Ruston Posted June 25, 2019 Author Share Posted June 25, 2019 The Lanky Class 21 almost finished. It's at least at the stage where it can run, anyway. It still needs a whistle, lubricators, handrails, cabside number plates and lining. If I can't get the spot where the BR ferret & dartboard was to polish up to a shine I may have to paint the bodywork. I put it on the scales and in working order it is 115g, which is 10g less than a Hornby Peckett but it still pulls 6 wagons up the bank, which is surprising. One of the wheels isn't on perfectly straight so it has a bit of a wobble but as it otherwise runs so smoothly I'm not going to try to correct is as, no doubt, I'd mess something else up in the process. 19 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted June 26, 2019 Author Share Posted June 26, 2019 I think lining the pug is going to be a long way in the future, when I can afford to pay a professional to do it as lining isn't something I can do properly. I can muddle and bodge lining to my own simple designs, by masking but replicating a proper livery, especially one that requires two very thin parallel lines isn't possible. There aren't even any suitable transfers that I know of. So it's back to the Neilson and it now has a smokebox and tank and I have fitted the mini splashers to the main splashers. It was easier than I thought it would be to form the S curves on the ogee or "piano" tank sides. The sides are very thin and I also annealed them first. Under the outer skin of the tank as a fold-up framework. I have already started adding weight and put some sheet lead on the outisde of the frame before adding the outer skin as adding sheet here would be impossible afterwards. 13 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted June 28, 2019 Author Share Posted June 28, 2019 More on the Neilson. The smokebox front has been made up and fitted, handrails and 'cab' back fitted, steps, brake standard, reverser, tank filler and buffer beams have also been added. The boiler has been rolled and built up ready for fitting to the frames. So far I have soldered everything, including the whitemetal parts, but I will have to resort to glue when it comes to fitting the chimney. The instructions state that it can be built compensated and there is a hole in one of the frame spacers to fit a bar for the front axle to rock on but apart from this it doesn't give any more instruction or parts to add compensation. I found a couple of square and slotted bearings in my spares bin and cut some scrap etch to solder in and make horn cheeks from. With these soldered in I needed to ensure that the frame was sawn and filed to make the horn guides in the right place so I made up the axles, as shown, to fit the rods on to so as to ensure the real axle would end up in the right place. It seems to be OK so far but I won't know until I get the real axles in and the wheels on... 9 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted June 30, 2019 Author Share Posted June 30, 2019 Still plodding on with the Neilson... The gearbox is built up now and the firebox/ashpan and part of the brake gear have been fitted to the frames. The cylinder/slide bar assembly has been made up and trial-fitted. I have used a cut down P4 frame spacer, with a 10BA nut soldered to it, to screw a piece of copper-clad paxolin to. This will have the pickups soldered to it and has been countersunk and scribed to insulate the two sides. The body is as finished as it can be for now, so has been painted. The boiler backhead and the steam dome will be given their fittings and will be painted seperately and added later. I won't be using the cast whitemetal block buffers that come with the kit and will make my own that extend down and inwards so that the loco can work with chaldrons and contractors' wagons. There is a dent in the top of the tank on this side where I dropped a piece of brass bar on it and I am really bloody annoyed with myself for that! 13 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted July 1, 2019 Author Share Posted July 1, 2019 I painted the frames after the previous shot and so, this evening, I pressed the wheels on, fitted (but not yet fixed) the rods on and jury rigged the motor to a controller. It runs beautifully! I had a bit of a panic when the Loctite that I applied using a pin to fix the brass final drive gear to the axle ran on to the adjoining gear but it has worked out alright. This is one of the gearboxes in the High Level range that hasn't been updated with a final drive gear that is fixed with a grub screw. The body, just held on with one screw and no boiler or cylinders for now. The difficult bit, next; making up and fitting the con-rods, and crossheads, and making them fit the slide bars properly. 16 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barclay Posted July 2, 2019 Share Posted July 2, 2019 On 30/06/2019 at 19:17, Ruston said: Still plodding on with the Neilson... That's a bit more than a plod - it would take me months to build that. Looking terrific. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted July 2, 2019 Author Share Posted July 2, 2019 Working with Photoshop. I made this up, for the Neilson, as a .jpg image to be printed on clear waterslide decal paper, on my inkjet printer. I have just printed it and am going out to the shed to fire up the compressor and give it a coat of clear gloss acrylic varnish. I'll leave it overnight and will have a go at putting them on, tomorrow. 8 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ruston Posted July 3, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 3, 2019 I stuck the decals on this morning, before I went out. I have just finished the weathering and detailing. The toolbox is a whitemetal casting that I've had for a while now. I wish I could remember where it came from! The fire irons and shovel for cleaning out the firebox are made from brass wire and shim. Despite what I said previously I have used the kit dumb buffers but for buffering up to chaldrons I made a plasticard buffer beam extension and added some Webb-pattern LNWR buffers. As all my stock faces the same way, and the 3-links have a steel link on one end only, locomotives do not need a hook on this end, so I made up the coupling using some fine chain and a steel link, attached to a part from a Dingham coupling and some bits from Ambis. The weathering is a mix of dry-brushing, powders and a graphite stick. Real Yorkshire coal in the bunkers. 16 1 15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted July 3, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 3, 2019 What a beauty! 5 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Neil Posted July 3, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 3, 2019 The combined lettering and lining transfers look splendid. Could I ask what brand of decal paper you've used please. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted July 3, 2019 Author Share Posted July 3, 2019 40 minutes ago, Neil said: The combined lettering and lining transfers look splendid. Could I ask what brand of decal paper you've used please. I'm afraid I can't tell you that, Neil. It was something that I bought from ebay and have lost the packaging. There's nothing printed on the reverse of the sheet to indicate the manufacturer. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rope runner Posted July 3, 2019 Share Posted July 3, 2019 Your work rate makes me feel very lazy... Another lovely build Dave, those twin height buffers set it off very nicely. Paul A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tullygrainey Posted July 3, 2019 Share Posted July 3, 2019 A real charmer. I like this one very much. And thanks for posting all the photos of the build. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted July 4, 2019 Author Share Posted July 4, 2019 17 hours ago, 1whitemoor said: Your work rate makes me feel very lazy... Another lovely build Dave, those twin height buffers set it off very nicely. Paul A. I got the idea for the buffers, with the extra buffer beam protruding forward of the main one, from the engines of the Farnley Fireclay Company that had a similar arrangement. They had an Avonside and a Kitson. Photos of the Kitson are somewhere here in the UK Industrial section. I was going to have a go at maybe scratchbuilding some wagons next but I've just got home to find the Postie has left a package from China. I bought 4 of these tiny motors for just under a tenner, post included. They're 10x10x15mm and are supposed to be 6-pole. They are for 6-7.2v (how can they be so accurate to .2 of a volt?) but I think they'll do for small 4mm shunting engines. How often do you turn the dial up to deliver 12v anyway? The shaft is only 1mm but, as with the type installed in the Neilson, it's easy enough to sleeve it with some thin-walled tube to bring it up to 1.5mm to suit a High Level gearbox. Now that I've got these motors I have to build something to put one in and try one out... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
5050 Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 (edited) Lovely build again Dave. Going by what it says in the Oakwood book on the line, the livery is, I suspect, 'Gittins Improved Engine Black' ? EDIT - having done some very quick and ill defined research into the subject of the colour I have discovered that no known examples have survived. Is this your attempt at reproducing it based on Tatlock's rather garbled information? Edited July 4, 2019 by 5050 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted July 4, 2019 Author Share Posted July 4, 2019 1 hour ago, 5050 said: Lovely build again Dave. Going by what it says in the Oakwood book on the line, the livery is, I suspect, 'Gittins Improved Engine Black' ? It's meant to be but I'm not sure if I've done it light enough. Opinions are divided on the subject. Tatlock says it should be a ratio of two parts battleship grey to four hundred and six parts yellow but some so-called experts say three parts battleship grey. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
5050 Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 16 minutes ago, Ruston said: It's meant to be but I'm not sure if I've done it light enough. Opinions are divided on the subject. Tatlock says it should be a ratio of two parts battleship grey to four hundred and six parts yellow but some so-called experts say three parts battleship grey. I suspect that 2 slack handfuls of the grey to 12 imperial gallons of Dulux Sunshine Yellow will do it. Might be a bit more paint than you will need but perhaps you could sell the excess to Precision and/or negotiate a royalty on sales? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted July 5, 2019 Author Share Posted July 5, 2019 I started messing about with this to try one of the new motors in but there's not much space in the boiler, so I've gone for using up some of my supply of geared N20 motors instead. It's whitemetal, so should be a doddle of a quick build. What could possibly go wrong??? 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwardian Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 On 03/07/2019 at 18:39, Ruston said: I stuck the decals on this morning, before I went out. I have just finished the weathering and detailing. The toolbox is a whitemetal casting that I've had for a while now. I wish I could remember where it came from! The fire irons and shovel for cleaning out the firebox are made from brass wire and shim. Despite what I said previously I have used the kit dumb buffers but for buffering up to chaldrons I made a plasticard buffer beam extension and added some Webb-pattern LNWR buffers. As all my stock faces the same way, and the 3-links have a steel link on one end only, locomotives do not need a hook on this end, so I made up the coupling using some fine chain and a steel link, attached to a part from a Dingham coupling and some bits from Ambis. The weathering is a mix of dry-brushing, powders and a graphite stick. Real Yorkshire coal in the bunkers. Superb 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted July 7, 2019 Author Share Posted July 7, 2019 (edited) The CVMR had a crane tank on the books and, according to Tatlock, it was used for P.W. work and for occasional shunts at the wagon repair shops at times of low availibility of other engines. Anyway, the model is progressing and if you hadn't aready worked it out, it is the South Eastern Finecast kit for a SECR crane tank. These engines were actually built by Neilson and were used in industry, as well as at least one other main line company, the Caledonian, having one. The SECR and the Caley versions appear not to have power slewing. But others did and the slewing engine was fixed to the side of the smokebox, as in the one below. The surviving example, from Hodbarrow iron works, has the slewing engine. I am going to scratchbuild the engine and I already have a gear that can be used for the slewing ring. This is as far as I have got with it. The wheels are from the K's Hudswell Clarke and are only temporary. I have some Gibson brass and steel wheels that I picked up at Wakefield Exhibition, last year, for just £4 so they will be used and because of this I am making my first attempt at a split frame without pickups. I will put a layer of 5 thou, plasticard twixt frame and body. Edited July 7, 2019 by Ruston 9 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted July 9, 2019 Author Share Posted July 9, 2019 It occurred to me that the crane tank would be unable to pass under the bridges on the CVMR, so I have ditched the kit jib and have made my own after the industrial example in my previous post, which is longer and lower. 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rope runner Posted July 9, 2019 Share Posted July 9, 2019 (edited) Just spotted this Dave and thought it may be of interest: No affiliation with the seller, but this looks nice. I can't justify one for my own layout, but I think it'd look good here with some Chaldrons. https://www.shapeways.com/product/75XV5SW6B/00-scale-head-wrightson-coffee-pot-shunter?optionId=75136608 Motor could be mounted vertically in the boiler, new frames from brass etc... Paul A. Edited July 9, 2019 by 1whitemoor Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Corbs Posted July 9, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 9, 2019 I have one of those VBTs in a drawer, was pondering motorising it with a 'spud' or similar and trying to fit the RC gear on board... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted July 9, 2019 Author Share Posted July 9, 2019 1 hour ago, 1whitemoor said: Just spotted this Dave and thought it may be of interest: No affiliation with the seller, but this looks nice. I can't justify one for my own layout, but I think it'd look good here with some Chaldrons. https://www.shapeways.com/product/75XV5SW6B/00-scale-head-wrightson-coffee-pot-shunter?optionId=75136608 Motor could be mounted vertically in the boiler, new frames from brass etc... Paul A. An interesting prototype but I have yet to be convinced by 3D-printing. From what I've seen the surface is either like sandpaper or has visible layers where the machine has laid down the plastic. It doesn't exactly fill me with confidence when the illustration is a 'digital preview' rather than a photo of an actual model that the designer has finished, or at least printed. I have ideas for an even more unusual loco but fitting a motor, and obtaining the correct diameter wheels is an issue. One of at least 3 (possibly as many as 5) built by Cochrane & Co. at the Ormesby iron works. Although it looks like one It isn't a vertical boiler but is a Brown boiler (Brown & Co. ,Winterthur, Switzerland) that has horizontal tubes in the short part to the right. The main part is the firebox at the lower part with the upper part acting as a huge steam dome. 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted July 9, 2019 Author Share Posted July 9, 2019 (edited) The 3D-printed Head Wrightson just looks wrong regardless of the materials etc. The illustration shows it having just one cylinder and that is placed at the side of the water tank. All of the prototype photos of the vertical-cylindered HW' that I have seen, and the one prototype that I have seen first hand, have two cylinders that are sited between the boiler and the tank. I'll definitely pass on that one. Edited July 9, 2019 by Ruston typos 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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