4472 Flying Scotsman 5"

[greenglade]

So onto the outside steam pipe covers, I'm sure glad that I'm posting more regularly as tonight alone there are 10 pictures which takes a fair while to write up. I will cover this in a little more detail than normal. The first picture shows me holding a block of Chemiwood which I'll use for making the pattern/plug, this particular product (IIRC) is from Axon and it's grade is 65 which is one of the denser grains. For those unfamiliar with this product it's what's used widely for pattern making, replacing wood as it has no grain, it's a man-made resin that comes in large slabs, easy to cut/sand and machine. I have some left over from my Film/TV days and glad that I do as it's lovely to work with although you need to be careful of the dust as it's not good for you as I re-realised sanding it today without a mask, a bad idea. Not felt that rough since I retired, best decision I ever made health wise.

The block has been squared off in one corner and cut oversize in both height and width.

 

I then made a profile using some card from a cereal box.

 

I then cut out the profile slightly oversized and also cut the block to it's width of 7/8 (just under to allow for the metal thickness) using my small bandsaw. I also cut a small slot on it's back edge so that it cleared the bolts holding the smokebox tube to the saddle. Also at this stage I made a note from my reference photo's of where the top of the cover (not the flange) came to in relation to the smokebox door. You will just see here the arm from the height gauge near the bottom door hinge strap and also a scribed mark on the block at the same height. Also note that the block outer edge is level with the outer edge of the running board, the reason for this will become clear in the next picture.

 

I now marked out the side profile on the block following Don's dimensions which were spot on. The vertical line up the side is 3/16 from the edge, which is how far the cover steps back from the running board edge. Don doesn't so much give a dimension up to where the angle starts but does state that's it's a 3/8 rad and so I measured up 3/8. this was confirmed correct when marking the angled line (25 degrees) as it matches perfectly with the top line that I marked with the height gauge, I do like it when things add up...

 

Next job was to mark out where the curve ends and the flat begins, first marking a centre line and then the rad at the bottom followed by the lines on the sides.

 

I sanded the bottom to shape on the belt sander and finished by hand.

 

After sanding the long curve using the same methods I now had the finished pattern.

 

It took three heatings and hammerings to form the brass around the pattern, here we have the pattern and one cover held in the vice for the base to be filed down to size.

 

The last picture for tonight shows both covers with the fronts formed and the backs cut out roughly 4mm oversize for final fettling to fit.

 

I need to pop out in the morning to collect some scaffold/fittings that I bought on eBay today for building a rig to lift the loco both up to work on and swing off the bench to load, that should be fun...not.
So depending on how long that takes I hope tomorrow to finish the rear profile to fit against the smokebox and also take a look at the flanges that go around it to bolt the cover to the smokebox and running board, that will probably take me more than another day, we shall see.....

Pete


 

[greenglade]

Good afternoon all

Continuing on with the outside steam pipe covers but first I'll include a picture that I already posted elsewhere to show the planned rig for lifting the loco. I've included it here as it may be of use to others (if it works.. ).

So the first picture is to show said rig, it comprises 1x 7' tube, 2 x 4' tubes and 1 x 2' tube, all 48 mm dia steel. Fitting are, 4 minge clips, 2 swivels, 1 90 degree, 1 wall mount and 1 floor plate. This is rock solid, I can swing from it without any movement although before I lift the loco I'll borrow something heavier to test it, we have an old car engine in the other workshop, that should do. I'll explain the other components and their operation once they have been delivered, which consist of a 180-degree arc support arm capable of lifting 600kg and a small electric hoist capable of lifting 200 kg, both more than enough for the job in hand.

here's the rig assembled...

 

On to the covers, a bit later than I hoped as I had other things requiring my attention but now mostly finished. I should have taken this picture from underneath, basically, the cover is held around the former to have the rear section cut to profile using a tool clamp and some oak strips to protect the cover.

 

Here's a front view to show both covers now cut to fit, please ignore what looks like bad fitting running boards, they aren't bolted down, just sitting there.

 

A close up of the right-hand cover before fitting the flanges...

 

The flanges are made from two different thicknesses of brass sheet with the base flange being twice the thickness for rigidity during making although this was later sanded down to make it closer to the other flange. I'm afraid I've forgotten the two sizes used, I can measure the sheet later if anyone wants to know, I would guess that they are 0.8 and 0.4 mm . I cut them into oversized sections and drilled a number of holes in them to make it easier to cut out the middle later. I left the middle section for now to avoid the sides of the flange being pulled in during the soldering process.

 

Here's the first cover after the first heat, I then brushed on more bakers fluid inside and out and reheated to get a nicely flowed fillet both sides of the cover, I mean both outer and inner faces.

 

Here we have both covers ready for the next stage of shaping the flanges. The thinner brass was tinned first before soldering to the cover, I wasn't too bothered as to the alignment of these sheets as they are both oversize for final shaping. Shaping was done by hand using both the belt sander and hand files, the inner sections were cut out using a Dremel cutting disc and sanding drum. 

 

I tried to take a picture from the top but it's probably not very clear, it's just to show that both covers are now finished (and opposite each other although only pushed roughly into place) except for the drilling of the flanges which I'll do once I've decided on the size of bolts. I would like to go smaller than 12 BA hex (10BA with smaller head) but not sure if there is anything smaller out there and if there is, whether I'll be able to drill/tap the mounting holes easily. The running boards would be ok, it's the stainless smokebox which might prove a little problematic, it will be bad enough with 10/12BA.

 

Lastly, a close up of the right-hand cover, the flanges should be just a tad smaller but I have left them for now until deciding on suitable bolts, if it's 10BA (smaller head) they will probably need to remain close to how they are, we shall see. There are a few small dinks from the heating/hammering process which will be filled/filed down before painting. Oh , and I will of course need to drill the oilway holes and whatever else full size has going through these covers.

 

Thanks for looking in guys...

Pete

NB:  seem to have a gremlin in the pictures... no idea why...

[greenglade]

Evening all

I've been busy but not much metal cut, I have been ordering various bits and pieces over the last week while doing a little more research into what materials I need. I have on order a variety of stainless threaded rod in metric, from 1.6mm up to 4 mm, this is for the studding that needs to be cut and fitted to the boiler. Hopefully, I've ordered enough to cover the dome, ashpan and the drop grate mech and backhead bushes, all M3, M4 for the wet header, M2/2.5 for the regulator and M1.6 for the steam valves, plus lots of nuts to fit. I have also ordered some 1 ton strops, both 1 mtr and 1.5 mtr lengths.

In as far as cutting metal is concerned, I have made a start on the steps either side of the firebox. The tread on these is different to elsewhere on the loco being a series of raised dashes which I have tried to replicate although the spacing and amount of lines is slightly less, I have used what I had to hand which was a 2mm endmill and given it spacing of 2.5mm leaving 0.5mm raised pattern, I'll show that in a minute.
Here's the full size, it's pretty worn as are most of the tread plates on the loco today, the cab steps having lost most of their rivets/weld spots as mentioned previously.

 

I began with some 16mm square steel tube, machining two pieces to length and square, here I have just finished the first stage.

 

Next job was to cut into the rears a semi-circle (10mm) concave to give me the beginnings of the shape required. I used a stop to get both the same size.

 

I then marked out where I needed to cut to give me the 'U' channel required, I did this with a cutting disk on the Dremel, which then went 'bang' and threw the RCD. The Dremel hasn't been right for some time with the vario vac packing up some weeks back, guess I need a new one now..lol

 

Before machining the tread plate and silver soldering it to the frame I first drilled two mounting holes for 8BA. The full size has the holes diagonally but this would give me issues drilling through the running boards as the 'right-angle' brass is under where the second hole would go. I decided to drill both on the outside edge making life a little easier, especially if I need to remove the step for any reason as the two bolts will be easily assessable from the side. Once I decided on where to place the step I cut a length of paper which was clamped to the running board where it meets the cab floor, the idea being that once marked I can use this to get the step on the other side in the same position. With each step clamped I drilled through the frame 1.8mm holes and then opened them up to 2.3mm for the bolts to clear. with this done I could then tap the frames 8BA.

 

Then on to the tread itself, for this, I held a length of steel slightly wider than the brackets and machined the tread using a 2 mm cutter and as stated earlier with 2.5 mm spacings, the cut is approx 0.5mm deep, the cross pattern I did randomly.

 

next up was to cut the treads roughly to length and silver solder them to their frames. I then set each in the machine vice and machined both square and to the same size.

 

 

I called it a night at that but tested the fit before closing up the workshop, jobs left to do is to file the under body to match the curve of the running board, it's not far off, just needs a little tweeking. I also need to finish the concave cutout and front edge with a little filing to match the prototype. Anyway, here's a view from the side...

 

And lastly from above...

 

 



once I've filed down the underbody a little the step will sit slightly lower and lose most of the curve from the square tube, that will be in the next update...

Pete

 

[tigerburnie]

As a former H&S man I'll have to rap your knuckles for what looks like standing on a chair to take the over head image above the chimney, great shot, but be careful !!

[greenglade]

Haha...but I did have my new lifting rig to hold on to....:)

[greenglade]

Today the strops and snap hooks arrived in the post so I 'bit the bullet' and tried a lift.

First up is I need strops in between the 1.5 and 1 mtr lengths that I now have, if such a thing exists? The smaller slings are ideal for lifting the boiler off the chassis or chassis alone but too short to lift the loco with the boiler fitted and the 1.5 mtr slings are just too long. I also bought a swivel to allow me to turn the model without putting any stress on the wire but it's too small to fit over the hook so I'll need to get something larger, I was trying to keep the sizes small to not lose too much height, the snap hooks barely fit. As I mentioned a while back I will make up a lifting cradle for when the model is finished as I need to keep any pressure away from paintwork, running boards and motion parts. However, for this stage of the build, the strops will work, more so with the boiler off. 
The first picture shows the initial 'heart in hand' lift off the bench moment, I could play with the joining strop to balance things better but this was only a test of the weight. I have had to use one of the 1.5mtr slings to join the two smaller as I don't have the height to lift with the longer and nor can I get a hook into both of the shorter slings, hope that makes sense.

 

Here, I'm feeling very brave or is that stupid, I'll let you guys decide which and have swung the model out away from the bench, I won't swing it out all the way and lower it until i have another pair of strong hands nearby just in case of any problems. Oh, you may notice the angle of the front bogie, this is because I don't currently have any bolts holding it to the frames as they are shared with the cylinders which I still need to work on

 

I won't lift the model like this as things progress, I'll make up a cradle with outriggers that has 4 chains hanging from it. The two at the front will have 'D' shackles to fit the prototypical lifting holes in the frames, the rears will have large hooks that grab under the drag beam, all as per full size. The cab roof section will be removed for each lift which as you guys will know is what the hatch is there for as per the prototype, not just for my big hands to get at the controls...

I don't need to worry about this rig just yet but will need it for when the running boards are re-fitted. In the meantime, I will see if I can find some more suitably lengthened slings.


Pete 


 

[greenglade]

Hi guys, to answer some of the questions on other forums re how the model will be lifted, I'll show this... I can't find a better picture but this is how I'll lift the model. There'll be a cross piece along the length of the loco between the chains to spread them to the correct distance apart.. hope that answers some questions...

 

Pete

[tigerburnie]

I have recently retired from heavy engineering and we did a lot of lifting(I had a slinging and rigging certificate), the only thing I would say is by putting a "bite" on the slings you are at risk of compressing the loco and causing some damage. Slings across the wheels are likely to put pressure on axles and bearings.

[greenglade]

Yes... you can't really see in the picture but the wheels still turned, the sling is under the trailing axle, I did check that there was no pressure where it wasn't wanted. This was just a test of the rig, the loco won't be lifted like this under normal circumstances. I will use the slings to lift the boiler and chassis separately, but there will be a spreader bar between them so the slings are always vertical. The bite was purely due to not having slings of the correct length for the height of the arm and even then I could only lift by a few inches. I'll make a proper lifting rig when I can...:)

 

Pete

[tigerburnie]

Not criticising  Pete, just offering my two pennorth, would hate to see this project put back, one day I would hope to be able to see this in steam.

[greenglade]

Afternoon all


I'm still playing around with the lifting jig, I want to get this sorted before getting on with the loco. BTW, I hope (if I can sort transport) to have the model at my club (NLSME) on both the 3rd and 7th of August, the 7th is this year's Bob todd memorial day to which I recently received my invite.If anyone wants to pop along, give me a shout and I'll keep an eye open for strangers.. So once the rig is sorted, that gives me a couple of weeks to get the model presentable and transport to move it, I would like to get the smokebox and running boards painted but not sure if this is possible, I'm not going to do what I did last year and just throw some paint on them for the day. I also need to source the trolley required to move the model from the workshop to the front of the house, so I do have a number of logistical problems to sort but fingers crossed I'll get there.

Anyway, today I made up the 4 lifting chains and the hooks to grab the drag box. For the hook, I have used two snap hooks with the small end encased for more security and a stronger hold, these have been cut to give me the 'hook'.

Here's the snap hooks, one before modification and the other ready for use. I have tested the hook and it holds the drag box very securely...

 

Here are the 4 chains all ready for the first lift, the rears are longer for them to get under the drag box, all being well things should work out level when fitted to the support beam which won't be here till the end of the week. Just one of these chains would easily hold the weight of the entire loco, the 4 together will hold a good few thousand kgs.

 

And I have now used the hoist in anger for the first time, only to lift the front but it was very easy for me to remount the front bogie which I had forgotten about when lifting her before.

 

The other parts for the rig will be here over the next few days, once here I'll assemble everything and do a full lift, should be fun......I hope?...

Pete


 

[tigerburnie]

Would something like this help with your lifting?

https://www.toolstation.com/hilka-engine-crane/p10200

[greenglade]

2 hours ago, tigerburnie said:

Would something like this help with your lifting?

https://www.toolstation.com/hilka-engine-crane/p10200

Not as such, the hoist fitted can now do all of the lifting...I need to buy a trolley now to move the loco from workshop through the house to the car/van for transporting..I'm going to buy a garden trolly with drop down sides, this can hold up to 300kg so more than up to the job and has 10 inch pneumactic tyres which will cope with steps and uneven surface down the garden. I just need to get some steel to make a length of rail in a cage for securing loco to cage and cage to van floor..

We have one of those engine hoists, it would never get thtoigh the garden/house...:)

 

Cheers

 

Pete

[greenglade]

I received more parts today, the steel beam and 2 of the wide 10mm 'D' shackles... I only ordered 2 originally, the other should be here tomorrow, clearly not wearing my thinking cap properly...
So this gives me the parts to make the beam, just not the centre lift point, I made a temp for now just to work out the weight distribution. I have to say that the weight of the beam box section surprised me, it's very much up to the job in hand...

This picture gives an overall look of what's what. I have used some chain and a snap hook just to get an idea of the midpoint balance wise. The beam is slightly twisted due to the chain being wrapped around the beam not lifting fully centrally, this won't happen once the 3rd 'D' shackle is fitted in it's place, don't worry I won't be fully lifting the loco using the chain, it will be gone tomorrow. BTW this is probably the limit with which these snap hooks will take, well at least the spring loaded type which you can see on the bench. It lifted the weight but was very slightly opening, thus it was quickly exchanged for a screw type hook. This will not be a problem when the last 'D' shackle is fitted (there will be no need for snap-hooks) which is rated for over 4000kgs as are the shackles each end.

 

While testing for balance I took a picture of either end, here's the rear showing the grab hooks lifting the dragbox. There is a lip here which stops the hook from being able to slip out, once loaded with weight it isn't going anywhere.

 

Lastly, a picture giving a better view of the parts that make up this rig, as you can see I've gone a little OTT in regards to load capacity, better safe than sorry I say. There is no real weak link in the rig but if you wanted one it would probably be the small 5mm 'D' shackles which fit through the prototypical lifting holes in the frames... these can only hold 1600kg each.. each corner makes that 6400kgs...I think the steel beam will buckle before anything here has a problem...

 

Pete

 

[30368]

Wonderful!

 

Richard B

[greenglade]

Thank you Richard

 

 

On to the final stages of building the lifting rig, there is still one more thing to do, hopefully, the last part will be here before the weekend.

I think that I mentioned that I wanted to have the support arm fitted higher to give me more lifting height, the tube being just a little too short to give me enough tube above the fitting to mount the bracket.
This is the area concerned...

 

I could have replaced the verticle tube for a longer one but that would have meant going to pick it up and dismantling everything that had been done so far, so I went for a (lazy) internal joiner and cut approx 2 inches of one of the cross tubes which was doing nothing.

Here's the joiner and tube, the joiner halves are pushed out against the sides by the Allen bolt when tightened.

 

And here we have the bracket and support arm refitted, this change gives me approx another 5 inches in height.

 

I have also added two check strap points to stop any tilt of the model when swinging it out off the bench, I haven't done the mounting points to the beam yet, these will be done at the same time as the last 10mm D shackle is fitted. I'll probably use a couple of small D shackles either end for this. The top of the chains are held by snap hooks, the plan is I can reduce the length to suit whichever height the model has been raised too by placing a chain link through the snaphook which is more suitable leaving the excess chain hanging.

 

I now have 7 inches under the model, once the last D shackle is fitted and the chain is no longer needed I'll gain approx another 5 inches, I think 12 inches is more than enough for me to do what's needed underneath, especially as if I need more I only need to swing the model out a little to the edge of the bench. I am very happy with the rig and feel that the model is very safe while suspended, I just need to make sure I don't do anything silly like what I did today when lowering the model back onto the bench and forgetting that the rear check strap chain was still slipped over the D shackle pin thus holding the rear up.  I tell you what, the loco springs work very well, it had less than an inch left to go but makes you realise that you need to check and double check everything that's new to the normal routine. Lesson learned..

 

I then turned my attention back to the grab hooks on the rear, I wasn't entirely happy with the fit, it was secure enough but the knuckle which the chain is attached too was rubbing against the rear of the cab floor. Not a problem now as the cab is going to be repainted but it would be once finished, also the curve of the hook was too large for my liking and so I have changed things a little. The picture shows the original (unmodified) snap hook on the right and one that I have closed up the hook to bring the straight upright part closer to the model, this now means that the tip of the hook is up against the drag beam inner lower lip and thus far better engaged, it also means that the knuckle which is now higher is now clear of the cab floor.

 

This picture shows the difference between the two hooks, I have also now smoothed off the cut ends.

 

And just for fun, I took a picture from under the model, I won't be doing any real work under here until I have made up some working stands to slide under the model for safety.

 

one thing that I could look at while the model was suspended was to see what is needed to mount the boiler to the boiler stay which sits just forward of the front foundation ring. Looks like it will be a simple bracket which can be bolted through the stay, this will probably be my next job before removing the boiler to continue with other parts.

Thanks for looking in guys...

Pete


 

[greenglade]

Afternoon all, for this update I actually have some work done to the model rather than that boring stuff on the lifting rig, however, I have one last photo to share and that shows the middle 'D' shackle now fitted. Having got the model balanced I think that I'll add a further 'D' shackle in the middle using both to lift with. This will do two things, it will mean there's a second shackle to share the weight adding extra safety but also it will make the balance of the model more stable. Currently, to get her level I have added some chain on the rear, the balance point is going to change each time I add more to the model, I suspect that the front will gain far more than the rear but I have a number of holes for the centre pivot which I can play around with and a second shackle would add diagonals to the setup which will be much more stable. The picture shows the current state of play, for now, you'll also note that I have increased the gap between the model and the lifting beam. I plan to wrap the beam in foam and also cover the lifting chains to protect the paintwork once it's done.

 

Finally, back onto the build, I have taken a look at a way to secure the rear of the boiler, this is something that is omitted from some designs including 'Doncaster' relying on the weight of the boiler alone, I'd prefer to have a little support and have done so. This picture is taken from under the firebox looking forward, the stay immediately in front is the boiler stay, from what I can see on the full size the top of this stay has a wooden strip for the boiler to sit on? not sure how long this would last on a model if indeed it is wood?

I had thought that the 3mm tapped holes that Paul kindly drilled into the foundation ring for me would be directly under the square holes in the stay, this was just a guess, there was no way of knowing at the time if this would work or not, clearly the boiler sits a little further back than I had thought, but it's not an issue, I have made a plate to fit.

 

Here's the bracket, the holes have 35mm spacings to match the ones in the foundation ring, I gave this dimension to Paul which fits well. The spacing between the two rows works out at 18mm. The 3 mm slot head screws will be replaced with capped socket head screws later like the larger 5mm bolts used to go through the boiler stay. IIRC the steel plate is 1/16th thick which gives room for some form of rubbing strip if I decided it's needed. As the squares in the boiler stay are larger than the bolts going through them, this will allow for the boiler to expand a little during steaming, these bolts won't be fully tightened to allow for said movement and held in position with some thread sealant. This may change a little once everything is assembled but gives the general idea of what I'm thinking

 

The bracket fitted to the boiler...

 

I made good use of the hoist to lift the boiler off and lower it to the floor for me to fit the bracket. I only used one sling, using my other hand to balance the boiler, I did this as I didn't want to put any stress on the smokebox which is still attached. When all of the smokebox internals are finished I hope to be able to seal the boiler to the smokebox with heat resistant silicon and from then onwards leaving the smokebox attached to the boiler for all further boiler lifts. 

 

My next job will be to make the steam connection pipe for the middle cylinder, this requires me to cut away a little of the smokebox shell as can be seen in the next picture...

 

Once that has been done I then need to machine an opening through the rear of the saddle for the oil supply to the middle cylinder which 'T's into the steam connection pipe.. the white marks give a rough idea of where this needs to be. When making the connector I need to bear in mind the height of the oil pipe 'T' so that it can pass through the opening,. IIRC the drawings show a section removed for the saddle for it to fit over the connector and the oil pipe.

 

Hopefully, that gives you folks some idea of what I'm up to next, after that, I think I may have to tidy things up a bit before the first week in August gets here so that she looks good enough to display, fingers crossed I have enough time...

Pete

 

[Boggit]

Haven`t posted in a while . but i`m sure . I am one of many keeping a close eye on each post you make . Then occasionally letting you know . We are still here . Keep up the good work sir .

[greenglade]

Good morning all, this is the first of many fittings, for those following me on FB, I'll put all into the same album, steam, oil, sand and vacuum as they will invariably cross over. To begin with, I have the middle cylinder steam connector which includes the oil way connection from the lubricator, you see, I've crossed over already...

I am doing my own thing here, nothing wrong with Don's which is basically made up from 5/8 hex brass with a boss for the oilway and a 15-degree kink to line up with the steam header as shown here. You'll note in Don's drawing that the 15-degree kink points directly forward, I'm going to bring the steam pipe closer to the smoke tube wall curving around it as on the full size, I'm also going to try and make all 3 steam pipes of the same length rather than the middle being shorter. For no other reason than it seems a better set up in my own head, I'm sure some clever chap/chapess will tell me otherwise if wrong...

 

Here's the beginning partly machined, this PB102 bar will make both parts once it's cut to length and angled. The thread is 1/2" x 32 TPI and the bore is 5/16th or 0.312, the steam pipes themselves will be 3/8 OD x 22swg giving a bore of 0.325 so they are very close to each other to help with flow. The machined step is to give a smaller gap to seal in the saddle hole for a suitable sealant to do its job. I don't need to worry about the exhaust as they are massive being internally cast, the blast pipe setup drawn by Don is 3/4 OD, I'll use a similar bore but follow closer to full size in the shape rather than use commercial copper elbows as suggested/drawn by Don.

 

Once cleaned up, I screwed the part into the cylinder doing it up tightly using mull grips on the unmachined part that had been held in the chuck. Not seen here but I then marked where the oil way would be and also the direction I planned for the kink to follow using a white marker pen.

 

We now have the two parts that make up the connector, you can now see the white marks mentioned before. Note the small lip on the larger section.

 

I then moved on to the tilting vice and set it at 10 degree's using my digital angle scale. Thus giving me a 20 degree kink once both parts had been machined, the angle was decided on by my wish to direct the steam pipe to the side and around the smokebox and also taking into account that once fitted I did not want to have to remove this connector again once in operation, I'll explain that in a minute. You'll see that I have left a small step with most of the lip now gone, this is to help me line the bore up and get the kink in the correct direction for silver soldering together, I also made a small recess in the top section for the lip to fit into, alas I forgot to take a picture of this. The lip seen had some material removed as it was a little high.

 

To finish the machining of the bottom section, I first drilled/tapped 3/16 x 40 TPI where the white dot had been and then machined a flat for the oilway connector to seal against. The last job was to machine 4 flats at 90 degrees allowing a 14mm spanner to be able to tighten the connector to the cylinder.

 

And here's the finished parts ready for heating, I have temporarily fitted the oilway connector to check things are as planned. The small gap is where the step is, showing the rear side of the kink. I had one more job to do before silver soldering the parts and that was to file a small chamfer around the join to get better penetration.

 

Here we have the connector finished and fitted into the cylinder, on final assembly I'll use a thread sealant on both the steam and oil connections as they are unlikely to need removing except for a major overhaul.

 

Lastly, a picture showing the smokebox back in situ, The kink is shallow and clear of the smokebox tube/saddle, this is so that I can remove the entire boiler/smokebox and saddle as one piece without disturbing any of the oilway connections to the 3 cylinders. It also removes the problem of trying to reach the far corner of the saddle when all of the other parts are within, plus the modified routing of the middle steam pipe gives me better access to the fire tubes for cleaning after steaming, all little things that I'm trying to take into consideration as I progress with the build.

 

Today I have received the tiny 1.4mm bolts for the outside steam covers plus a tap set for cutting the threads into the smokebox, I will drill the tapping holes oversize to hopefully make things a little easier when tapping such small holes into stainless steel, wish me luck...

More soon all...

Pete


 

[greenglade]

Evening all, just one picture for tonight. I'm basically trying to tie up a few loose ends before this year's Memorial to Bob Todd in just under 3 weeks time and as mentioned in the last update my first job is to finish off the outside steam covers and mount them to the smokebox/running boards. I'm nearly there with the right-hand side as can be seen in tonight's solitary photo. All of the tapped 1.4mm holes in both the smokebox and running boards went without mishap, I am happy with the fit of the bolt heads along the bottom flange but think the flange around the smokebox could do with slightly smaller heads, the next size down 1.2mm has the same size head so think I'll give the 1mm bolts a try, of course, I'll need nuts too as the holes are already tapped for the larger size, no big deal. Due to the harsh environment within the smokebox, these will be sacrificial bolts during maintenance, they are only tin-plated brass and therefore easy to snap/remove. Now that I have got this far I can see that I'll be able to leave the covers attached to the running boards and remove the whole running board assembly as a single piece including the steam covers once the various bolts have been removed. The number of bolts involved has changed a little, I will be adding the cover's 10 bolts (five a side) plus the two 8 BA each side that bolt through the valance into the cylinders. These can be seen in the photo, they are overlength and thus not fully tightened as I just used them to hold the running board in it's correct position for mounting the cover flanges, you will also see one of the screws which hold the upper board to the lower which is only located and not fully screwed down. I will also remove a few bolts from the equation which will help balance things out a little, the top bolts that go through the splasher ends into the various supports will now be dummy as having now test fitted the boiler I can see that getting to these bolts and not damaging the paintwork will be very risky. I will modify these so that the screw threads into the running board but not the support rig below, being cut flush. If the splashers ever need removing the running board will be removed first to do so as was always the plan.

 

Tomorrow I'll get the other side to the same stage, once that's done I have some final finishing work to do to the covers and then perhaps get them into an etch primer. I'm still in two minds whether to repaint all the top blackwork before she's displayed, I may just leave it as-is for now as I'll only end up repainting it again nearer completion due to the work that's still to do. I'll probably touch in the marks on the frames and leave it at that, famous last words...

More soon all...

Pete

 

[greenglade]

good evening all

I've been a bit quiet of late due to doing other things and due to it being too damn hot in the workshop. I now need to pull my finger out if wanting to get 4472 looking presentable for Bob's memorial. The weather isn't looking too good just now for the week with the 7th but hopefully, the rain will stay away for that day.
I left off last time with the work being done on the steam covers, these are now closer to being finished and have a coat of etch primer on them. Work still to do will be the outlets for the oil pipes that enter the rear of the cab side of the covers to connect to the outer steam pipes, I'll leave this until the steam pipes are made so that I can make as small an opening as possible for the oil pipe to enter the cover. I only have the one picture for today which shows that I'm reassembling the various parts ready for the big day, everything is being cleaned with a cloth damped in Wd40 and then dried, it's doing a good job of getting the muck and metal dust off. I mentioned about being in two minds of whether to repaint the running boards/smokebox for the 7th. I have decided not to do so for the reasons given before. What I will do from now on is give each new part a coat of primer, you will see in the picture that the steam cover and the step near the firebox have been painted so. Parts put back on so far are of course the L/H running boards, the curved support for the front running board L/H side, the gravity sandbox backplate (just to the rear of the cylinder) and the centre lower running board. The picture should help show this.

 

Next job will be to lift the model, turn her around and do the same to the other side and to touch in all marks sustained on the frames, I hope to show this in the next couple of days and perhaps even put the boiler back on, this time bolting it down by the rear support that I gave details on a week or two ago. Oh and I mentioned that I will be changing the bolts that mount the cover to the smokebox for smaller 1mm threads. The 5 holes, 4 can just be seen in the picture will have practical bolts with 1.5mm heads rather than the solitary middle bolt seen now that has a 2mm head, I will also add dummies between each to bring the amount of bolts closer to the prototype. I have also slightly changed the profile to match it closer to the prototype, nothing but a little filing to take care of it.

Thanks for looking in all

Pete

 

Edited July 28, 2019 by greenglade

[greenglade]

I have a few more photos than usual for today although perhaps not so much to write up as it's just me getting things ready for next week. There are a few bits that would classify as progress though.
First up is some drilling into the boiler foundation ring, when I gave Paul details of what was needed for the ashpan I had only asked for tapped holes for the drop grate bearing block on one side, clearly, I wasn't thinking straight...lol. The first picture shows the foundation rings as done by Paul, note the two extra holes down one side, these, of course, needed to be on both. 

 

After checking with Paul for a safe depth to drill, I marked out and drilled tapped the two missing 3mm mounting holes.

 

While in this area I thought that I'd check the grate for size and also the position of the drop grate in relation to the planned bearing blocks to be mounted, looking good so far. talking of the grate, I bought this some years ago as I collected all of the castings required, having spoken to other builders of this design I'm informed that the cast grate only has a few years life in it before needing a replacement. Due to the considerable work involved to do this I may just use the cast as a pattern and weld up some wedged stainless steel bar, I'll probably look at this when I make a start on the ashpan.

 

Having now fitted all of the running boards and associated parts it was time to re-fit the boiler and this time get it sitting level on both axis, last time it was twisted slightly which didn't matter for what I was doing but does now, some may have noticed in the smokebox interior picture the amount of twist involved. I made good use of the hoist to easily lift the boiler up to the frames and carefully slide it into the smokebox, this was a piece of cake in comparison to doing it all by hand last time.

 

Now, I had planned to secure the rear of the boiler how I had described previously but seems I got my measurements a little out, looks about 5mm so perhaps I measured off the wrong digit on the rule? No big deal, I've noted it down and will drill 3 new holes in their correct positions when everything is taken apart again after next weeks event. To get enough height I used the lifting bar to just lift the rear of the loco, if the holes had been in their correct positions it would have been a very easy task to secure the boiler as planned. Such is life...

 

As I was fitting the boiler properly for the first time (as this time the cab would be bolted into place), I did a few checks of the clearance that I had around the various close spots both front and rear. First was the middle cylinder steam connector to see that it wasn't impeding the boiler when entering the smokebox, I hope the picture speaks for itself.

 

This picture may be a little difficult on the eyes, the point to note is the rear foundation ring is sitting squarely onto the rear stay, beforehand it was up one side which was due to it being slightly twisted in the smokebox. For those not sure the art to look at is in focus in the middle of the image.

 

And here we see how close things are around the firebox sides, there is about 1mm clearance either side from the boiler stay outriggers, a damn good fit, thank's to Paul...

 

To show that the boiler is no longer twisted, here's a view inside the smokebox...I tried to take this as square on as I could but alas the hoist pole stops me from doing so, I got reasonably close though.

 

The cab has now been bolted in place for the first time with the boiler fitted, to answer any questions on the gap between boiler and cab, from what I can ascertain from the photo's, the cladding stops at the spectacle plate. There will be a right-angled strip that goes around this joint as per prototype, it will be some time in the future before this is tackled.

 

I also took the opportunity to check for the first time the fit of the brass trims around the splashers, looks pretty good, I have only tacked this on with some masking tape, once the loco is properly painted and lined these will be bonded in place. AFAIK these are unique to 4472 along also with her polished rims for a pacific, I do believe that Cock of the North had polished rims too although stand to be corrected if I have this wrong.

 

A couple of photos to show the general appearance, I'm really beginning to hate the state of the paintwork but see no point in repainting until near completion, I'll just have to hate it quietly and live with it for now... First up looking down it's length, I have now replaced the smokebox 'O' ring for a black silicon version.

 

Lastly, a front 3/4 view, although she's getting very heavy, what is nice is that now all of the wheels are loaded she does roll very nicely, if I can get anyone to help I'll try to get some video of her, perhaps at Bob's do next week.

 

Tomorrow I'll make a start on preparing the tender, if I can do so safely, I may even couple it to the loco, it will be the first time since the boiler has been in play, would be nice to see how it looks...

Pete



 

[greenglade]

Well, it didn't take me long to clean up the tender, I also put some oil in the axleboxes while I was at it. I have now put the tender and loco together and have to say that I'm very pleased with how she's looking, I'm also very pleased with the model size when compared to full size. 
A few details:

Length is currently 6' 3 3/4", this will increase a little once I have fitted the coupling pin, for now, I have just placed them roughly together. I know it's out a little as I can tell from looking at the distance between cab and tender in a 1928 full-size photo which I'll share in this update today, the photo used is the only one that came easy to hand that is side on for comparison. a few things changed by 1939 but not the overall dimensions, just small details although the cab side sheets are much higher to match the tender and protect the crew in the new high bucket seats (fitted circa 1935) in 1939 and of course far less polished steel components.
Height is 14 3/8" or 364 mm, full size scaled-down equates to 359 mm which shows the model is close to being spot on, remember she has a fair bit more weight to add and the springs are not set yet, more importantly the measurement was taken with her sitting on her flanges, full size sitting on the rails comes in at 13' 4" which when scaled down and converted to metric comes in at approx 359 mm, good enough for me..
width is approx 9 1/2".

Ok, so on to the photo's, here's the full size, note that I have flipped this image so it's pointing in the same direction as the model. It's also taken at a lower angle but i think it shows what I'm trying to portray.

 

And the model, of course, we have a high sided tender in place of the early corridor type fitted in 1928 but they are similar in overall design.

 

A view from the back...

 

A few close-ups, cab looking to the tender

 

Cab, looking at the backhead...

 

looking forward from the firebox...

 

To conclude, the obligatory 3/4 view from the front...

 

Now I best get on and do some more work on her, thanks for looking in chaps/chapesses...

Pete


 

[greenglade]

Having had a chat today with Bruce (he of that beautiful 7 1/4 N2 fame) he kindly sent me a scaled-down drawing of the fire hole door which is superb. Yes, before anyone points it out, I know it's upside down, Bruce's N2 is left-hand drive whereas 4472 in 1939 was right, I have put it up the wrong way just to get a visual when compared to full size. it looks great but I have decided to increase the size just by 5%, this equates to approximately an extra 1mm all round. It won't really notice and is still a lot smaller and closer to scale than Don's drawing. 

Here's a picture, it's only barely taped in situ and not very square but is good enough to judge for size...

 

I also took a look at the cab and tender clearance for yours truely's big hands, Trying to judge where I'll be sitting I can reach all of the controls and be able to fire on the move easily enough, I'm not saying it's going to be like driving a 'Sweet Pea' but it's practical enough for me. The important parts are easy to hand, steam valves, water gauges, blower, regulator, brakes, reverser, drain cocks, whistle and sanding gear are all to hand. The drop grate and damper would be the furthest from my reach being down low on the backhead, I can still reach them though. You may recall that I plan to increase the gap between tender and engine to match the scale, technically this will push me further away but also give more room between front coal wall and engine roof. Should be fine, I'll design a driving trolley to get me as close to the tender anyway.

So here's a view looking into the cab to show what I have...

 

This left the manifold controls, IIRC there are 6 valves here (7 but one should be blanked off) the last photo (and the previous) shows that as stated some years ago, I made the vent housing as a removable unit just for this job, I'll easily be able to both see the valves and operate them if required although this is unlikely to be required for normal day to day steaming.

 

When I can I'll get the loco on the track and sit on a driving trolley coupled to it to see how it all pans out, I'll try to resist being towed around the circuit as it's not properly oiled yet and may need some bolts tightened and Loctite'd first.

Other jobs done today although I failed to take pictures are to paint the upper section of the front vacuum standpipe black and I also made a start on the cab doors. Tomorrow I'm hoping that I can do a test fit into my son's van to take it on Saturday, this may be a problem which I do understand, they can't all drop everything for me.

More soon folks

Pete


 

[greenglade]

Today 4472 took a trip to the club track for Brian's club visit day, an annual event. I had a very enjoyable day and wish to thank anyone here who was there for their kind comments on my model, it certainly helps me to go onward with this herculean task that I've given myself, thank you chaps.

I took a picture (of course) of he sitting in the steam bay under today's lovely sun, it's always nice to see her in direct sunlight.

 

She will be down the club again this Wednesday for the 'Bob Todd' memorial day where I'll take the usual 3 view pictures for comparison to last year as my judge to see how much I've done over the last 12 months.
In all today was a great day and in great company, thank you to all.

Pete