nickd Posted January 25, 2021 Author Share Posted January 25, 2021 Hi Penrhos, Actually I've just noticed the access door on the back of the cab. Do you think the doors would be opening or sliding inside the cab? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Blandford1969 Posted January 26, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 26, 2021 9 hours ago, nickd said: Hi Penrhos, Actually I've just noticed the access door on the back of the cab. Do you think the doors would be opening or sliding inside the cab? They would have been opening, cheaper for the railway companies to add a couple of hinges rather than sliders. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickd Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 A quick update on today's work. I have installed the window thingy on the rear of the cab. Someone kindly sent me a pic showing what's there. I added some sand boxes to the cab interior. The eagle-eyed among you will notice that red-faced Dunhill had to remove the cast white metal ones already installed on the chassis sides! Note to self, read the bl**dy drawing first! I also installed all the steps below the footplate and did a modification to the footplate edge under the cab door (thanks Penrhos.) So tomorrow I will make a new backhead, finish off the cab floor and build the cab upper and roof. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Blandford1969 Posted January 26, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 26, 2021 1 hour ago, nickd said: A quick update on today's work. I have installed the window thingy on the rear of the cab. Love the description. The doors allow the crew to be able to pull coal forwards using a pick / a way to climb out of the cab over the roof and to fill the tanks too. I'm amazed how quickly you build, and to such high quality. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickd Posted January 27, 2021 Author Share Posted January 27, 2021 Today I have done a number of jobs. I shortened the front steps, made a backhead, planked the floor of the cab, made a handbrake stanchion and finally a reverser. The castings on the backhead are from Laurie Griffin. More cab based activity tomorrow. 6 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penrhos1920 Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 On 25/01/2021 at 21:20, nickd said: Thanks Penrhos. I never noticed the relief in the footplate edge above the step, I'll do it tomorrow. No 44 was supplied by Beyer Peacock with the upstand filled in. Maybe it acquired a recess shortly after. Interestingly the valence below the footplate has no section at the end that drops down to the bottom of the buffer beam. I'm making the model as this picture and it depicts the loco shortly after delivery from Manchester, it had quite a few modifications shortly after this apparently, including removal of the air brakes. Thanks again. Bloody useless having the footplate recessed and no hole to put your foot in! How are you meant to climb into the cab? I hadn’t noticed that the Bayer Peacock batch were initially different. Do you have the works photo of 43 and a very early GWR photo of 44 as GWR 40 still with the Westinghouse pump? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickd Posted January 27, 2021 Author Share Posted January 27, 2021 I only have the one pic of 44 as delivered at Cardiff docks and in RR livery. Did they really have the injectors mounted in front of the cab windows? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaScala Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 (edited) Seemingly that's a "yes" as this shot of the A class #71 shows. I do not think the routing of the pipes from the top of the firebox beside the whistles is typical as others show the steam feed going straight along the top of the tank. The overflow can be seen directly below the tank so must be routed on the inside of the tank in the gap between the firebox and then be cranked out at 90 degrees between the rear pair of drivers. Edited January 27, 2021 by LaScala mistaken over overflow routing 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickd Posted January 27, 2021 Author Share Posted January 27, 2021 That's an odd place for the injectors. Will be doing a load of head scratching tomorrow to work out how the feed is controlled from the backhead. if you look at the pic of 44 above you can see the steam feed for the rhs injector comes from beside the whistle too. How does the cold water feed get to the injector I wonder? It's above the tank water level..... The other pipe and rod I have is of an R class, and they have the injectors under the cab floor. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickd Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 I have done a bit more on the cab. The doors have been attached (the door reveals were very tricky and it would have been better to have added them earlier!) I finally planted the cab sides on top of the tanks. Tomorrow I'll tackle the roof and backhead. If anyone out there knows how a Rhymney Railway Ventilator roof works please let me know..... For all you ERSA fans out there I had to replace my tip today. £16 for a new one but not bad value for 26 months or so continuous soldering. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penrhos1920 Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 21 hours ago, nickd said: That's an odd place for the injectors. Will be doing a load of head scratching tomorrow to work out how the feed is controlled from the backhead. if you look at the pic of 44 above you can see the steam feed for the rhs injector comes from beside the whistle too. How does the cold water feed get to the injector I wonder? It's above the tank water level..... The other pipe and rod I have is of an R class, and they have the injectors under the cab floor. A well designed injector can suck water up a long way. An injector is very much like an ejector used to create a vacuum. So here you’ll find the water inlet is just a dip pipe into the tank. What I don’t know is whether there was a water regulation valve in the dip pipe. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penrhos1920 Posted January 28, 2021 Share Posted January 28, 2021 Sister engine 43 ex works an 44 shortly after the grouping still with Westinghouse pump. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickd Posted January 28, 2021 Author Share Posted January 28, 2021 That's amazingly helpful thanks! Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickd Posted January 30, 2021 Author Share Posted January 30, 2021 So I have been sent quite a few pictures of AR class locos (Thank you Thank you) and yesterday I added a few bits and bobs which I hadn't noticed. The bottom of the firebox has some wash-out drain taps, there's some pipes sticking out of the sides of the tanks below the footplate (injector overflow?) and the air brake hoses. The latter are detachable to allow the painter to line out the buffer beam easier (and save him from breaking them off!) I made a cab roof, and thanks to all those who were in touch about the long ventilator. It can be lifted off to gawp at the cab interior, and help the painter. I also did my usual modification to the water gauges and cut away the cast square cover and replaced it with a length of square perspex rod. The rod has been drilled down the middle to represent the tube and a piece of paper with chevrons printed on it attached to the rear. I had to make a regulator handle too. So on monday I'll finish the backhead and start on the boiler. If anyone knows what the steam brake control on the backhead looks like please get in touch. Thanks. 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickd Posted February 1, 2021 Author Share Posted February 1, 2021 Today I completed the cab detail. Quite a lot of the fittings were fabricated in house, as the controls are all a bit odd. It has the injectors in front of the cab windows, handy for spraying hot water and steam over passengers at railway stations. This means that there are no clacks or injectors on the backhead. Still it does have an odd combo of air brakes (Westinghouse) for the passenger trains it never pulled and a steam brake for the loco for extra grabbiness. There's no steam heating gear as the South Welsh are well hard and just put an extra pully on and took a brolly whilst travelling in the coal wagons, so none of those fangled Mason valves and such. Thanks to Fred L, Derek M, LaScala, Penrhos and Julian W for the pics and to DLOS for helping me with the educated guessing. Oh and I added a proper whistle mechanism to the roof. Last job of the day was the addition of the coal rails. The strip was bought from Hobby Holidays and this process is hard and takes a while. Everything has to be parallel, straight and square. Boiler tomorrow. 3 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 WOW !!! Looks like a work of art in that cab, just stunning 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickd Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share Posted February 3, 2021 I decided that the coal rails looked like they'd been knicked off a 4 mm model so built some more, then I added the springs for the front drivers. The kit had some nice parts for the top of the firebox, so I built what was supplied and blinged it up a bit with some boilerbands, screws and a cleat. The angle between the firebox and cab front was built into the firebox structure too. The smokebox is one of those fabrications that is a series of wrappers round the rolled boiler. I decided to scratchbuild a smokebox as I thought I would get a better result. I have made a video that shows how the structures of the boiler were fabricated and fitted to the loco. Anyone who would like to see it will have to visit the GOG Virtual Show in March to see the premiere! 3 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickd Posted February 4, 2021 Author Share Posted February 4, 2021 I spent rather a long time today fettling castings and making a boiler. Then I ran into an unexpected problem, the front of the tanks are a close fit round the boiler so the firebox has to be attached to the cab front and the boiler to smokebox. Then the boiler and smokebox have to be fed in from the front to mate with the front of the firebox. All a bit tricky and the boiler bands and other stuff have to be fitted up to the boiler before it's soldered to the footplate and firebox. I spent a good while making sure the tubular bits and the firebox sat straight and square and all the 'shut lines' were equal. Phew, a proper test. 6 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickd Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 The boiler is finished and attached to the loco and the front handrail made! I have made a short 'howie-did-it' video on YouTube for the boiler/firebox/smokebox, and it will be available to view at the GOG Virtual Show on 6th March (plug plug.) Next week I'll make the plumbing for, and fit the Westinghouse compressor and injectors. 6 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickd Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 In the meantime why not amuse yourselves with this. 1 1 1 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Prism Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 Terrific video. I'm sure the bit where the roof fitted perfectly was speeded up a bit. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickd Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 Haha skips over a few issues with the kit! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickd Posted February 8, 2021 Author Share Posted February 8, 2021 The finishing line is in sight. I mounted the injectors and all the associated plumbing. I also made a mount for the Westinghouse pump. Tomorrow I just need to add the plumbing to the pump to finish the loco tomorrow. Then a quick road test, a scrub then off to a friendly painter on wednesday. I may clean my workbench tomorrow too. 6 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickd Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 It's done. Test assembled, road tested, scrubbed, packed up and off to Warren for some crayon action tomorrow. 8 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickd Posted March 9, 2021 Author Share Posted March 9, 2021 (edited) Here it is back from Warren Haywood, and he's made a world class job of it. It will be a pleasure to assemble it over the next couple of days. Here's a video I made of the boiler build (hope you like funky beats... And here's a few gratuitous pics of one I finished a few weeks ago It's just a bog standard out-of-the-box Conniosseur build again with Warren's expertise. Edited March 9, 2021 by nickd 10 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now