatsoever. But I did it.

 

I made working fire hole doors!

 

It all came about because I was showing Diane the backhead castings. Now Diane has little to no interest in railways, but likes machinery. So I was explaining how the door mechanism worked and how the supplied casting wasn't quite right, but no problems, it would be hiden inside of the cab. "OK!", said she. "Why don't you make one that works for your own model?" Now there was a challenge!

 

So I give you the following.

 

First the components laid out.

 

fGWbg5CgKee1NqQO60OluYbGQ4JnnXBwFvxTppw9

 

Here we have the modified backhead casting, complete with fire hole, sliding rails for the fire box doors. and pivots for the operating mechanism. Also on the backhead is the scratchbuilt regulator arm. The water gauges have yet to be added (after painting). On the right are the two fire hole doors (minus the outer heat shields that I have made and put safe somewhere - so safe I can't find them!) and the door operating mechanism. At the top are the castings for the steam gauge and a valve of some sorts.

 

When assembled we get....

 

w9IbUKGOW675ZkSWXRc-6VZuf2ChnT7IfkRHdl_X

 

In the open position.

 

And below in the closed position

 

Djmuex_wCxjjASXqHbOwMOFFhw46phJiJc4Pmg4a

 

Just to show it working....

 

 

 

 

This is all purely a little piece of vanity on my part. But heh, life is supposed to be fun! Actually, it will be useful as it will allow me to insert a fire box glow LED into the firebox once assembly is complete, so it does have some function.

 

The whole lot has been stripped down and painted now, ready for gluing into the cab front.

 

And now its back to the tedium of the build!

 

Edited by PhilMortimer
  • Like 4
  • Craftsmanship/clever 5
Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, I scratched my fire doors, regulator handle & some other bits, and I considered working doors, and sliding cab shutters too.  And having considered it, I made mine static.

 

well done sir!

 

Simon

Link to post
Share on other sites

I had thought that maybe you could make it work by servo, synced with the sound of shoveling. You would see the change in the fire hole glow as the doors opened and closed.

 

Then I woke up screaming!

 

No, thats as far as I'm taking it. It serves no purpose apart from proving to myself that I could do it. As I said, an exercise in vanity!

 

I still have to make the sander, break and reverser parts, but those will follow in due course and be glued in once finished.

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

A long overdue update on the garratt build.

 

I’ve been working on final details and enclose a number of pictures for you.

 

 

Xnk2vpHd1CVZm2bOkuJnNvKlXhgSGCgI1R0EIi8a

 

F86xqu402yCZ6vBEmRIMNw-rXgkwpJlZhM7spRO_

 

The first picture above shows the valences of the boiler unit being painted, Whilst the second shows the underside of the LHS of the boiler unit, with the water balance pipe and sump box.

 

vNBQhCuzrJFFjkd2-YysO3w_CCQuaA05tjDOLzVX
The next picture shows the RHS whilst the valences were being painted, also showing the reverser cylinder and its associated operating rods having been fitted.

 

fqAqaI5_9umeftCSuO40uXq2dAzLvyxe-iV8OfBw

 

This picture shows the separately painted parts ready for fitting and attachment to the boiler unit. Parts include the injector pipework, handrails,  and the parking brake shaft and crank. These are fitted using 2 part epoxy glue for strength.

 

dvktlwZjHoWTaXi79_LO01-TWW397RM6W5qbF7Ue

 

Here, the main injector pipework is fitted to the boiler unit and the small pipe along the RHS of the boiler.

 

PpiBeUOj0eaXKgwGZh3NuGON8UgjBOuWfwxxwwhJ

 

Whilst here, the underside of the unit with the pipework connecting the feedwater sumpbox and injectors fitted is visible.

 

The following pictures show the process for the manufacture of the firebox washout plugs. The original kit had an etched piece of brass providing a very 2 dimensional representation of the washout plugs, which I thought was crude and a very poor representation. When I built the firebox, I ditched these and fitted deeper recessed washout sockets, tapped 2-56. I finally got round to making the new 3 dimensional washout plugs. These started out as brass 2-56 threaded screws with the heads removed and faced off in the lathe. The first picture shows one of these mounted in a square collet block in the mill, ready for milling the square head.

 

8K7OL7rk-YJ_QAmkko9IVnJWS1CnnUD93DJeEdQ8

 

Here, the milling is in progress.

 

POaIakSilwWI-ZE-yBx0uhTGSDEyWyqYZ4zCJNmb

 

Use of a collet block allows easy and repeatable milling of the square head on the threaded rod with an end mill (Bearing in mind that I needed to make 12 identical items!).

 

Finally, below shows the finished washout plug in the collet block.

 

mP_zwhJwyM-r5a0DfpPk8EGHkVI6pF9R9HwkRBjX

 

After making 12 of these (plus a few spares in case…….), these were blackened using Birchwood Casey Brass Black. The next picture shows a finished washout plug being screwed into position.

 

97wyKc_2Dnlk6PYdaKho7KlZbJseBz1netyAtM1w

 

To do so, I made a driver to screw them into place from a piece of brass tube, slightly flattened to allow it to grip the square end of the plug.

 

I3x7YFSz96Ugr09L9hFlD2Xm8gnq7rFanC7qGhQJ

 

Finally, this picture shows all the washout plugs screwed into the RHS of the firebox. They are fixed in place with Loctite so they don’t shake loose with use.  I think they look much better than the 2 D  representation as supplied in the kit.

 

r44XmD-bWfKbnayWKx5S8Cx-xPrle3zCzStUC4Bt

 

The next picture shows the clack valves fitted to the clack box shroud on the top of the boiler. These are made from 10 BA screws with the top turned down in diameter in the lathe. The clack valves and clack box shroud on Sneyd #2 are different to those supplied in the kit (which is based in the Baddesley Colliery loco, the last of the four  Vivian style garratts built by Beyer Peacock) and so the whole clack assembly had to be scratch built for the model of this particular loco.  I think it has turned out well and is a good representation.

 

ttpqAAg9dwRb36Y8cUK5CLyoc8gDb-qkSUJeeOvW

 

Here we see the LHS of the boiler unit with the washout plugs fitted, along with the handrail and a trial fit of the parking brake rod passing diagonally down the LHS of the firebox.

 

aTvYduv6bPJOk4hqpRkwn9WI3TBjusMqeRR9kC01

 

This next picture shows the interior of the cab with the parking brake test fitted. 

 

KLeg1OXIiAon3KJd2wGUHM0x9MNDz85l4dBJ0uL9

 

Here, we see the components for the parking brake ready for painting.

 

nTSs4mf_qjK9K4XkZEQG4Zx9jwL0N0MjiDuCYUGn

 

There are three main assemblies. At the bottom is the slip link that pulls on the crank attached to the hand brake shaft. On the real thing, the threaded rod pulls the crank upwards when turned, rotating the hand brake shaft and applying the brakes. A very nice cast representation of the handle was supplied in the kit, but it doesn’t match the pictures or drawings, so I substituted my own,  made from tube and nickel silver wire. This will be glued to the top of the rod after the rod and slip link have been fitted to the boiler unit, as the rod has to pass through a slot in the cab front. These components are all currently being prepared for painting. I still need to make the upper bracket that will hold the rod to the LHS of the firebox backhead. (Tomorrows job)

 

The next picture shows the preparation for the addition of lead ballast to the boiler interior.

 

FTPyLh9cNVvOWpf55LbP1o3dgYFqEStYti5Mse8s

 

This was originally supposed to consist of some lead sticks and some additional lead roof flashing that I brought over with me from the UK for the purpose many years ago. Ultimately, I decided only to use the lead sticks, which are glued into the boiler with 2 part epoxy (Picture 424).

 

5TAzs20HXPYGyKnZ8tq3NhsaF_Rkd-h2Q0zHJ28w

 

The lead flashing has subsequently been replaced with some lead shot, which was poured into the boiler space up to the lower level of the smokebox door aperture. This was then flooded with epoxy  to encapsulate it and fix  the lead shot in place. Current weight of the boiler unit is about 1.2 1lb. Since all the weight of the loco is on the drivers, the loco should be sure footed and capable of plenty of traction.

 

Finally, here you can see an overall view of the boiler unit, with all the pipework in place.

 

GoozJ7hnSDsfoQY0ZmRsSVgl0zUphIDqSusKGm2o

 

This included the small pipes running along the lower RHS of the firebox from the cab to duck down into the frame just ahead of the firebox front sheet. This is seen in detail below, along with the injector water valve operating mechanism (fitted to both injectors, one on each side of the firebox).

 

T3FraZ-gNApV_MbXx0eaaK-hJg0ocn1MP0nHGI_S

 

Not pictured (will follow), but the smokebox door is now glued into place.

 

This just l eaves me with the cab roof to build (this will be left loose per the customers request) and a small valve and associated pipework that is situated on the RHS of the boiler close to the done (I believe this was a steam supply to the lubricator for the reverser mechanism). I am currently working through the power units to make sure the valve gear is all secure and won’t fall apart  when operating. Three sets of valve gear have now been done with all the screw  fixings trimmed to length and fixed with Loctite so they don't come loose. the final set will be done this weekend and then pickups and wiring will then be fitted for testing. I will arrange the wiring so that he three main units can be separated for maintenance and travel.

 

 

Edited by PhilMortimer
  • Like 4
  • Craftsmanship/clever 4
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...