Southern Railway Modelling - Miscellaneous Project work

[pete_mcfarlane]

9 hours ago, Jack P said:

I'll add it to the list of books to pick up!

There are two volumes of 'Locomotives I have known'. Both are good - a set of drawings and some information and reminiscences for each class. They're the kind of books that sometimes go for silly money on eBay or Amazon, but can be go for a sensible price. 

 

As for the Chivers J - it's looking good. Mine has to occasional tendency to go straight on at points when it shouldn't, which I think is due to it being a bit rear heavy and the front drivers lifting up slightly. It's waiting for some remedial work to sort this. Something to watch out for, in case it's not just a fault of my build. 

[Jack P]

7 hours ago, 45568 said:

Quick work on the J Jack, looking very good! I feel I have a bit of vested interest in this one!

cheers from Oz,

Peter C.

 

Thanks Peter, I wonder if the L will be as quick, somehow, I doubt it!

 

5 hours ago, Michael Edge said:

The drawings in the Russell book are mostly SR weight diagrams which are generally quite well drawn (unlike LMS and LNER ones). No drawings can be relied on absolutely but the majority of these are good enough to work from. Don't confuse with the Roche drawings which look very well drawn but contain any number of silly errors which are easily shown up by looking at photographs. It's bit of a puzzle because the level of mechanical detail suggests that Mr. Roche had access to works drawings to prepare them. The best sources of information are usually general arrangements or pipe and rod layout drawings - but locomotives were never actually built from drawings and many differ substantially from what was intended. The dimensions shown in weight diagrams can be trusted though, that's what the drawings were intended for, the accuracy of other items depended largely on the skill or interest of the draughtsman assigned to the job.

When I am doing drawings for models, apart from mechanical constraints my golden rule is "if it looks wrong compared with the photos - it is wrong" - and I'm afraid your 0395 looks very wrong. 

 

Thanks for popping in Mike.

I agree, the more I look at it, the more I notice isn't right.

I'm patiently waiting for my copy of Russell to arrive, then I can measure up the cab from the kit against the drawing and see if it's salvageable as is, with a bit of tweaking, or if it's a candidate for a scratch-build.

 

1 hour ago, pete_mcfarlane said:

There are two volumes of 'Locomotives I have known'. Both are good - a set of drawings and some information and reminiscences for each class. They're the kind of books that sometimes go for silly money on eBay or Amazon, but can be go for a sensible price. 

 

As for the Chivers J - it's looking good. Mine has to occasional tendency to go straight on at points when it shouldn't, which I think is due to it being a bit rear heavy and the front drivers lifting up slightly. It's waiting for some remedial work to sort this. Something to watch out for, in case it's not just a fault of my build. 

 

I'll keep an eye out for both!

When placed on the rolling road sans bogie, it becomes apparent that the centre of gravity is just in front of the rear drivers, I was thinking of gently springing the rear bogie on the J, I wonder if that would help?

[Jack P]

Right, so weekend now over and this is where i'm at

 

 

Chassis runs nicely and has been primed ready for painting. I actually followed the advice given by @DLT in his thread, blackening the chassis first, even though i'll be replacing the wheels, I still blackened them too.

 

 

I'll wait for the high level gearbox to arrive before I press on too much further. However pickups will be fitted now, I plan to follow DLT's method of making a loco DCC.

 

After cleaning up the bench I fitted the sandboxes. the ones behind the front drivers needed some serious thinning down to make sure they don't foul the coupling rods. 

 

 

Next job for the body is to finish the lamp irons and the front end pipework, before priming and rivet transfers. 

 

 

 

Edited June 28, 2020 by Jack P

[Michael Edge]

This is my drawing of the 0395 if it's any help to you.

LSW 0395 for RM.pdf

As you can see from the reference to Slater's wheels it was originally done for 7mm scale.

[pete_mcfarlane]

7 hours ago, Jack P said:

When placed on the rolling road sans bogie, it becomes apparent that the centre of gravity is just in front of the rear drivers, I was thinking of gently springing the rear bogie on the J, I wonder if that would help?

I'd also had the same thought, but hadn't got as far as actually doing it.....

[hayfield]

Jack

 

I do like the J class loco, there is something about large tank locos that's so appealing

[Sophia NSE]

That J is an absolute beast! The SECR certainly knew how to build a good looking tank engine

[Jack P]

 

On 29/06/2020 at 04:56, Michael Edge said:

This is my drawing of the 0395 if it's any help to you.

LSW 0395 for RM.pdf 33.21 kB · 21 downloads

As you can see from the reference to Slater's wheels it was originally done for 7mm scale.

 

Thanks mike, super handy drawing. The 0395 is going to be a bit more involved than first thought.

 

On 29/06/2020 at 07:55, pete_mcfarlane said:

I'd also had the same thought, but hadn't got as far as actually doing it.....

 

There's not much room between the bogie and the frame spacer, I cut up a smiths coupling spring and use a tiny bit, it's sort of acting as more of a spacer than a spring, but the springing is there!

 

On 29/06/2020 at 10:01, hayfield said:

I do like the J class loco, there is something about large tank locos that's so appealing

 

On 29/06/2020 at 10:20, Sophia NSE said:

That J is an absolute beast! The SECR certainly knew how to build a good looking tank engine

 

They sure did! The Southern in general really liked their big tank locos. I'd eventually like to do one of each of the big ones!

 

 

[Jack P]

Some more work on the J yesterday, although things are progressing slightly slower now. 

 

I'm waiting for the final decision on what motor/gearbox I use. I might just pinch the W's one and re-allocate the high level one that was meant for this. I'll probably do the same with the wheels. 

 

I ended up following what @pete_mcfarlane did to his J, and removed the half etched inserts behind the bogie cutouts. The chassis now negotiates a peco bullhead large radius turnout. (I'm not sure what 'size' this is). I'll update with some pictures of the bogie arrangement, which in my usual fashion is probably needlessly complex!

 

 

When the J is done I have some more SECR flavoured items to snack on!

 

 

Thanks so much for the input so far guys!

[Jack P]

Quick update to the last post:

 

 

Using a dremel with a sanding drum I removed the half etched inserts. The arrangement on the end of the bolt is a small piece of a spring, 2mm Axle bearing, a whitemetal washer all held in placer with a bolt.

 

The bogie has two bits of wire, the front one goes over the rear driven axle and in conjunction with the rear one, limits side and, back/forth movement. 

 

It looks overly complex, and it sort of is - but it works! The small piece of spring helps to no end. 

 

[Jack P]

I decided to steal the wheels from the W, and will replace those when I manage to get through to Markits.

 

After fitting the correct size wheels, I realised that the chassis was about 1.5mm too far back. I added a small strip of nickle silver to the inside of the rear of the body, and filed the front end of the chassis down. The front wheel now sits under the splasher in the middle.

 

 

I also decided on a work around with the sanding gear, it's bent in odd ways, and I was worried about the ability to remove the body without it getting caught.

 

 

My solution as above was to drill holes in the sandboxes, and then solder the sanding gear pipes to the chassis. 

 

I also added a bracket to stop the motor moving around

 

 

This is where i'm up to tonight, the chassis given its first coat of black, and the pickup PCB araldited into place.

 

 

It's not perfect, but it is the first time i've done my own pickups and it actually works!!I've also lost the grub screw for the worm gear so i'll have to wait for a replacement to arrive before I can see it actually move under its own power!

 

 

[gz3xzf]

Jack

I like the solution to the misplaced chassis and the sand pipes, it is looking good. Shame about the grub screw, I've spent hours on my knees over the years looking for small pieces that have fallen/been dropped/pinged out of the tweezers, etc.; it is not fun!

[30368]

Check out the vacuum cleaner bag, always assuming you clean the workshop! Tweezers are really good at launching small parts !

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

[Jack P]

  

12 hours ago, gz3xzf said:

Jack

I like the solution to the misplaced chassis and the sand pipes, it is looking good. Shame about the grub screw, I've spent hours on my knees over the years looking for small pieces that have fallen/been dropped/pinged out of the tweezers, etc.; it is not fun!

 

No! It really isn't. To add insult to injury I tried to tap out the thread to take a different size grub screw. The tap snapped in the cog (not me tapping the cog). It was then that I realised I could loctite the worm gear on the motor shaft and use the grub screw for that - *%^&#%$! 

 

Never mind. I've ordered another gearbox from Wizard models. I'll crack on with getting the body finished while I wait. 

 

 

The pickups all work, which is amazing and i've been fettling to make sure that (until the gear is tightened on the axle) it all rolls sweetly with everything in place!

 

 

[RAY NORWOOD]

Hi Jack. I think I would put a brass plate over were the bogie would be as it looks a bit thin there.

[Jack P]

7 hours ago, RAY NORWOOD said:

Hi Jack. I think I would put a brass plate over were the bogie would be as it looks a bit thin there.

 

Hi Ray, I did consider this, and may still go back and do it. I've already bent is slightly once.

 

8 hours ago, 30368 said:

Check out the vacuum cleaner bag, always assuming you clean the workshop! Tweezers are really good at launching small parts !

 

I tried the stocking over the end of the vacuum trick, to make sure I didn't have to sift through the vac bag. Nothing came up unfortunately!

[30368]

I didn't know you wore stockings Jack!

 

The chassis looks to be a fine piece of work very neat and "clean".

I have a DJH "L" class to build too.

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

[Jack P]

On 06/07/2020 at 18:50, 30368 said:

I didn't know you wore stockings Jack!

 

My partner was actually quite surprised when I pulled out an unopened cheap pair I had bought at the supermarket for a reason such as this!

 

I've spent some time doing something different the last few nights, Including giving myself second degree burns on my right hand. I refuse to let this stop me though. 

 

These have been sitting for far too long. Both locos belong to a good friend of mine. The Schools was min originally, but a spot of 'Horse Trading', (as Mr Wright would say) saw a deal worked out for this and the E4 both modified in different ways and 'finished' (repainting, numbering and weathering)

 

 

 

 

I'm particularly happy with the way that the name plate came out. 

 

Still working on refining the colours I use, and getting enough variation in the weathering process for black locos. Slowly, slowly.

 

Oh, and my Copy of Russell arrived! 

 

 

Genuinely don't know why I didn't get this sooner! My task for the next few days (while my hand heals) is to go through and using post-it's, index the book for quick access. Is this lazier than just reading the index? Yes, very observant. 

 

 

[Jack P]

I'm finding that generally, Fridays are a productive day for me!

 

 

 

 

I managed to get along with Archers rivet transfers long enough to get some of the smokebox looking right. I'll confess that the rivets on the front of the cylinder chest, and around the smokebox door are dabs of glue. While the latter don't look great, the chest cover rivets look ok! The boiler bands are HMRS lining transfers.

 

The front pipework took a couple of tries to get right, it's not perfect, but I think it looks good enough. The pipe runs under the bufferbeam don't stick out as much as they look like they do. I'm also pretty happy with the lamp irons and the snifters.

 

I plan for this loco is to eventually be numbered 1597, which is the only one that i've seen in anything close to Wartime black with the SECR plaques on the front splashers:

 

https://www.rail-online.co.uk/p426596158/h7238a729#h7238a729

 

 

[Jack P]

On 11/07/2020 at 07:50, AVS1998 said:

This looks marvellous! I'd never noticed that they had the more modern quad spectacle plates in the cab, I'd always assumed they'd have the lone pair. I suppose that comes with having the Belpaire firebox, though. 

 

Your soldering lines are very clean, from what I see, Jack - I'm very envious. 

 

I'm not sure if this was a later development. Whenever I research a loco, I try and find pictures as close to my chosen time period as possible, this means that I have the propensity to overlook early/late version of the class. 

 

Thank you for the kind words about my soldering! It's just repetition that's helping me improve. I also think this kit in particular is very good almost a shake the box and it goes together affair.

 

A little progress has been made on the J. I'm frustratingly close to having it done! Waiting on a re-stock of transfers and the previously mentioned replacement gear. 

 

Here's a shot of her in primer, rivets partially applied and boiler bands on. 

 

 

I had a horrible moment over the weekend where I realised much like the H class, it seems like most (if not all) of the J's received larger buffers on the rear.

 

 

 

No worries, i'd only glued the buffers in place. Some gentle wiggling and they came free. I then knocked up some markits SR pattern ones. I don't know if these are strictly accurate, but unless someone can find me a photo of the rear of 1597 - they will do!

 

 

Wheels and chassis painted in a generic frame dirt colour. Slowly slowly. 

 

Now that the loco is mostly complete, I plan to add as much lead sheet to the boiler and the side tanks as I can.

Edited July 12, 2020 by Jack P

[Jack P]

I also had some sprung wagon buffers arrive. These are Kean Maygib POW/MR. 

 

 

I've got some Alan Gibson RCH buffers on their way. I must remember to ask about maygib RCH buffers next time I call Branchlines.

 

This wagon was just a test, as I didn't fancy building a new kit just for the buffers. Moving forward I will fit them to wagons as they are being built. Trying to drill the holes in an already built wagon without going off centre, or damaging the solebars was a bit of a fiddle.

 

I really like the softness of the springing action on the Maygib buffers, the Markits ones are a little stiff for my liking. 

Edited July 12, 2020 by Jack P

[TrainMan2001]

Hi Jack, 

Those buffers look awesome! If I may ask, where did you get them from?

[Jack P]

1 minute ago, TrainMan2001 said:

Hi Jack, 

Those buffers look awesome! If I may ask, where did you get them from?

 

Thank you very much! I like them too.

 

The buffers on their own (housings painted red) are SR pattern Markits ones - I got them from Roxey Mouldings.

 

The Buffers on the front of the J are Kean Maygib SECR pattern, and the Wagon buffers are Private Owner Wagon/Midland Railway, also Kean Maygib. Both from Brian at Branchlines.

[TrainMan2001]

Thank you!

[Jack P]

I've been trying to get a few long standing projects finished.

 

@Mallard60022 will be pleased to hear that the Unclassed saloon (D.2653) sides that he sold me over two years ago are finally very very close to being done. I've gone for one that was permanently reclassified second class.

 

 

 

Don't look too hard, the number closest to the camera (left) is a bit wonky, but I'd destroyed my eyes with the seat numbers. This was also my first Donor side replacement project so there are a multitude of sins that i'm hoping some decent weathering will hide.

 

 

I'm also working through my ex-LSWR maunsell rebuild stock