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Hopefully a quick project over the summer, whilst I've got a bit more spare time. 

 

I've always fancied a model of DS1169, the Southern Civil Engineer's Ruston 48DS, ever since I saw a photo in a book as a child. So a few years back a I bought the A1 models 4mm scale etched kit without any real idea of how to power it, and put it on the 'to do one day' pile. Luckily RT Models now do a suitable etched chassis, so work has started. This is the result of about 4 hours work. 

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There's an awful lot on the forum already by other people about this kit, so I'll try not to repeat that too much. It's pretty easy to put together, although rolling the bonnet was a bit of a pain. I curved to top section first, and then formed the sharper radius corners using a vice and a suitable dill bit as a former. The only other tricky bit was working out how the cab goes together (sides outside ends)

 

The chassis is a simple fold up job, and only took a few minutes. I'm using the Black Beetle wheels sold by Branchlines (in OO) as these are solid metal, and should add a bit of much needed wait. having go to this point a couple of days ago, the High Level gearbox and Mashima motor have now arrived so work can continue tonight

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Edited by pete_mcfarlane
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And two and a half hours later, I have an assembled Slimliner Compact gearbox and Mashima 1015, wired up and test fitted. It's my first High level gearbox, and I'm impressed by how smooth it was (I have a hankering after some of the industrial steam locos, but that's for another time).

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The footplate has been modified to clear the motor, and the bonnet soldered in place. there was no positive location for this, so it took two goes to get it in the correct position. But everything now fits, and there appears to be enough room for a 12mm diameter flywheel within the bonnet. Next steps are to work out how to fit the body and chassis together, and assemble the cab roof. 

 

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A few more evenings of work, and the body is ready for a clean and then painting. 

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I struggled a bit with the roof. There was something not quite right about the interface between it and the sides. I suspect I may have soldered the sides a fraction of a millimetre too low, and possibly the roof etching wasn't quite wide enough (and I also reckon that the open cab side version of the 48DS may have slightly deeper eaves than the later version, but this may just be an optical illusion). So in the end I extended the side sheet openings upward by about half a mil. It isn't perfect but it looks OK.

 

I also noticed, once it was all soldered together, that the radiator grill opening is too low, with the bottom edge below the top of the beam. The obvious solution (if I'd noticed this before assembly) would be to make a new bonnet front...  Instead I ended up soldering a bit of scratch etch to the bottom of the opening, and then filing to shape. It now looks a lot better. There's no mess yet - I'll fix this after painting, and will use something finer and more regularly spaced than the A1 etch. 

 

The footsteps were a pig to assemble, as there was no provision for locating them, and the steps themselves are very small. Cue an hour or so of swearing and burnt fingers. 

 

Buffers and lights (which are a tad too large) came from RT models, and are every nice little castings. The rest of the detail is from various bits of wire and off-cuts of plastic. 

 

At times this felt more like a set of bit to help you scratchbuild a 48DS than a kit, but I'm pretty much there now. The bits of the model from High Level and RT Models were first rate, so I'm looking forward to trying some of their kits in the future.

 

Heaven knows what one of these things would be like if you mounted it on a Bachmann 'Gandy Dancer' like the instructions suggest! 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

The chassis is now alive. 

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There's not that much to report. Plenty of lead has been crammed in to the body, and the whole thing now weights 71g. A whitemetal driver should add a tiny bit to that. 

 

Pickups are needed on one side only, as the Black beetle wheels I'm using have live axles. The actual pickups are soldered to a bit of PCB glied tot he bottom of the chassis (which is packed with lead sheet) and bear on the wheel treads on the other side. The plastic strip is to stop them from touching the (opposite polarity) loco frames. 

 

The Markits 12mm flywheel is black because I had a bit of a job fitting it in, and ended up filling it down by a couple of millimetres. It then had a coating of black marker to show up where it was rubbing on the body - there's only a millimetre of clearance either side. I'm impressed that somebody managed to build one of these in 2mm Finescale (in the MRJ years ago). It's far smaller than anything I've built before.

 

Next steps are to give the body a good scrub and then prime it.   

Edited by pete_mcfarlane
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....I'm impressed that somebody managed to build one of these in 2mm Finescale (in the MRJ years ago). It's far smaller than anything I've built before......

 

Wait 'til you have a stab at a Wickham gangers' trolley. Not sure if anyone has tried one in 2mm FS yet, but I wouldn't put it past them!!

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Wait 'til you have a stab at a Wickham gangers' trolley. Not sure if anyone has tried one in 2mm FS yet, but I wouldn't put it past them!!

Funny you should say that, as I've now started on the N Brass Wickham trolley I've had in my to do pile for several years. It's 4mm scale, and I'm not going to motorise it. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

This is the current status of the loco - body painted Valejo 'Medium olive' and the radiator painted with a faded yellow mixed from their white and yellow, which looks remarkably like the colour my spare room is painted. After a bit of prevarication I painted the buffer beams green, as photos of contemporary Rustons suggest there's no difference between the body and bufferbeams. 

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The body isn't quite faded enough, so the next step is to fade the it a a bit more with a couple of washes of a thinned varnish/white paint mix. 

 

 

Edited by pete_mcfarlane
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I've now given the thing about 10 coats of the thinned varnish/white paint mix, so it's now looking very faded. I've deliberately overdone it a little, as the final weathering will probably darken the colour a little. post-1187-0-32538500-1473015977_thumb.jpg

Next step is to paint the dark coloured bits (which I'd avoided doing so they didn't become faded). 

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That's looking really nice. I've always liked these little chaps.

 

I wasn't aware of the RT chassis, but I'm a little surprised that the drive hasn't been arranged onto both axles, as this would (together with some lead), ensure the best possible adhesion. How do I know? Well, I scratchbuilt a similar chassis for a conversion of the Knightwing diesel shunter to a more 'Anglicised' version, and despite putting as much weight as possible in all the right places, it wouldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding. It even had trouble getting over weed tufts growing in the four foot!

 

In the end, I replaced it with a Black Beetle, and it now runs much better. I had also used a small Mashima motor and a High Level gearbox.

 

Hope yours works out, though.

 

Edit - just found the link to the original thread on the old RMWeb. I'd forgotten that I had initially started out using an 'Underground Ernie' motor bogie, which was then replaced by the scratchbuilt chassis, which was then in turn replaced again by the Black Beetle motor bogie - http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=89&t=40956

Edited by Captain Kernow
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funny enough, ive only just finished painting and weathering my Ruston 48DS.

 

At the time the chassis was produced, there wasnt any commercially available twin axle drive units like whats used now in mine and Judith edges kits hence why its only single axle drive.

 

To be honest though, for the cost of the twin axle chassis with motor and gears and the cost of the body kit on top, you may as well spend a little extra on the judith edge kit if you are starting from scratch.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This is the current state of the 48DS. Painted, weathering complete, car numberplates attached to the cab sides (they came from Model Rail Scenery and were printed on a laser printer). Hopefully I've managed to reproduce the weathering and generally faded appearance of the real loco reasonably well. As Adam helpfully pointed out, the 48DS has a tendency to lose paint from the edge of every panel.  

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It's now waiting for the weather to improve so I can give it a coat of varnish. The flash makes it look a little lighter than it really is. 

 

I spent a bit of time reading up on these Ruston oil engined locos (mustn't call them diesels...) including getting hold of a copy of Eric Tonks' book on Ruston and Hornsby locos.  So the inevitable happened, and I've ended up buying another one to build - this time the Judith Edge kit for the 165 horsepower 0-4-0.

 

The kit is meant to represent the two 165DS locos bought by the Eastern region to shunt around Stratford, but can be built as the industrial versions, which came in mechanical, hydraulic and electric transmission versions. I'm going for one of the 165DE electric transmissions versions because they were more common. And there's no need to faff around with a jackshaft.... 

 

It will end up as an industrial loco shunting the gavel sidings on my slowly being started layout. 

 

This is what you get for £44, which seems very cheap for an etched loco these days. Some rather nice etchings, and some resin castings.

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And three hours later, I've assembled the chassis and the footplate. I made two deviations from the instructions:

- Fitting 1mm O/D brass tube where the brake hanger wire is supposed to go, so I can make the brake gear removable. Largely so I don't have to solder it in close proximity to the Gibson wheels and end up getting flux on them. 

- I filled the axle hole for the jackshaft. 

 

The footplate has a number of sub bases screwed to it using 14BA nuts and bolts, so that the bonnet and cab are removable. Soldering the tiny nuts in place was a bit fiddly, but I've managed to do it without losing any or clogging them up with solder. Apart from that it was all very straightforward. 

 

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No progress on the 48DS, the weather has been damp and miserable (except when I've been at work). So no chance to spray it.

 

This is the state of the 165DE after a couple more evenings work. Buffer beams and cab added, and I've started cab detailing. It went together exactly as per the instructions, which contain useful tips on how to assemble the cab, which is soldered in situ round the baseplate, which in turn is screwed tot he footplate with plenty of grease to stop the bits you don't want from soldering together. 

 

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The black marker pen is where I'm going to mark out the cab side handrail. The kit is based around D2957/8 of 1956, which seem to have a different cabside handrail arrangement from most of the industrial locos. And some don't have a handrail under the window. This then led to me looking at umpteen photos (my own and on the web) of these locos to try and get my head round the detail differences. I'd assumed that there were two basic versions of these locos (the straight cab as per the Judith Edge kits and the sloping cab as per the Impetus and Trix models) but the reality seems to be a process of evolution, with different arrangements of front steps (inset or not), different types of bonnet door, different sized cab windows and so on. 

 

And that's before you include things like the locos designed to work back to back as pairs, which seem to have doors and a fallplate in the cab rear. Some of these differences may be optional extras, after all Rustons treated the 0-4-0 and 0-6-0 arrangements as options on the same basic loco. And some of these 

 

Sp the plan is now to identify a suitable locos from photos and copy it, so that even though my industrial example is freelance, it's not a 'bitsa' of different features from different locos. 

 

Here's a few prototype photos to explain what I'm, rambling about - all of the 0-4-0 version of the 165DE.

 

Starting at the beginning, here's the very first 165DE. 268881 of 1950 at the Electric Railway Museum (Coventry) back in 2010. Straight front cab, no lifting lugs under the footplate, steps not inset. Two separate handrails on the cab side. 

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This one is at the Ecclesbourne Valley in 2008, and I believe it's 402803 of 1956. Similar to the previous one - note how the cab windows are rectangular, unlike the ones in the kit which have a sloping lower edge. Differences are that the cab side handrails join together, and the front footsteps are inset. 

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421436 of 1958, with the later sloping front cab and inset footsteps. At the Rutland Railway museum the other week. 

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Edited by pete_mcfarlane
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And just to confuse things further, a pair of MU fitted 165DEs with the sloping cab and non-inset front footstep (not to mention nonstandard cab windows). This suggests that the inset front footstep was an option, presumably for sites that wanted shunters to ride around on the loco. 

 

http://www.lincstothepast.com/Ruston-165-tandem-locomotive/1628297.record?pt=S

 

I'm still trying to find 165 drawings on that site. The best I've managed is a slope front cab 3'6" 0-6-0. http://www.lincstothepast.com/Untitled/1771523.record?ImageId=670326&pt=S although it does seem to be regularly updated as they scan stuff in (some LSSH drawings have suddenly appeared in the last week or so). 

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Does the kit come with parts to build the slope-fronted cab?

No, just the straight front version (with a sloping bottom to the front windows). Possibly you could twist Mike Edge's arm to do that version.

 

I've tracked down an example of a 165DE that matches the kit's combination of cab windows and steps: http://www.srpsmuseum.org.uk/10081.htm. This was built in 1951, which predates some of the ones with rectangular windows. So again I'm wondering if this was an optional extra rather than a change in the basic design. 

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And tonight's progress.  The cab is detailed, minus the roof, which I'll add later on once the bonnet is complete as my example will have the exhaust pipe going through the cab roof. This was the only deviation from the instructions I made this session. The instructions themselves are clear and straightforward, but definitely aren't for the beginner to etched kits. They tell you what to do, and assume that you know how. 

 

I also assembled the bonnet sides and ends. They're looking a bit concave - the next step is to add the bonnet handles from 0.4mm wire, which are designed to go across the width of the bonnet, and should strengthen it and remove the inward bow. The access doors are separate etchings, and the couple that I didn't quite solder in to place accurately the first time have been left as is. A slight bit of unevenness is a bit more like the real thing, although that does open up the whole debate about modelling things that are wonky without it looking like it's your modelling that wonky :scratchhead:  

 

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As an aside, whilst I was looking for pictures of 165DEs I came across this kit. Just the thing if anyone wants a 1:32 scale narrow gauge 165DE! It's possibly  the same loco in the official Ruston drawing I posted yesterday (I'm assuming 3'6" gauge as it's from new Zealand). Not cheap (nearly £900), but rather lovely, and makes the Judith Edge kit look even more like a bargain at £44!

http://glenorchymodels.co.nz/store/products/ruston-hornsby-165

 

 

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rather lovely, and makes the Judith Edge kit look even more like a bargain at £44!

 

 

I suspect that under interrogation Mr Edge might confess to some connection with the Glenorchy kit....

 

(and it's 1:34 scale)

Edited by Krusty
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I've now added the radiator to the bonnet, along with the wire handles (which as predicted have straightened things out). The radiator was pretty straightforward, although the inset step took as few goes to solder up, as it was made from some pretty tiny parts.

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Tonight's fun was assembling the High Level Loadhauler Compact+ (90:1 ratio) plus Mashima 1224 motor. I suspect I may not be attaching many more of Mr Mashima's most excellent motors to gearboxes, now that production is ceasing. Anyway, the gearbox went together well, although the tiny screws to hold the motor in place were as fun as ever. I may have spent a few minutes on my hands and knees retrieving screws from the carpet....

 

Anyway, it runs very smoothly, as did the High level gearbox in the 48DS. 

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This will drive the rear axle, and there's also room for a flywheel. I know this, because I'm copying what Tim Shackleton did in his article in MRJ 131 back in 2001, where he built one of these kits as intended as one of the BR pair.  

 

 

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And tonight's progress.  The cab is detailed, minus the roof, which I'll add later on once the bonnet is complete as my example will have the exhaust pipe going through the cab roof. This was the only deviation from the instructions I made this session. The instructions themselves are clear and straightforward, but definitely aren't for the beginner to etched kits. They tell you what to do, and assume that you know how. 

 

I also assembled the bonnet sides and ends. They're looking a bit concave - the next step is to add the bonnet handles from 0.4mm wire, which are designed to go across the width of the bonnet, and should strengthen it and remove the inward bow. The access doors are separate etchings, and the couple that I didn't quite solder in to place accurately the first time have been left as is. A slight bit of unevenness is a bit more like the real thing, although that does open up the whole debate about modelling things that are wonky without it looking like it's your modelling that wonky :scratchhead:  

 

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As an aside, whilst I was looking for pictures of 165DEs I came across this kit. Just the thing if anyone wants a 1:32 scale narrow gauge 165DE! It's possibly  the same loco in the official Ruston drawing I posted yesterday (I'm assuming 3'6" gauge as it's from new Zealand). Not cheap (nearly £900), but rather lovely, and makes the Judith Edge kit look even more like a bargain at £44!

http://glenorchymodels.co.nz/store/products/ruston-hornsby-165

Yes, I designed this kit for Glenorchy (and a number of others since)- we got the 4mm PWM650 kit from it.

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With a bit or surgery to extend the hole in the bonnet/footplate, and removing a section from the rear engine room bulkhead, the motor fitted. I've now added the bonnet top - curving it using my GW models rolling mill, and then bending the edges round a suitable former (which turned out to be the cocktail sticks I keep for applying solder paint and flux). Easier to do than the equivalent part on the 48DS as a) it was half etched and b) the sides and top were separate pieces. 

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There was also a hole for exhaust at the front to the bonnet - which had a blanking plate soldered in place and was then filled with solder. The loco I'm copying has the exhaust at the front of the cab.

 

Now that I'm building model Rustons, I seem to be seeing the real things everywhere. A trip to my local preserved railway (the Nottingham bit of the Great Central) saw this 165DE in the shed under overhaul. It's the later slope fronted cab version. I've also realised that the Ruston plates in the kit are strictly speaking only suitable for the diesel-mechanical version, as the diesel-electrics seem to have an additional bit underneath telling you who build the electrical transmission gear. You can see it on this example - I think it was for AEI. 

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(I've no idea which loco this is - the Wikipedia page for the line says that it was built in Grantham for National Power, even though National Power didn't exist until 1990, and Ruston and Hornsby didn't build any locos in Grantham. A Google comes up with a 4 digit works number for the loco, which is again wrong for R&H)

Edited by pete_mcfarlane
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